Today we’d like to introduce you to Jimmy MacKenzie.
Hi Jimmy, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
We (Sarah Giavedoni and Jimmy MacKenzie) are locals in Asheville. We are also book enthusiasts. One day, we realized we had a wealth of literary knowledge about Asheville and wanted to share that with people. Voila’, The Asheville Literary Tour was born. It wasn’t easy. We had to read stacks and stacks of books, compile lists and lists of data, and then organize all these book topics onto a walkable map of Asheville. It took us about a year to do the research and development, decide on a name, design our graphics, build the website and decide what types of software we wanted to use.
In the end, we have a really great list of authors on our tour, some you know, some you think you know but don’t, and some you’ve never heard of.
Of course, we cover the big names like Thomas Wolfe and F. Scott Fitzgerald, but we also have Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to earn a medical degree in our country lived here, Helen Keller came to Asheville, Harlem Renaissance writer and poet Langston Hughes is featured, and many others.
We’re four years old now. It makes us very proud when people tell us they are excited to see the city through the lens of literature.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Our biggest problem is that Asheville has a wealth of literary history and authors. And there’s still bestsellers coming out that feature our city. So, the problem wasn’t getting enough literary information for a walking tour, it was paring it down. We’ve left out so many interesting book facts on our tour because of the time constraint of a walking tour. It breaks our hearts. We have to alter our routes a lot. We’re always continuing our research. New books about Asheville, and especially movies based on books, are coming out all the time. So we have to stay current.
Also, the city is dynamic. Businesses are always coming and going. Some of our walking tour stops no longer exist after COVID.
And Asheville is always throwing a festival with large portions of downtown blocked off, so we have to work around that as well.
All in all, it hasn’t always been a smooth road, but we’re very adaptive and hope to keep learning in the years to come.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Sarah: During the day, I work in the marketing department of an independent real estate firm spreading the word about how great it is to live in Western North Carolina. Jimmy MacKenzie studied journalism in college and now works in broadcasting. His background has helped him be a natural researcher. He is very much at home in a library reference section surrounded by old, dusty books.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
We’re always looking for interesting books about Asheville, written in Asheville, or written by Asheville authors. We’re sure there are plenty that aren’t yet on our radar. If you come across an interesting fact, let us know!
Pricing:
- Only $25 for adults
- $15 for children 5–12
- Group discounts available
Contact Info:
- Website: https://avllitmap.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avllitmap/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/avllitmap/
