Chuck Palahniuk
Chuck Palahniuk is an American author born on February 21, 1962, in Washington. He grew up in a large family and developed an early love for reading, particularly enjoying the works of Ellery Queen and his favorite author, Amy Hempel. Palahniuk graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in journalism in 1986 and held various jobs, including movie projectionist and dishwasher, before pursuing writing full-time. He began his writing career in the early 1990s, attending a workshop led by Tom Spanbauer, and published his first short story in 1990.
Palahniuk gained significant recognition with his novel "Fight Club," published in 1996, which was later adapted into a successful film featuring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton. His body of work includes a range of novels like "Survivor," "Choke," and "Haunted," as well as graphic novels such as "Fight Club 2" and "Fight Club 3." Known for his distinctive dark humor and exploration of themes often found in modern culture, Palahniuk aims to engage readers who might prefer alternative media, such as video games and music videos. In addition to his fiction, he published a nonfiction book, "Consider This," in 2020, reflecting on his writing journey. His latest work, "Shock Induction," is set to be released in 2024.
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Subject Terms
Chuck Palahniuk
Author
- Born: February 21, 1962
- Place of Birth: Pasco, Washington
Biography
Author. Chuck Palahniuk was born on February 21, 1962. He grew up in Washington with his brother and four sisters. As a young man, he read all the Ellery Queen novels, which he claimed gave him a good basis for plot structure and construction. Palahniuk attended Columbia High in Burbank, Washington, where he was named “Most Wittiest” in his yearbook. He attended the University of Oregon and graduated with a B.A. in journalism in 1986. His favorite author was Amy Hempel. Prior to writing full-time, he worked as a movie projectionist, bicycle messenger, dishwasher, and mechanic.
Palahniuk began writing in the early 1990s after attending a workshop taught by writer Tom Spanbauer. Palahniuk’s first published short story was “The Love Theme of Sybil and William,” which appeared in Modern Short Stories in 1990. His first two attempts at novel-length manuscripts, Insomnia: If You Lived Here You’d Be Home Already and Manifesto (later published as Invisible Monsters in 1999), failed to attract an agent or a publisher.
Palahniuk’s third manuscript, Fight Club, finally succeeded in getting him a contract, though the publishers admitted to having some reservations about the dark subject matter. Twentieth Century Fox purchased the rights in 1996, and it was made into a motion picture starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton and was released in 1999. His other works include the novels Survivor (1999), Choke (2001), Lullaby (2002), Diary: A Novel (2003), Haunted (2005), Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey (2007), Snuff (2008), Pygmy (2009), Tell-All (2010), Damned (2011), Doomed (2013), and Beautiful You (2014), as well as the story collection Make Something Up: Stories You Can’t Unread (2013). Fight Club 2 was released as a hardcover graphic novel in June 2016 after being released as a ten-issue comic book series. From 2016 to 2023, Palahniuk added, Bait: Off-Color Stories for You to Color (2016), Legacy: An Off-Color Novella for You to Color (2017), Adjustment Day (2018), Fight Club 3 (2019), The Invention of Sound (2020), and Not Forever, But For Now (2023) to his catalog of works. In 2024, he published Shock Induction. Palahniuk is known for his dark humor, and in interviews, he states that he set out to write fiction for people who preferred video games and music videos to reading books. In 2020, he published the nonfiction book Consider This: Moments in My Writing Life After Which Everything Was Different.
Bibliography
Aparicio, Jose Antonio. “‘Your Heart Is My Piñata’: Chuck Palahniuk's Unconventional Love Stories.” Anq 26.3 (2013): 210. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 23 June 2016.
Bunn, Austin. “Open Book.” Advocate 20 May 2008: 42. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 23 June 2016.
Burlingame, Russ. “Exclusive: Chuck Palahniuk Talks Fight Club 2 and Shares the New Trailer.” ComicBook.com. ComicBook.com, 22 June 2016. Web. 23 June 2016.
"Chuck Palahniuk Book List." Fiction DB, 2023, www.fictiondb.com/author/chuck-palahniuk~27773.htm. Accessed 3 Oct. 2024.
Gulli, Andrew F. "Interview with Chuck Palahniuk." The Strand Magazine, 29 Aug. 2023, strandmag.com/interview-with-chuck-palahniuk/. Accessed 3 Oct. 2024.
Palahniuk, Chuck. “Chuck Palahniuk on How David Bowie Helped Him Sell ‘Fight Club.’” Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone, 12 Jan. 2016. Web. 23 June 2016.
Palahniuk, Chuck, and Tom Spanbauer. “Chuck Palahniuk [Author] in Conversation with Tom Spanbauer [Author/Teacher].” Interview by Kathryn Borel. Believer. Believer, May 2014. Web. 23 June 2016.