You have published multiple novels, from adults to YA to middle grade, spanning and blending multiple genres. (Note: This interview has been edited and condensed). I spoke with Victoria over Zoom about her creative process and her time at Harpeth Hall. Victoria credits Harpeth Hall for giving her the discipline and the belief in herself to become an author as early as she did. Since 2011, she has published over 20 books, including several short stories and graphic novels, and she was the creator and executive producer of Netflix’s “First Kill,” based on her short story of the same name. Victoria now lives full-time in Edinburgh with her dog, Riley, and her cats, Chauncey and Thomas. With a second novel in the works and looking for a place to be inspired, she pooled her money for a train ticket to Edinburgh, and immediately “felt like all the silt in settled to the ground.” A couple years later, she would return to the city to complete her master’s degree at the University of Edinburgh, where her love of the city grew. In her early 20s, after graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Washington University, Victoria decided to live abroad in the Liverpool suburbs, finding a place to rent in the garden shed of an ex-prison warden. Girgus as the first teacher to truly believe in her, and as an educator who helped sculpt her into who she is today. Helping her find her stride was her advisor, Scottie Girgus, who after recognizing Victoria’s love for writing, connected her with “Hallmarks” and helped her find an outlet for her creativity.

The new environment, and particularly the academics, took about two years to adjust to. She recalls it being an extremely positive though difficult experience. Victoria “V.E.” Schwab, Class of 2005, moved to Nashville from California two weeks before the start of her freshman year.

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