We're seeing RED and reading it too

The Redhead Project Book Club launch, how to join, membership details and perks

I’ve thought about starting an online book club for The Redhead Project for several years. But taking inspired action took time. I wanted to launch it thoughtfully with a book that would resonate with and inspire the project’s global redhead community, encouraging a new community of bibliophiles to engage in conversation about the unique experience of being a redhead.

As a Roman philosopher once said, "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." That luck came to me in the form of an email from author Jacky Colliss Harvey; she’d reached out after reading a feature about The Redhead Project in The Guardian. Her name rang a bell for good reason: Keith owned a copy of Jacky’s book RED, a gift from my mother several Christmases ago.

Keith and I met up with Jacky in New York City a few months later. She was interested in how our project came about and how the collaborative storytelling through personality portraits has created a community. An hour flew by. My hunch going into our meeting was spot on: we had found our new book club’s inaugural author and book!

I’m thrilled to announce the launch of The Redhead Project Book Club with our first title: RED: A History of the Redhead, the New York Times bestseller by Jacky Colliss Harvey, who is based in London and New York City.

Here are a few excerpts from the jacket blurb:

“Red: A History of the Redhead is the first book to chronicle red hair and redheadedness from prehistory to present day. As both intrepid cultural detective and compelling storyteller, Jacky Colliss Harvey weaves a fascinating history beginning with the moment the redheaded gene made its way out of Africa during the early human diaspora.”

“More than a book for redheads, RED is both an exploration of red hair as ‘other’ and a celebration of every aspect of its unique social and scientific heritage, at a time when it has never before been so frequently in the news or played such a prominent role in our visual culture.”

2 redheads out of 509 redheads photographed in studio thus far have brought RED to their photoshoots: Heather (left) and Martha (right, a fun behind the scenes shot)

While I hope the book club will be of interest to everyone reading this Substack, it makes sense for the book club to have its own mailing list for updates.

The Redhead Project Bookclub

We’ll be reading RED for the next 6 weeks and I’ll lead a weekly discussion thread on Substack CHAT.

TO JOIN:

New subscribers: Subscribe to this Substack (it’s free of charge) and reply to the welcome email to opt in to the BOOK CLUB mailing list to receive updates. ( No need to memorize this— the welcome email includes these directions!)

Existing subscribers: simply reply to this email with the words “BOOK CLUB” to be added to the book club mailing list!

YOU’LL RECEIVE

• Access via link to a LIVE author talk with Jacky Colliss Harvey on August 30 from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. E.S.T. The talk will be recorded and the link will be made available to subscribers who can’t make the live event.

  This is intentionally planned on the weekend of the Redhead Days Festival in The Netherlands. I’m hoping that redheads attending the festival and all over the world will join the book club and our conversation with Jacky!

• a 20% discount code for purchases of RED from the publisher’s website!

• access to ongoing conversation threads in Substack’s CHAT that I’ll post throughout the 6 weeks, such as:

  • reading prompts

  • prompts for your questions for Jacky ahead of our live AUTHOR TALK on August 30

  • prompts to share your thoughts, reactions, quotes you loved, and questions that come up with the Redhead Project Book Club community

While I am always full of ideas, implementing them through technology is not my bailiwick. I’ll be learning and experimenting with how to use Substack CHAT as I go. I welcome your suggestions and tips for making this book club experience fun and fulfilling!

And if you are an author of books about redheads or know someone who is, please reach out.

The book club will feature both fiction and nonfiction titles. I’d love to include young adult and children's book titles, too!

By all means please share this post with everyone you know who might be interested in the book club or this letter!

I’m excited to create and share this experience with you. Thank you Jacky for this inspiring launch!

Thanks for reading,

Kate