Literary novelists Nikesh Shukla and Chris Killen have both written novels about the emotional impact of social media on our lives. As lines in the sand for how we live now and whether bare our souls online in 140-character confessionals, ‘Meatspace’ and ‘In Real Life’ both interrogate the very nature of over-familiarity and identity. They will be in conversation discussing just how to write about social media in a literary way, the impact of including transient language like Retweet and Favourite and Like in fiction and whether social media, in its infancy, is a good thing for people. There will be arguments, there will be references to Jane Austen, there will be confessions of their own searches for validation online, and there will be an investigation into whether the oldest form of ideas-communication, the novel, can keep up with the fast-paced nature of social interaction.

Nikesh Shukla is the author of ‘Meatspace’ and the award-nominated ‘Coconut Unlimited. He’s the editor of Rife magazine at Watershed and has written for The Sunday Times, The Guardian, The Independent on Sunday and BBC Radio 4. Chris Killen's debut novel, The Bird Room was published in 2009. Wizard's Way, a film he co-wrote, produced and starred in won the Best Comedy Feature award at London Independent Film Festival, and the Discovery Award at LOCO. Remake rights have been acquired by Jack Black. He currently lives in Manchester.

This Lunchtime Talk is part of Open Studio Friday, which takes place at the Studio every week.

Do you want to find out what is going on at the Pervasive Media Studio? Are you interested in meeting our residents, talking about a specific project or curious about pervasive media? Why not pack a sandwich and join us for one of our Lunchtime Talks and Open Studio Friday.

Lunchtime Talks are informal presentations by Studio residents and associates. They normally take place at 1pm on Friday, are free and open to everybody who’s interested in what we do.

After the Talk, we also invite you to stay with us for the afternoon to continue the conversation or work on your own projects. We provide chairs, tables, wireless and a great space. You bring what you need to work with (laptop/mobile). Our open afternoons close at 5pm.

Let us know if you’d like a tour of the space and we'll be happy to show you around. Send an email to admin@pmstudio.co.uk