ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Keel Hunt is the author of four books and a columnist for The Tennessean in Nashville and the USA Today Tennessee network.

His published books are Coup: The Day the Democrats Ousted Their Governor (2013, Vanderbilt University Press); Crossing the Aisle: How Bipartisanship Brought Tennessee to the 21st Century and Could Save America (2018, Vanderbilt University Press); The Family Business: How Ingram Transformed the World of Books (2021, West Margin Press); and the biography A Sense of Justice: Judge Gilbert S. Merritt and His Times (2023, West Margin Press). He is completing a new work on the friendship of two important Tennesseans: Senator Howard H. Baker Jr. and the journalist John L. Seigenthaler

Born in Nashville, Keel was a 1971 graduate of Middle Tennessee State University, where he majored in English and history. In 1975 he received his master's degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. He has been a reporter, editorial writer, city editor, and Washington correspondent. His popular blog called the “Field Notes” provides commentary on politics, government, and culture.

In 1977, Keel became the research director and speechwriter for Lamar Alexander’s 1978 campaign for Governor, and he was named Special Assistant to Governor Alexander of Tennessee in January 1979. He later served as staff director of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. He is a Trustee Emeritus of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville and has served on the Board of Visitors of MTSU’s Honors College.

Keel and his wife Marsha have two adult children and three grandchildren. They live in Nashville.