Calendar of Events

Elizabeth Elkins: We Should Soon Become Respectable: Nashville's Own Timothy Demonbreun (Vanderbilt University Press) and R. Scott Williams: The Accidental Fame & Lack of Fortune of West Tennessee's David Crockett

Join us as we explore biographies — each with a unique approach — of two legendary Tennessee figures, David Crockett and Timothy Demonbreun. In We Should Soon Become Respectable: Nashville's Own Timothy Demonbreun, Author Elizabeth Elkins sorts through the legends and nails down the facts in order to present the true story of "Nashville's First Citizen." In The Accidental Fame and Lack of Fortune of West Tennessee’s David Crockett, Scott Williams uncovers what propelled Crockett’s fascinating journey, while also examining the birth of Tennessee during one of the most fascinating periods in American history. 

Chapter 16 Review of We Should Soon Become Respectable: Nashville's Own Timothy Demonbreun.

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This event is part of our TN Writers | TN Stories series presented in partnership with Humanities Tennessee, Chapter 16 and Vanderbilt University Press. Readings and discussions take place in the Digital Learning Center at the Tennessee State Museum. All events include an opportunity to purchase books through the Museum store and get them signed by the author.

Elizabeth Elkins is a professional songwriter and writer. She is the author of We Should Soon Become Respectable, a Vanderbilt University Press history of Nashville’s Timothy Demonbreun as well as a co-author of the best-selling Hidden History of Music Row. She has served as President of Historic Nashville, Inc. and on the Board of Governors of the National Academy for Recording Arts and Sciences (the Grammys). As a songwriter, she has written several Billboard country hits and her songs have appeared on more than 50 television programs. She is half of Granville Automatic, a band praised by USA Today, The New York Times, Rolling Stone Country, American Songwriter and The Bitter Southerner – and who received the prestigious Seaside Institute (Fla.) writing residency. A military brat, she has a Master’s in Journalism from the University of Georgia and a Bachelor’s in English and History from Emory University. She has written for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Art & Antiques and many others. In previous lives, she was a Marketing Director, magazine editor and punk rock front person.

Scott Williams is the president and CEO of Discovery Park of America, a 100,000-square-foot museum and 50-acre heritage park, in Union City, Tenn. Previously, he served as president and COO of the Newseum in Washington, D.C. and vice president of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. in Memphis. He currently serves on the Tennessee Tourism Committee of the Department of Tourist Development for the State of Tennessee, the boards of the Obion County Chamber of Commerce and Hospitality Tennessee, the advisory board of the UT Martin College of Business and Global Affairs and the Northwest Tennessee Arts Center Advisory Board. His third book, “The Accidental Fame and Lack of Fortune of West Tennessee’s David Crockett,” was published in 2021. Williams is also the author of “An Odd Book, How the First Modern Pop Culture Reporter Conquered New York" and "The Forgotten Adventures of Richard Halliburton: A High-Flying Life from Tennessee to Timbuktu."