Nashville’s independent bookstore will be part of “local flavor” experience.

NASHVILLE — August 31, 2017: Barbecue, local brews, honky-tonk lounges, and live music — Nashville International Airport (BNA) is practically a Music City destination unto itself. Now Nashville’s local bookstore enters the mix, as Parnassus Books and Hudson Group join forces to offer traveling book-lovers a uniquely Nashville experience.

Frequent flyers recognize Hudson Booksellers, Hudson Group’s flagship bookseller brand, as the top name in airport bookstores. Nashvillians (and readers nationwide) also know how novelist Ann Patchett (Commonwealth, Bel Canto) and Karen Hayes opened Parnassus Books in 2011 in Nashville, creating what quickly become one of America’s world-class independent bookstores. Its BNA location will offer readers a hand-picked collection including the latest fiction and nonfiction releases, a wide range of bestsellers and favorites, plus local and regional titles and staff recommendations.

“As someone who spends about a third of my life in the Nashville airport, I’ve had a lot of time to dream about a branch of Parnassus Books on the concourse,” says Patchett. “There are few things I hate as much as not having the right book for the plane. With Parnassus in the airport, no Nashville traveler will have to worry about not having something great to read.”

“Hudson Group’s bookselling brands have been a staple in airports for more than 20 years,” says Joseph DiDomizio, CEO of Hudson Group and Division CEO of Dufry AG. “Through relationships with iconic independent booksellers across the country, such as Parnassus Books, we are able to pool our joint experience and visibility to enhance bookselling in airports and support our local communities. We’re thrilled to work with Ann Patchett, Karen Hayes, and their team to serve travelers at BNA in Nashville.”

“At BNA we always welcome the chance to offer the best features of the Nashville experience,” said Doug Kreulen, acting president and CEO of the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority. “With the addition of Parnassus Books, Hudson Group has connected with one of Music City’s best loved cultural and literary brands.”

“The Nashville airport is already a welcoming hub full of local flavor,” says Hayes. “It makes perfect sense to extend that hometown vibe to the airport bookstore.” She notes that the store will be visually recognizable as an outpost of Parnassus Books, with friendly touches geared toward encouraging browsing.

This move is part of Parnassus’ careful, small-scale local expansion. In 2016, the main shop in Green Hills doubled its footprint to a still-intimate but more roomy size. Last year, Parnassus also rolled out its new bookmobile — a roving book-truck it calls Parnassus on Wheels. “Think of the airport store as ‘Parnassus on Wings,’” Hayes quips.

Patchett chimes in: “Books and travel go together like suitcases and wheels.”

Find the new co-branded Hudson location of Parnassus Books at the intersection of Concourses A and B in the Nashville International Airport: 1 Terminal Drive, Nashville, TN, 37214. The main Parnassus Books store is located in the Green Hills neighborhood at 3900 Hillsboro Pike, Nashville, TN, 37215.