Update: The 'Damned' tour has begun! See below for all the cities Chuck will be reading at. Some events are ticketed, so read the details carefully.

Couple important details from Random House:

• As Doubleday has done in the past, Chuck will pre-sign all copies of DAMNED and they will be on sale at each event. 
• Portland and New York ticket prices include a signed copy of DAMNED.
• Chuck will also personalize for a limited number of fans in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and New York and will sign one backlist per person in addition to their copy (copies) of DAMNED. 

Here are the U.S. dates:

• Tuesday, October 18th - Portland, OR
• Thursday, October 20th - Jackson, MS
• Saturday, October 22nd  - Austin, TX - Details updated!
• Tuesday, October 25th - Dallas, TX - *Tickets now available!
• Thursday, October 27th - Pittsburgh, PA - *VIP tickets sold out! GA still available!
• Saturday, October 29th - Philadelphia, PA
• Tuesday, November 1st - New York, NY - *Tickets available!
• Thursday, November 3rd - Portsmouth, NH - *Tickets now available to public!
• Thursday, November 17th - Minneapolis, MN - *Tickets available!
• Saturday, November 19th - Miami, FL - More details to come

Here are the Canadian dates!

• November 28th - Victoria, BC - *Tickets go on sale 10-18-11 w/ purchase of 'Damned'
• November 30th - Vancouver, BC - Tickets Now On Sale

*For more info, check out our Tour page.  And for pictures from past tours, check out  our Flickr Group! read more »

Today is the day, folks!  The day you've all been patiently waiting for since we announced the release date almost a year ago.  DAMNED is now out!  Fans are calling this one of Chuck's best novels in a long time.  Plus, it's part 1 of a trilogy!  What's important is that it's in bookstores right now, and you all need to get off your butts and go get a copy!

As always, we expect pictures and accounts of your trips to the bookstore, and anything interesting that should happen while there.  

If you're partial to ordering your books online, we have links for Amazon, Barnes and Noble and IndieBound here.

Happy reading!

Poland continues to pave the way for new and interesting book covers of Chuck's work.  You've seen our previous features (here and here) on their quirky and unique covers.  Now check out their two latest.

See more at our Galley of Book Covers.

Props to Maciej Żbikowski for sending these along!

I've been working too hard today, so this News post is mainly to just get the information to you. On October 22nd, Chuck will be one of three judges at Literary Death Match when it comes to Austin Texas.

Hosted by LDM creator Todd Zuniga & genius-minded do-it-all Owen Egerton. 

Where: Paramount Theatre, 713 Congress Avenue, Austin (map)
When: Doors at 12:30, show at 1 p.m. (over at 2 p.m.) 
Cost: FREE!

More details here.

Update: I spoke with WW Norton a little more about this project and was able to get the following details about what will be different about this version of the book.

"Injected with new material and special design elements, Invisible Monsters Remix fulfills Chuck Palahniuk's original vision for his 1999 novel, turning a daring satire on beauty and the fashion industry into an even more wildly unique reading experience. Laced in are new chapters of memoir and further scenes with the book's characters. Readers will jump between chapters, reread the book to understand the dissolve between fiction and fact, and decipher the playful book design."

Several months back we dropped some pretty huge news on you all when it was announced that Invisible Monsters would not only be re-released as a hardcover, but that it would be an updated 'remixed' version of the novel.  For those in the know, Monsters is the only book of Chuck's that was never originally released in a hardcover format.  That all changes next June 2012 when Norton will release this new version.  And today we have an exclusive first look at the cover.

Pre-Order the 'Invisible Monsters' Remix Today!

Click to see a larger version and rate. read more »

First thing's first: No, these are not for sale.  Secondly: Why the hell not!?  If Nike can pimp Marty McFly's kicks, why shouldn't they be able to flaunt some Brandy Alexander leather?

