Whatcom READS "Red Paint: The Ancestral Autobiography of a Coast Salish Punk"

Whatcom READS poster for the book "Red Paint," with the author Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe

The 2024 Whatcom READS selection, Red Paint: The Ancestral Autobiography of a Coast Salish Punk by Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe has won the 2023 Washington State Book Award for Creative Nonfiction/Memoir. Red Paint traces LaPointe’s personal story of trauma, healing and the search for home. LaPointe, who is a Coast Salish author from the Upper Skagit and Nooksack Indian tribes, will visit Whatcom County March 14-16, 2024, for several free Whatcom READS author events. Western Libraries is a partner, supporter, and sponsor of Whatcom READS and invites you to “Read the book. Join the Conversation.”

Community members may borrow Red Paint as a book, eBook or eAudiobook from local libraries or purchase it from Village Books, which donates a percentage of each sale to Whatcom READS. Check out the display featuring this year’s book at Western Libraries in Wilson 2, and learn more about upcoming programs on the Whatcom READS website.

Whatcom READS is a community reading program organized by all the public and academic libraries in Bellingham and Whatcom County in partnership with Village Books, the Friends of the Bellingham Public Library, and Whatcom County Library Foundation, with support from other local businesses and organizations.