Constance Debré in Conversation with Alice Friedland

A former criminal lawyer from one of France’s most influential families, Constance Debré turned to writing in her early forties. Since her debut with Play Boy, she has established a voice that is as direct as it is incisive—a style that cuts through her subsequent works, Love Me Tender, Nom, and Offenses, as she navigates the intersections of identity, family, sexuality, and the law. Over time, her prose has undergone a process of radical distillation: her sentences have grown leaner, her structures more austere, and the narrative "I" increasingly detached. In her latest book, Protocoles, Debré juxtaposes the stark formalities of American execution protocols with fragments of her own formative experiences in the United States, particularly in California, which left a profound mark on her. This video conversation with Alice Friedland for Transart explores the evolution of her craft, her literary lineage, and her encounters with fellow writers.

The conversation is in English, with Italian and German subtitles.