Here's what our talented designer, 'Shane' (the Dez!gner online), had to say about his creation:

I do custom footwear and recently did a pair of Invisible Monster Womens.  Nike Air 6.0 Canvas shoes.   I uploaded a photo on Facebook and tagged it onto Chucks page. I'd be proud to have it on your fan submission site. I have no intention of selling this pair for money as it is not my original art.

See more at his Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=155909877835319&set=o.39860039925&type=3&theater

Gerry Howard, Chuck's long-time editor and friend, is definitely having a good time this week.  He emailed me, Chuck's agent, his publicist and some people at Random House with something fun the other day.  Shit, I'd say it's more than fun, it's downright uncanny!

Behold!  Chuck and Abraham Lincoln, side by side!

But it doesn't stop there.  Joe Gallagher over at Knopf was having such a good time with this, that he went and set up a Tumblr dedicated to the topic.  So also go check out: http://chuckandabe.tumblr.com/

If anyone wants to send us more funny comparisons like this, of Chuck side by side with our greatest American president, have at it! You can send them to submissions@chuckpalahniuk.net.

Those of you who have been here for a while know that The Cult has gone through many iterations over the years.  From about 1999-2002 we were just a Chuck Palahniuk fansite.  But that changed in 2003 with the first incarnation of our Writers' Workshop.  Over the next few years, we broadened into features, interviews and reviews.

For as many fans that loved these new eclectic offerings, there seemed to be twice as many that were confused by it.  "Wait, why aren't we talking about Tyler Durden?"  You might laugh at that, but it's true.  There's just a large, large group of Chuck fans that want us just talking about Chuck.  After all, it is his official fan site.  And we understand and respect that.

It was because of this growing non-Palahniuk content, that we first began to seriously consider a stand-alone site.  About one year ago we began discussing the creation of a new site dedicated to support this type of content. We discussed the idea with Chuck and he was a full supporter of this decision.  If you know anything about Chuck, you know how modest he is. He cares about his fans and fellow authors alike.

With this in mind we set out with a new goal; to appease the reader just interested in Chuck Palahniuk content, and to give the visitor to our site who likes these other offerings... more.

On October 1st we are launching a new website called LitReactor.com.  Many of you who follow us on our social media feeds already might know about this endeavor.  It's been in the works for over a year now and we're extremely excited about it. read more »

Some pretty cool artwork today from 'Hanna.'  First one is Invisible Monsters.  The other is from Rant.  Click each one below to see a larger version and to rate it.

  read more »

A History You Want to Know

This is a history you want to know even if you were never a fan of the genre. Even if you weren’t part of the Nirvana vs. Pearl Jam debate (Nirvana, for the record). Even if you didn’t need another reason to loathe Courtney Love. Even if you didn’t know a pre-Microsoft/Starbucks Seattle. Even if you have no clue as to what The La’s “There She Goes”, GnR’s “Mr. Brownstone” and Iggy Pop’s “Lust for Life” have in common.

But, if like me, this music was in your wheelhouse for a better part of your teens and early twenties, then you’ll no doubt eat through this meticulous (567 pages worth) collection of quotes, woven into an entertaining and revealing oral history in which a series of smaller stories are all sewn into the greater quilt of the work. One of the funniest aspects of this book is the style of contradictory narrative in which one person from a band says X happened and then a manager/roadie/ex-girlfriend/ex-band mate comes immediately afterwards and refutes the previous statement. Given the copious amounts of drug/alcohol usage of the time that is unflinchingly attested to within Everyone Loves Our Town: An Oral History of Grunge, one can understand why some details, some twenty, thirty years later might not mean the same thing to all people.

The most important aspect of this work, as with any work that chronicles the lives of our beloved and tortured musicians, is the overtone of humanity. Not only are the “players” represented in this book, but a great many of the former band-mates who walked away before the word “grunge” became a household name and a way to sell flannel at three times the going rate.

Enter Mark Yarm, a freshly laid-off senior editor at Blender magazine, who at the behest of a friend and literary agent, set out on a two year journey to write the definitive oral history of grunge. read more »