Discover the Best Books Written by Chuck Palahniuk

Chuck Palahniuk was born in Pasco, Washington, on February 21, 1962. Most of his childhood was spent living in a mobile home in Burbank, Washington. However, after the divorce of his parents, Palahniuk and his siblings were sent to live with their maternal grandparents on a cattle ranch in Eastern Washington State. Palahniuk’s father began a relationship with another woman whose ex-boyfriend murdered the couple. Palahniuk’s mother died of cancer.

During his twenties, Palahniuk studied at the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism, graduating in 1986. During his college years, Palahniuk interned at the National Public Radio member station KLCC in Eugene. After graduation, Palahniuk moved to Portland, Oregon, where he entered the workforce as a journalist working for local newspapers. 

However, he abandoned journalism to work as a diesel mechanic for truck manufacturer Freightliner, a job he would keep until the development of his writing career. He returned to journalism only after establishing himself as an accomplished novelist. During his years of struggle, Palahniuk also volunteered at a shelter and hospice where he grew very close to a patient who passed away. He did not continue volunteering after the death of his patient friend.

Palahniuk began writing fiction in his thirties while attending writer’s workshops hosted by Tom Spanbauer, who inspired Palahniuk’s minimalistic writing style. His initial works were rejected for publication mostly because of the amount of disturbing content. However, Palahniuk managed to get one of his short stories published in a compilation in 1995. 

The story later became an inspiration and evolved into Palahniuk’s most famous novel, Fight Club. While the short story had a difficult time finding a publisher, its conversion into a novel experienced the opposite. Fight club was accepted and published in 1996. For his exceptional writing in Fight Club, Palahniuk was presented with the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award as well as the Oregon Book Award for Best Novel in 1997.