- His father was murdered in the mountains outside Kendrick, Idaho. The body was found, shot, next to the body of a woman, in a burned-down garage. At the trial of the man who murdered him, it came out that his father had answered a personal ad placed by a woman whose ex-husband had threatened to kill her and any man that he ever found her with.
- Has said he prefers the film version of ''Fight Club'' to his novel.
- Many of Tyler Durden's lines of dialogue and actions are based on things his friends have said and done. For instance, he based Tyler's habit of inserting frames from pornography films into Children's films on a High school friend with whom he worked as a projectionist.
- His brother Matt is a Chemical engineer for Chevron and gave him details for making explosives in ''Fight Club''.
- Many of the details of support meetings in 'Fight Club' are based on his own experiences driving terminally ill people to meetings.
- Based Project Mayhem in 'Fight Club' on the Cacophony Society, a prank group of which he was briefly a member.
- Wrote his 2011 novel 'Damned' as a way of coping with his mother's death.
- His first novel ''Invisible Monsters'' was rejected by publishers for being too disturbing. This led him to write ''Fight Club'' as he wanted to create a novel that would disturb publishers even more.
- His influences include Friedrich Nietzsche, Bret Easton Ellis, Ken Kesey, Soren Kierkegaard, Albert Camus, Denis Johnson, and Tom Spanbauer, to whom he attributes his minimalist style.
- Once read an entire book on serial killers for a single page in his novel ''Lullaby''.
- Based many of the characters in ''Fight Club'', both major and minor, on people he knew from work and his years as a hospice worker.
- A film version of his book Survivor was in the works at 20th Century Fox (with names like Trent Reznor, Nicole Kidman, and Marilyn Manson attached), but was taken off the development slate as a result of the 9/11 tragedy. The framing sequence of the novel involves an airplane hijacking and subsequent crash.
- Coined the term "Suicide Girl" to describe women in Portland, Oregon whose Gothic fashion sense clashed with their friendly personalities. This later became the name of a famous website and inspired a trend.
- Favorite film is Session 9 (2001).
- Did not start writing until he was in his mid-thirties.
- Was offered to write the screenplay for 'Fight Club' but turned it down.
- In 'Fight Club', named Tyler Durden after a character from a Walt Disney film, 'Toby Tyler (1960)' and a co-worker who left his job among sexual harassment accusations. Named the character Marla Singer after a girl in school named Marla who used to bully and beat up his sister Sean.
- Wrote his book ''Lullaby'' as a way of coping with his father's murder and thinking about whether or not his killer deserved the Death penalty.
- Has said that he doesn't follow a strict schedule and only writes when inspired.
- He started writing after attending a workshop so he could make new friends.
- Wrote much of 'Fight Club' while attending work meetings that he found dull.
- Used to work as a mechanic for Freightliner and wrote manuals on fixing trucks.
- One of his favorite books is ''The Informers'' by Bret Easton Ellis.
- He is very detailed and calls his writing style "Drowning in Detail".
- After quitting his job as a Journalist, he volunteered at a homeless shelter and a hospice.
- Lives with his partner in Vancouver, Washington.
- Continues writing his novels in Portland, Oregon (where in his book "Fugitives & Refugees" he states that you can find him at many of his favorite restaurants) (August 2003)
- Wrote ''Fight Club'' after his first novel ''Invisible Monsters'' was rejected.
- Though he is notoriously closemouthed about his personal life, Palahniuk did reveal in a 2013 Reddit AMA ("Ask Me Anything") that his longtime boyfriend's first name is Mike.
- Suffers from Agoraphobia.
- Palahniuk's longtime literary agent is Edward Hibbert of the literary agency Donadio & Olson. In addition to negotiating Palahniuk's book contracts, Hibbert has also handled the film deals for his books, including Fight Club and Choke. Outside of the publishing world, though, Hibbert is better known for his other job as an actor in movies, TV shows, and plays; his most famous role was Gil Chesterton on Frasier, and he has appeared in such Broadway shows as "The Drowsy Chaperone," "Curtains," and "Mrs. Warren's Profession.".
- Gets back from a book tour on October the 12th, where 20th Century Fox has a contract waiting for him to sign. "Survivor" will be a movie. (October 2004)
- His favorite writer is Amy Hempel.
- Biography/bibliography in: "Contemporary Authors". New Revision Series, Volume 171, pages 311-317. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Cengage Learning, 2008.
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