The Cult Master's Program is back in action with a fall line-up that breaks new ground, adding journalism and non-fiction writing to our exciting roster of upcoming classes.  First on this new menu is a killer opportunity for anyone who has ever admired the skills of top investigative reporters or wondered how to add depth and credibility to writing of all kinds through the deployment of advanced research and sleuthing skills.

To lead us on this journey, I have recruited a top player in the field.  Jon Leiberman is an Emmy award-winning investigative correspondent who has filed hundreds of reports on fugitives across the country and abroad for the FOX TV show “America’s Most Wanted.” An expert in all things crime, he regularly appears on shows including “The Today Show,” “Shepard Smith’s Fox Report”, “Nancy Grace,” “The Dan Abrams Report” and “The Maury Povich Show,” and is quoted extensively on crime stories in newspapers throughout the country. read more »

You Were Expecting A Dude?

Close your eyes. Well, not yet. Read the next paragraph first.

Picture a hard-boiled bad-ass. That noir anti-hero with blood-flecked armor, imperfect but too cool to show it. Lighting a cigarette and staring off into the distance with that world-weary look of someone who knows all the angles but still can't figure out how the hell they got into this mess.

OK, now you can close your eyes, and once you get that image of that person in your head, open them back up.

Ready?

You pictured a guy, didn't you?

I'd bet good money you did, and maybe it's not a sexist thing. It's fair to say that the hard-boiled crime genre has long been a boy's-only club. Sure, there are strong female characters, but at the end of the day, the person at the end with their finger on the trigger is almost always carrying a bottle of whisky and a Y chromosome. read more »

Hey guys, apologies for getting this one up late.  Lots of our Cult staff (myself included) are doing the whole summer-vacation-with-the-family thing.  But we're all back at home now (kind of) and have Chuck's August essay, "Nuts & Bolts: Plot Points" ready for you to devour. 

Chuck has comitted to 1 year of these, so expect 7 more yet for 2008.  Also remember that, for the first month they are posted, these essays are only available to Premium Members.  Basic Members can view them one month later.  So come September 7th, this new essay will be available to all, free, for one month only. 

Read Chuck's August Essay, Nuts & Bolts
read more »

UPDATE: After a short disappearance, the awesomely funny redband trailer for Choke returns online with an updated new website: www.ChokeOnThis.net.  Go check it out!

Fox Searchlight has just unveiled the raunchy and wonderful redband (rated R) trailer for Choke.  If all the buzz as well as my review of Choke doesnt have you totally pumped yet, then this trailer should do the trick.  It's a must-watch. read more »

UPDATE: You can pre-order signed copies of all of Chuck’s books on our site and view the event live on STRAND TV www.strandbooks.com/tv.

You'll remember that Chuck had to cancel his stop in New York last minute for his recently ended 'Snuff' tour.  You'll also remember that Chuck promised his fans he would make it up to them as soon as he could.  Well, that day has come.

I just heard from Chuck's publicist and it's official: Chuck will be reading at The Strand on August 30th.  And Amy Hempel will be the moderator of the event!  Here are the hard details:

Chuck Palahniuk at The Strand (NYC)
August 30th, 1pm
*Event is limited to 125 people.
**Tickets have to be purchased, but this guarantees a signed copy of SNUFF (like they did last year with RANT)
Purchase Tickets Here!

Tickets include a personalized copy of SNUFF and a Strand tote bag. Also, Todd has requested that the fans are able to also have two other Chuck Palahniuk books signed, that don't have to be bought at The Strand.

The events coordinator at The Strand was going to send out a big eblast to their newsletter tomorrow morning at 8am, announcing the event and ticket info.  But Chuck's publicist asked her to wait until Saturday so we could give you all the news first.

SO DON'T WAIT! I'M SURE THIS EVENT WILL SELL OUT QUICK, SO PURCHASE TICKETS AS SOON AS YOU SEE THIS. read more »

UPDATE: The date of the CHOKE screening will be August 11th, at 7pm!

Hey guys.  Chuck's UK publicists asked me to post this, for all of those in the London location, excited that Chuck is coming to England.

Win tickets to an exclusive preview screening of ‘Choke’

Time Out has teamed up with Fox Searchlight to offer you the chance to win one of five pairs of tickets to an exclusive preview screening of ‘Choke’, starring Sam Rockwell and Anjelica Huston and based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk (author of ‘Fight Club’).

This is an exciting opportunity to see this much-anticipated new film at an exclusive London location two months before it goes on general release.

The screening, which takes place on August 11th at 7pm in central London, will be followed by a Q&A with the author Chuck Palahniuk. Five runners-up will win a copy of Chuck Palahniuk’s new novel ‘Snuff’ (in stores August 7 priced £12.99).

http://www.timeout.com/competition/chokescreening read more »

UPDATE: Here is the website for the event with more info!

It seems Chuck is doing a reading event in Seattle tomorrow (Tuesday) night at the University of Washington.

Tuesday night, July 29th
7 pm at Kane Hall
The University of Washington campus

The event is free, but limited tickets are available at the University Bookstore.  (I'm not sure what that means exactly).  I'm in contact with the woman planning the event now, so I'll try and post more details as they become available to me.  read more »

*The file is 35MB, so give it a second to load, or Right Click and Save As to download it.

Hello all!  Courtesy of the good folks of Fox Searchlight, this morning we bring you an exclusive clip of the audience Q&A that Clark Gregg and Chuck Palahniuk did following the premiere of Choke at the Los Angeles Film Festival.

I was in the audience during this Q&A, and every story that came out of Chuck's mouth went over great with the audience.  Especially this one!

Click Here For The Exclusive Video!

The Comic Book World

Ed Brubaker has a very nice hat. He originally thought our interview was a Mark Millar prank because I asked him about writing a Batman porno story. I was serious, and he sincerely answered the question, which is pretty cool.

Last time I looked, he was on Wizard's top ten comics writers, and that's pretty cool. He's also known as the writer who killed Captain America. Yep, he's that guy.  I remember that story making the newspapers and I'd hate to pigeon-hole Ed into that role, so I'll also say he's the writer who killed Captain America, but he also wrote The Authority, X-Men, Batman, Daredevil, Catwoman, and that Law and Order in Gotham series Gotham Central. He's a writing machine and ex juvenile delinquent who likes to go bowling on his rare occurrences of free time, Church. read more »

Apologies, as this news is now old.  Though I didn't see too many people discussing it here on The Cult.  My buddy Josh sent it my way.

It seems there was a real live fight club going on, right in the center of Union Sqaure in NYC late May.

The cops ended up stopping it, but still... this is wild.

Check Out The Story Here!