| Born | 1979 (age 43–44) Sacramento, California, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Princeton University London Consortium (PhD) |
| Notable works | The Longshot |
| Spouse | Hari Kunzru |
| Children | 2[1] |
Katie Kitamura (born 1979) is an American novelist, journalist, and art critic. She is currently an Honorary Research Fellow at the London Consortium.[2]
Early life and education
Katie Kitamura was born in Sacramento, California[3] in 1979 to a family of Japanese origin,[4] and raised in Davis, where her father Ryuichi was a professor at UC Davis Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.[2][5][6]
Kitamura graduated from Princeton University in New Jersey in 1999. She earned a PhD in American literature from the London Consortium.[7] Her thesis was titled The Aesthetics of Vulgarity and the Modern American Novel (2005).[8]
Earlier in her life, Kitamura trained as a ballerina.[9][10]
Career
Kitamura wrote Japanese for Travellers: A Journey, describing her travels across Japan and examining the dichotomies of its society and her own place in it as a Japanese-American.[11]
Kitamura was introduced to mixed martial arts in Japan by her brother.[12] Her first novel, The Longshot, published in 2009, is about the preparation undertaken by a fighter and his trainer ahead of a championship bout against a famous opponent. The cover art of the US edition of her book features the title tattooed on knuckles; the knuckles are her brother's.[9] Kitamura's second novel, Gone to the Forest, published in 2013, is set in an unnamed colonial country and describes the life and suffering of a landowning family against a backdrop of civil strife and political change.[13]
Kitamura's 2017 novel A Separation will be adapted for a film starring Katherine Waterston.[14] Her novel Intimacies appeared in 2021.
Kitamura writes for The Guardian, The New York Times, and Wired.[2] She has written articles on mixed martial arts,[15] film criticism and analysis,[16] and art.[17][18]
Awards and recognition
In 2010, Kitamura's The Longshot was shortlisted for the New York Public Library's Young Lions Fiction Award.[19] In 2013, her Gone to the Forest was also shortlisted for the Young Lions Fiction Award. In 2021, Kitamura's Intimacies was longlisted for the National Book Award for Fiction.[20]
Selected bibliography
Autobiography
- —— (2006). Japanese for Travellers: A Journey. Hamish Hamilton. ISBN 978-0241142899.
Novels
- —— (2009). The Longshot: A Novel. Free Press. ISBN 978-1439117606.
- —— (2013). Gone to the Forest. Profile Books. ISBN 978-1847659071.
- —— (2017). A Separation. Penguin Random House. ISBN 978-0399576126.
- —— (2021). Intimacies. Riverhead Books. ISBN 978-0399576164.
Journalism
- Art criticism in frieze magazine.[21]
- Art criticism in Contemporary magazine.[22]
Personal life
Kitamura is married to author Hari Kunzru.[23]
References
- ↑ Kunzru-Kitamura children
- 1 2 3 "Katie Kitamura". Conville & Walsh literary agency. Archived from the original on December 6, 2016. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
- ↑ Yu, Brandon (July 12, 2021). "Katie Kitamura and the Cognitive Dissonance of Being Alive Right Now". New York Times. p. C1. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
- ↑ Philip Womack (January 11, 2013). "Five young novelists for 2013". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
- ↑ "Katie Kitamura: Japanese for Travellers - Hamish Hamilton books". Archived from the original on 2014-01-07. Retrieved 2014-01-06.
- ↑ "Tributes & Biography: The Life and Contributions of Ryuichi Kitamura". ITS. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
- ↑ Samantha Kuok Leese (August 10, 2012). "Katie Kitamura interview". Spectator. Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
- ↑ "PhD Titles". The London Consortium. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
- 1 2 Will Doig (August 19, 2009). "How to Fight Like a Girl". The Daily Beast. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
- ↑ "Katie Kitamura interviews at Simon & Schuster". Retrieved December 8, 2013.
- ↑ Sophie Campbell (August 30, 2006). "Japan through American eyes". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
- ↑ Katherine Federici Greenwood (November 18, 2009). "In the ring". Princeton Alumni Weekly. 111 (5). Retrieved December 8, 2013.
- ↑ Sarah Hall (February 6, 2013). "Gone to the Forest by Katie Kitamura – review". The Guardian. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
- ↑ Hipes, Patrick (February 1, 2017). "Katherine Waterston To Star In Movie Adaptation Of Upcoming Novel 'A Separation'". Deadline. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
- ↑ Katie Kitamura (April 29, 2006). "The harder they come". The Guardian. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
- ↑ Katie Kitamura (June 15, 2012). "With Grain: A Q&A with Apichatpong Weerasethakul". Asian American Writers' Workshop. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
- ↑ Katie Kitamura (January 19, 2009). "Little London Prop Shop Turns Ideas Into Art". Wired. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
- ↑ Katie Kitamura (August 2008). "Liam Gillick". Frieze Magazine (114). Retrieved December 8, 2013.
- ↑ "Provocateurs, Mind Bogglers, and Tragedians: Five Young Literary Talents Chosen as Finalists for The New York Public Library's 2010 Young Lions Fiction Award" (Press release). New York Public Library. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
- ↑ "The 2021 National Book Awards Longlist: Fiction". The New Yorker. 2021-09-17.
- ↑ "Articles by Katie Kitamura". Frieze Magazine. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
- ↑ "Contemporary magazine". Contemporary Magazine. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
- ↑ Jonathan Lee (September 3, 2013). "Bare-Knuckle Writing". Guernica. Retrieved December 8, 2013.