We are pleased to announce that Dr. Rita Charon will give the Keynote Address, “Our Stories Tell What We Know Not: Powers of Narratives of Health,” at the 2026 International Association of Autoethnography and Narrative Inquiry (IAANI) Forum. The Forum will be held at the Safety Harbor Spa in Safety Harbor, Florida (USA).
Dr. Charon will give her keynote at 10a (EST) on Saturday, 3 January 2026. We will also have a morning meet-and-greet at 9a, and an open discussion about Dr. Charon’s talk at 11a.
Dr. Charon, a pioneering physician and literary scholar, is the originator of the field of narrative medicine, a transformative approach to healing that places storytelling at the heart of clinical care. Alongside her clinical work (M.D. at Harvard), she returned to academia to earn a PhD in English literature at Columbia University in 1999.
At Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons, Dr. Charon serves as Professor of Clinical Medicine and as founding Chair of the Department of Medical Humanities & Ethics. There she directs the innovative Narrative Medicine Program, which equips clinicians to cultivate “narrative competence” through close reading, reflective writing, and attentive listening. Her 2006 book, Narrative Medicine: Honoring the Stories of Illness, along with co-edited volumes and a 2017 text, Principles and Practice of Narrative Medicine, has become foundational for the field of Narrative Medicine. Dr. Charon’s work has demonstrated measurable benefits: improved empathy, reduced clinician burnout, deeper patient‑clinician connection, and even better patient outcomes—particularly in oncology and chronic illness care. Her contributions have garnered prestigious recognition including a Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio residency, Guggenheim Fellowship, NEH grants, and selection as the 2018 Jefferson Lecturer in the Humanities—the highest US honor in that field. In her Jefferson Lecture, she summed up her ethos: “To See the Suffering: The Humanities Have What Medicine Needs.”
Dr. Charon remains a practicing internist, blending clinical insights with the humanities to reaffirm that, at its core, medicine is a deeply humanistic act rooted in listening, storytelling, and empathy. Those unfamiliar with Dr. Charon’s writings and her eloquence can get “a feel” for her humanity on several Ted Talks presentations including “Honoring the Stories of Illness” and “The Power of Narrative Medicine.”
If you would like to attend the morning keynote, meet-and-greet, and discussion with Dr. Charon, please register below.*
* This registration page is ONLY for Dr. Charon’s morning keynote, meet-and-greet, and discussion scheduled for 9a-12p on 3 January 2026. If you are interested in participating in the entire 2026 Forum (2 January – 5 January 2026), then please register for the full event at iaani.org/2026forum.