The culminating Spokane Is Reading event, celebrating Bitterroot Salish author Debra Magpie Earling and her lauded novel 'Perma Red.'
Acclaimed author Debra Magpie Earling will present and discuss her novel, Perma Red, which is the 2024 Spokane Is Reading selection.
About the novel: In March, The Atlantic Monthly named Perma Red one of the “Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years,” including it among the likes of Toni Morrison’s Beloved, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, and Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man. Perma Red is a transcendent novel about injustice and survival, set in the 1940s on the Flathead Reservation of Montana, giving voice to a Salish woman named Louise White Elk as she navigates the affection and violence of men who wish to love her and control her. An American Book Award winner, Perma Red has also received the Spur Award, the Western Writers Association’s Medicine Pipe Bearer Award, and a WILLA Literary Award.
About the presenter: Debra Magpie Earling is also the author of The Lost Journals of Sacajewea. She has received a National Endowment for the Arts grant, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award, and the Montana Book Award. She retired from the University of Montana where she was named professor emeritus in 2021. She is Bitterroot Salish.
Spokane Is Reading will host two appearances with Debra Magpie Earling on Thursday, October 24th, 2024. An afternoon appearance is at the Spokane Valley Library (22 North Herald Road, Spokane) at 1pm, and this evening appearance at Central Library (906 W. Main, Downtown Spokane) at 7pm. Both events are open to the public with free admission.
About Spokane Is Reading: Designed to encourage adult literacy and conversation and engagement among area readers, Spokane Is Reading is one of the longest-running community reads in Washington State. The program has celebrated such authors as Madeline Miller, Kim Fu, Jess Walter, Kate Lebo, Kent Haruf, and Maria Semple. Generous support for Spokane Is Reading comes from the Spokane County and City of Spokane Friends of the Library groups, Humanities Washington, Spokane Arts, and readers throughout Spokane County. Spokane Is Reading is a collaborative effort of Auntie’s Bookstore, Spokane County Library District, and Spokane Public Library.
By attending library programs, you are agreeing to potentially appear in photos/videos taken at our locations that may be used in promotional materials including social media.
We strive to make events welcoming for people of all abilities. To request accommodations (i.e. hearing assistance, ASL requests, or other ADA inquiries), email sday@spokanelibrary.org.
For all event information inquiries, email telref@spokanelibrary.org or call 509-444-5300.
AGE GROUP: | Adults |
EVENT TYPE: | Learning & Lectures | Book & Film Discussions | Arts & Culture |
Mon, Dec 16 | 9:00AM to 7:00PM |
Tue, Dec 17 | 9:00AM to 7:00PM |
Wed, Dec 18 | 9:00AM to 7:00PM |
Thu, Dec 19 | 9:00AM to 7:00PM |
Fri, Dec 20 | 10:00AM to 5:00PM |
Sat, Dec 21 | 10:00AM to 5:00PM |
Sun, Dec 22 | 12:00PM to 4:00PM |
COMPUTERS & TECHNOLOGY
66 public computer stations
MEETING & STUDY ROOMS
300 person capacity nxʷyxʷyetkʷ Hall (pronounced: inn-whi-whi-ettk, a Salish word meaning Life in the Water)
256 capacity combined event space on the 1st floor
34 person capacity maker studio
2 conference rooms
2 reservable co-working spaces in the Business Lab
5 study rooms
Media Studios – production studio, recording studio, and video studio
SERVICES
Friends of the Library used book store
New Leaf Café
Business Lab with Bloomberg Terminal & Coworking Space
Computer Lab (Faxing, copying, scanning, printing)
Inland Northwest Special Collections
KYRS Radio
Shimmer (public art) by John Rogers
River Rumpus Children’s Playspace
Serenity Room