Zen Mind Fiction Workshop Returns in September. 
If you missed the summer session, this is your chance
to take our fastest on-ramp to craft proficiency.

Dear Cult Writer of the Future,

You may recall the letter I wrote to you in late June.  This letter challenged you to let go of excuses and to escape the gravity well of inertia and self-doubt--all those forces that have prevented you, so far, from a new level of success and satisfaction as a writer.

It's part of our mission here at Chuck-Palahniuk dot Net to help readers become writers and writers become authors.  We know you have it in you.  I can say that with confidence, because you're the sort of bright and talented person who visits and reads this Web site in the first place.  When you're not visiting us, you sometimes read and appreciate... gasp...  books!  While others remain lost in video games or television shows, you're already prone to a  form of entertainment that engages your mind and imagination in a different way, calling for a deeper participation and a lasting response.

We're moving distinctly into the homestretch now with our Anthology Project. The stories linked below are top selections from October, 2009 (yes, we're a little behind). Be sure to read Chuck's commentaries, as each set of notes contains illuminating lessons in the writer's craft.

Face Space by Brandon Tietz

Control by Chris Smith

Paper by Gayle Gossett

Dumb Muscle by Gus Moreno

Dyer by Richard Thomas

Congratulations to all the winners!

If you'd like to participate in our ground-breaking workshop, read exclusive How To craft essays from Chuck and just network and meet other writers,

Join Our Writer's Workshop

This is pretty spectacular.  It's by an artist named Dave MacDowell.  To check out more of his work, visit:

The Acryllic Paintings of Dave MacDowell

He's also got a store on that site where you can buy prints.

Props to @omfgthelife on Twitter for pointing this one out.

How's this for an endorsement!?  imjustinescolon , one of our site members, just showed us how much she loves the Invisible Monsters Tshirt Kevin Tong designed for us... by having it tattooed on her thigh!

If you like the design, but aren't ready to tattoo it on ya just yet, you can Buy The Shirt Here.

This is one of the better trailer spoofs I've ever seen. Imagine a version of Ferris Bueller's Day Off where Ferris was all in Cameron's mind... sort of like someone else we know.

This was inspired by an article SlashFilm ran last year.

Video Props: ClassyHands

Our favorite affiliate, St. Helen's Book Shop, is the best place to not only order Chuck Palahniuk books online, but to also have them personally signed and inscribed to you by the man himself!  (yes, Chuck visits the store quite frequently to fulfill online inscription requests).  Usually our promotions for St. Helen's Book Shop have to do with a new novel, but this time, Chuck is signing copies of an anthology of short stories edited by Neil Gaiman!  The anthology features a short story Chuck read on tour in the past called The Loser.

Here are the details from St. Helen's themselves.  (and hurry, they only have 100 of these!)

*****

From July 6 - July 13, all of our Fight Club Tshirts are on sale for only $15.  These shirts were designed by top L.A. designer, Kevin Tong.  The make is Next Level Apparel and they are available in all sizes in both Men's and Women's.

The Men's shirts come in Cornflower Blue and Cream.  The Women's come in Cornflower Blue and Pink.

Check out the design in a high-rez close-up.

*Tshirts will ship within 1 week of your order.

Order Your Shirts Here!

Model For Us! Snap a pic of yourself wearing your Tshirt upon receipt and we'll post it on our site!  Send your pic(s) to submissions@chuckpalahniuk.net and be sure to include your name, as you'd like it credited.

Order Your Shirts Here!

Dear Unknown Cult Writer,

We understand that you're something more than a Palahniuk fan, that your literary tastes are wide and varied, and you habituate The Cult for the company of equally articulate souls. Sometime curmudgeon, sometime enthusiast, and sometimes both, you entertain with your forum posts and make friends well. Your generosity isn't obscured by the occasional dark turn of mood or minor topical quibbling. Maybe you’ve endeared yourself to the community here with casual posting, or maybe you’ve only lurked and read things and admired or disputed silently against this multiplicity of voices. But you've hesitated to take that additional step toward our Workshop and the many writing intensives and master classes we've offered in recent years, and this is something that gnaws at you a bit. If it doesn't, then go directly to General Discussion and read or post anything. But if I've piqued your curiosity at all, then I'm talking directly to you. This letter is dedicated explicitly to those who've felt the urge but not the readiness to join our Writing Community.

The website needs an Assistant to help out with Merchandise.  Yes, the we have a Store feature.  It's not a big section and we don't make nearly enough to survive off, but it helps the site pay for server fees and whatnot, and it's a great way to promote Chuck's work.  Problem is, it's a ton of work for just one person and presently, that person is Mirka Hodurova, my longtime partner on the site.

So this person we choose for this Assistant position would be working directly with Mirka out of her apartment in Oakland, CA.

Here is what we are looking for in this position:

• 1 person to be a merchandise assistant.
• This person must live in or around the Oakland, CA area and be able to drive to Mirka's apartment.
• This person will help out with folding shirts, organizing merchandise, doing Post Office runs, ordering supplies, packaging orders, and even filing orders with sites like Stamps.com and USPS.com's 'Click 'N Ship'.
• This person must be very organized and enthusiastic.

Other details:

• This is a non-paying job (for now).  So you'd be doing this for your love of the website (you do love us, right??)
• You are not working for Chuck Palahniuk.  Chuck has nothing to do with this position nor does he administer or work on the website himself.
• You'd also be added to our Staff page, so this position would help out if you were looking to enhance your resume in anyway.
• Mirka is notoriously generous too, so expect lots of free shirts, random books and a meal.  (and beer if you are over 21!)

If you'd like to apply for this position, please send us a passionate, awesome, clever email to assistant@chuckpalahniuk.net telling us why you're the right person.  We're looking to fulfill this position by early July sometime.

Check out this minimalist Fight Club poster by Pedro Vidotto.

You can see more of Pedro's awesome posters at Trendland.net.