Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

"Winner of the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for her debut story collection Interpreter of Maladies. Lahiri's first novel, The Namesake, was published in 2003 and a film version was released in 2007. Her new book of short stories, entitled Unaccustomed Earth, will be published in 2008."

Open to: the general public For more information, contact: 617/253-7894

Booklife: The Private and the Public in Transmedia Storytelling and Self-Promotion - Fictional experiments in emerging media like Twitter and Facebook are influencing traditional printed novels and stories in interesting ways, but another intriguing new narrative is also emerging: the rise of “artifacts” ... (mere)that, although they support a writer’s career, have their own intrinsic creative value. What are the benefits and dangers of a confusion between the private creativity and the public career elements of a writer’s life caused by new media and a proliferation of “open channels”? What protective measures must a writer take to preserve his or her “self” in this environment? In addition to the guerilla tactics implicit in storytelling through social media and other unconventional platforms, in what ways is a writer’s life now itself a story irrespective of intentional fictive storytelling? Examining these issues leads naturally to a discussion on the tension and cross-pollination between the private and public lives of writers in our transmedia age, including the strategies and tactics that best serve those who want to survive and flourish in this new environment. What are we losing in the emerging new paradigm, and what do we stand to gain?