Inside Olivia Levin's The Story of Us

Originally published in Nashville Lifestyles

Olivia Levin, the creator behind the beloved Swiftie account @swiftiesforeternity, launched her corner of the fandom at just thirteen years old and has been building her empire ever since.

She always dreamed of becoming an author one day. But she never imagined that her first book would be a love letter to the fandom that shaped her life.

Unlike many Taylor Swift-inspired books on the shelf, The Story of Us focuses on the fandom and Levin’s own perspective. It reads like an awe-inspiring case study on girlhood, community, and the kind of wisdom that toes the line of personal empowerment. Not to mention, the book itself is physically stunning; From the cover to the pages themselves, each call to the fairytale aesthetic of Swift’s Debut era with plenty of delightful Easter eggs hidden along the way.

When Levin describes the experience creating and publishing The Story of Us, it sounds like a true invisible string moment, but not one that didn’t come with endless hours of hard work, dedication, and collaboration.

“It’s like I asked the universe for it, and it just delivered itself,” she says, reflecting on the moment a Brooklyn literary agent emailed her out of the blue with an idea tailor‑made for her.

The Story of Us releases April 14, 2026, and can be purchased through various retailers.

As she prepares to bring The Story of Us on tour — including a special Nashville stop at Noelle on April 16, where she’ll sit down with Bethany Joy Lenz for a conversation and then Q&A — Levin opened up about the threads that pulled this book into her life. From the creative process to the community stories woven through its pages, she reflects on the kind of magic only Swifties can create together.

What song or songs or album would you use to describe the writing and publishing process for you? 

Olivia Levin: Part one would be like “You're on your own kid” because I felt like I didn't have any mentors. I was writing a book on my own, figuring things out. Now, though, I’m feeling very much like I am in my “Bejeweled” era because the book is about to shine in the world, and definitely “Long Live.” “Long Live” is probably the best song that could be used to represent this book.

You’ve been a fan since you were 13. That’s Taylor Swift’s lucky number. There are 13 chapters in the book. That makes this feel so kismet, like a full circle moment. Can you tell us about how you became such a cornerstone in the fandom?

Olivia Levin: When I was eight to ten years old, I obviously knew who Taylor was and loved her music. I mean “Love Story” was on the radio all the time, but I was more into sports at the time. Around the age of 13, something kind of shifted. I was watching “One Tree Hill,” which made me fall in love with music — different than Taylor's music, but it kind of opened up the floodgates for me to find my new passion within music. Then, I really started diving. I kind of had an epiphany one time (pun intended) on a beach. My friend was showing me a video of Taylor, I think the “Shake It Off” music video, and I became obsessed. I was like “This video is so cool and I love that she doesn't care what people think.”

So, I went home and went down a rabbit hole educating myself on everything I had missed at the time. I got on Tumblr and then Instagram where I discovered this amazing community of people who were just equally as passionate about Taylor and her music as I was. We were all just so fascinated by her lyricism even at such a young age, and I truly think it helped my brain develop and grow as a person.

I dove in and it's been quite the journey. I mean, traveling to different concerts across the country at 16, 17 years old, meeting up with people I had only ever known online. But there is an instant bond, an instant trust there with Swifties because I always say that if you are in a room full of Swifties, you are probably in the most safest, joyful, serendipitous places on Earth.

There are so many Easter eggs, especially in the illustrations. Did that come naturally in the collaborative process?

Olivia Levin: This is fully a Swiftie-empowered project. The illustrator, book agents, and my editor are all huge fans. Everybody understood the magic. When people read this, they are really going to be able to feel that magic through the book.

There’s a chapter that shares snippets of the stories of us, if you will. How did you go about collecting those experiences and what was that process like for you?

Olivia Levin: It was very emotional. I was crying when I was reading and writing them because I know we all feel so powerfully and similarly about what Taylor has brought to our lives through her music and our community. I actually didn’t even know that this was going to be a chapter until I put out a Google form with different questions about the Swiftie experience.

When I read through them, I just had this moment where I was like, “Wait, why, is this not a chapter in the book?” because I knew I wanted to include fans and their voice in the book. So, came about organically. I told my editor and she loved the idea. It’s one of my favorite chapters in the book because I think it really captures the light that Taylor and our community has brought to all of our lives. And those quotes make me tear up every time I read them, truly. 

In the book, you shared 13 life lessons that Taylor taught you. Do you feel like you signify with any more than the rest?

Olivia Levin: I mean, I've learned so much from Taylor growing up. I think one of my favorites that that she's taught me is probably that success is your best form of revenge. She has taught me that the best thing in life you could do is to keep going, to have resilience, to succeed, and then karma will take care of the rest.

I would say another one that comes to mind is probably being vulnerable no matter what. It's very easy in life to close yourself off to people when you do get wronged by people and you get mistreated. After, you almost don't want to put yourself out there because you want to prevent that from happening, but then you're closing yourself off to all these great things that could happen.

So, wearing your heart on your sleeve and being vulnerable. Those are probably things that I have top of mind all the time.

What can we expect from the book tour?

Olivia Levin: I'm so excited, especially because of the conversation partners. In Nashville, we have Bethany Joy Lenz. In L.A., we have Alyson Hannigan. We have Brady Lockerby in Kansas City. In New York, we have Kelly Keegs and Gia Mariano.