Wendy Walters, whose work has long drawn attention for its aversion to white, now finds herself on the National Book Award’s 2026 longlist with A Dead White: An Argument Against White Paint. The book, described by Simon & Schuster as a project born from “a genuine and visceral dislike of white paint,” claims Walters discovered “numerous examples” of how white paint functions within systems of erasure and power masking.
Walters referenced specific instances—such as supremacist defacement of Houston’s Rothko Chapel and a rainbow crosswalk in Canada repainted over—in her 2021 Creative Capital video, where she stated the work stems from “a feeling that is at times overwhelming for me.” Critics noted her approach appears to treat the entire world as a single search term for “white,” with one reviewer observing that Walters’ framing risks conflating a specific material with systemic concepts.
The National Book Foundation’s selection process has drawn scrutiny, with past winners in nonfiction including works centered on U.S. history from an Indian activist and critiques of Western influence by an Egyptian-born critic. A New York Times columnist previously noted that over the last decade, nine out of ten fiction winners and all nonfiction winners belonged to minority groups, labeling the awards a “DEI checklist.”
Walters’ book placement aligns with this trend, despite her publisher’s description emphasizing its focus on paint rather than racial identity. The National Book Foundation has yet to announce its final selections for the category.
