Katie Kitamura and Charlotte Casiraghi — CHANEL Literary Rendezvous at Rue Cambon

For the sixteenth edition of the Rendez-vous littéraires rue Cambon [Literary Rendezvous at Rue Cambon] held at the 7L library in Paris, CHANEL and Charlotte Casiraghi, ambassador and spokesperson for the House, invited novelist Katie Kitamura. Moderated by journalist Caroline Issa, this encounter dedicated to the work of Katie Kitamura explores the changing nature of identity—a theme at the heart of her latest novel Audition—and the essential role of reading in her writing process: “The most intimate and optimistic thing I do every single day is to read. Because when I read, I open myself up to the mind of another person. And I hope to write the kind of fiction that allows a reader to do the same thing.” Together, they also talk about the contemporary questions that the author’s fictional heroines encounter. 00 : 10 : Opening by Charlotte Casiraghi 02 : 20 : Introduction by Caroline Issa 03 : 50 : Katie Kitamura and her unnamed women characters 06 : 17 : Reading of an extract of “Audition” by India Ennenga 11 : 37 : The role of self-performance in the construction of one’s identity 16 : 15 : Charlotte Casiraghi on female protagonists in contemporary literature 20 : 50 : On the relationships shaping Katie Kitamura’s characters 24 : 35 : Siri Hustvedt’s message to Katie Kitamura 26 : 40 : Reading of an extract of “A Separation” by Charlotte Casiraghi 32 : 40 : On literature as a collaboration between reader and writer 33 : 40 : On taking risks in the creative process 38 : 14 : On literature as a way to approach the complexity of truth 39 : 40 : On feelings after reading Katie Kitamura’s books 42 : 32 : Katie Kitamura’s takes on how to start writing 44 : 05 : Questions from the audience   Katie Kitamura, Gone to the Forest © Clerkenwell Press, 2013  Gone to the Forest by Katie Kitamura. Copyright © 2012 by Katie Kitamura. Reprinted with the permission of The Free Press, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster, LLC. All rights reserved  The Longshot by Katie Kitamura. Copyright © 2009 by Katie Kitamura. Reprinted with the permission of The Free Press, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster, LLC. All rights reserved  A Separation by Katie Kitamura, copyright © 2017 by Katie Kitamura. Published by Riverhead, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC  A Separation by Katie Kitamura © Clerkenwell Press, 2017  Excerpt from A Separation by Katie Kitamura, copyright © 2017 by Katie Kitamura. Used by permission of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved  Intimacies by Katie Kitamura, copyright © 2021 by Katie Kitamura. Published by Riverhead, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC  From Intimacies by Katie Kitamura published by Jonathan Cape. Copyright © Katie Kitamura, 2021. Reprinted by permission of The Random House Group Limited  Audition by Katie Kitamura, copyright © 2025 by Katie Kitamura. Published by Riverhead, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC  From Audition by Katie Kitamura published by Fern Press. Copyright © Katie Kitamura, 2025. Reprinted by permission of The Random House Group Limited   Excerpt from Audition by Katie Kitamura, copyright © 2025 by Katie Kitamura. Used by permission of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved  Mrs Dalloway © Virginia Woolf, 1925  The Lady with the Dog © Anton Tchekhov, 1899  The Aliens © Annie Baker, 2010. Published by Faber & Faber Ltd  If I Had a Hammer   Hays Lee, Seeger Peter, Ludlow Music Inc   © Ludlow Music via Tro Essex Music Ltd