What Would You Ask Chuck Palahniuk?

What: Chuck Palahniuk promoting his forthcoming novel, Snuff
When: May 21st, 7:00pm
Where: Triple Rock, 18+
Cost: $30.00, and you leave with a signed copy of Snuff
Why should you go? Because it's Chuck-freakin'-Palahniuk!

Why else should you go?  Because the event, brought to you by Magers & Quinn, will be hosted by Yours Truly.  I am out of my mind with excitement about this!  The nice folks at Magers & Quinn (a fellow named Jay, in fact) emailed me a few weeks ago, asking if I'd be interested in hosting Mr. Palahniuk's appearance.  I don't think I took a single breath while replying to the message with an emphatic "YES!"

The format for the Q&A portion of the evening isn't finalized yet, so I thought I'd ask you guys what you would ask Chuck Palahniuk.  I've seen him read before when he was promoting Stranger Than Fiction, and the questions that the audience came up with were super lame.  We haven't figured out if it's going to be a Chuck-selecting-people-from-the-audience situation, or if I'm gonna go all James Lipton on his superstar ass.

In the event of the latter: What would you ask Chuck Palahniuk?

Comments

[Rob Hoefer]

Ask him if this is true:
Palahniuk has mentioned at book readings that he is working on a musical based on Fight Club with David Fincher and Trent Reznor. Brad Pitt, who played the role of Tyler Durden in the film, has expressed interest in also being involved.

Also:
What was the last event that he attended that the Cacophony Society held.

[danielle]

Super jealous of you.

If I could (and I've been wanting to know the answer to this for a while now) ask Chuck Palahniuk a question it would be this: If he plans on publishing more nonfiction books.

His nonfiction is probably the best I've read (though nobody tops E.B. White), and I would love to read more of it.

[StoopidNoodle]

I would ask him about the influence of European philosophers on his books. There is an uncanny resemblance to Zizekian analysis and his books. Speaking of which, I might ask him if he plans any new fiction (not the same as new books). All of his stories are now too similar to be anything but formulaic.

[Ironic]

I got three you can use:

1. Is he still embarrassed/ashamed/frustrated over what happend with the Karen Valby interview in 2003 as well as the subsequent recording posted on his website?

2. Is it getting harder to write "The Hidden Gun" in each novel as fans have started expecting it?

3. How has he been able to keep a minimalist style when so many people have worked toward using an overabundance of vocabualary and description?

[Bexley]

All I ask is that if anybody asking a question uses the phrase, "...because, as a writer myself..." you walk out into the audience and slap them silly.

[Alexis]

Good questions, everyone. Thanks!

Ironic, I've wondered about the "hidden gun" thing, too. One is barely hidden on page 25 of Snuff, but I'm hoping that's the decoy--it was that obvious--and that there's at least one more.