Debra Magpie Earling is the author of the novels Perma Red and The Lost Journals of Sacajewea and is currently working on a novel about witches. She is the recipient of the Montana Governor’s Arts Award and has received both a Guggenheim and NEA fellowship. Other awards include the American Book Award, the WILLA Award, the Mountains and Plains Bookseller Association Award, the Spur Award, Montana Book Award, and the Pacific Northwest Bookseller Award. Perma Red was named one of The Great American Novels by The Atlantic Monthly in March 2024. She retired from the University of Montana where she was named professor emeritus in 2021. She is a member and citizen of the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes. She is Bitterroot Salish.