Prof. Alissa Wilkinson to Write New Book on Myth-Making in Hollywood

Professor Alissa Wilkinson will spend fall 2022 on sabbatical leave to write her next book, We Tell Ourselves Stories, which has been acquired by the Liveright, an imprint of W.W. Norton. Wilkinson is an associate professor of English and humanities, while also serving as a film critic and senior culture reporter at Vox.

Wilkinson says that We Tell Ourselves Stories will be “a cultural history of 20th century American myth-making in Hollywood, with the help of a few key cultural figures.” She began working on the book proposal in the spring of 2020 and has spent the last two years researching and refining her topic and vision for the book.

We Tell Ourselves Stories will be Wilkinson’s third book, having written the forthcoming Salty: Lessons on Eating, Drinking, and Living from Revolutionary Women (to be released on June 28, 2022, from Broadleaf Books), and co-authored How to Survive the Apocalypse: Zombies, Cylons, Faith, and Politics at the End of the World (Eerdmans, 2016). She is appreciative to The King’s College and the academic department for helping to make this sabbatical possible.

Interim provost of The King’s College Dr. Matthew Parks said, “Professor Wilkinson is a remarkably gifted and prolific writer. We are very pleased to be able to support her latest book project. The College’s mission statement includes ‘supporting faculty members as they directly engage culture through writing and speaking publicly on critical issues.’ Sabbaticals are one important way that we do this.”