“Gingers of America deserves to sit on the same shelf as other great searching-for-America classics, not just because Kieran Dodds’ pathway links so many Americans together, but because it also joins them clearly with so many other citizens of the world.”
James C. RichardsonNational Geographic photographer, author of over 50 stories for the magazine. Photographer’s Photographer award-winner 2015.
Starting with the question of what unites the States today, Gingers of America looks beyond the media headlines of division to celebrate the common life through a diverse cast of awesome humans.
Portraits, interviews, and essays explore national and global connections, reminding us of our shared stories and the genetic histories written in every cell of our bodies. We, the people, are all made of the same substance—and sometimes it shows.
A USA-based sequel to the acclaimed Gingers (2020), by award-winning photographer Kieran Dodds.
Kieran Dodds’ Gingers series began around the time of the Scottish Independence referendum in 2014. He named the project after the colloquial term for people with red, auburn, or strawberry-blond hair—about 1 percent of the global population.
In 2020, he published his first portrait collection, Gingers. When the photobook featured on BBC Breakfast, he was flooded by messages from across the world, many from the United States. American gingers claimed Scots and Irish descent, but he also heard from Indigenous people in Wyoming, Hispanics in California, and a barber near Washington, DC with Central Asian heritage.
Between 2024 and 2026, Dodds interviewed and photographed hundreds of gingers from across the nation. He asked each of them the same question: “What unites the States?” The book is structured around themes that emerged repeatedly in those conversations—origins, land, migration, power, dreams, and unity. Although nearly everyone featured is ginger, the book is not really about hair. Rather, it is a celebration of intersecting life histories that span the nation, and the planet.
Kieran Dodds (b. 1980) is known for his research-driven photo stories and portraiture. His personal work considers the interplay of environment and culture, tracing global events through daily life. His photographs have appeared in the world’s leading publications and are also held in private and national collections.
This is his fifth book, following on from Gingers (2020), The Church Forests of Ethiopia (2021), The Little Book of Gingers (2022), and Now We See: Glimpses of New Jerusalem (2023).
Includes a branded packing box, cloth-bound slipcase, exclusive pin badges, stickers, and a signed postcard from the artist.
Standard first edition
$70 / £55
Special edition (first edition with slipcase and extras)
$120 / £90
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Follow the making of Gingers of America on YouTube. Dodds documented the road trips, portrait sessions, and conversations as he travelled across the country.
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Before the USA, the Gingers story has appeared in:
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