Hot Author To Read At Auntie’S

You may never have heard of him. But Portland writer Chuck Palahuniuk is currently the hottest thing to come out of Burbank, Wash. His debut novel, “The Fight Club,” was an immediate success, spawning a movie deal, potential publication in more than 30 countries and a gaggle of good reviews (including in Esquire magazine).

The movie, starring Brad Pitt and Helena Bonham Carter, is due out on the July 4 weekend.

His second novel, “Survivor” (Norton, 289 pages, $23.95), is getting almost as much attention.

The book, wrote Newsday reviewer Dan Cryer, “is a turbocharged, deliciously manic satire of contemporary American life. At once grim and hilarious, brooding and passionate, book-smart and street-savvy, it’s a bravura performance.”

To be specific, “Survivor” tells the tale of, Tender Bransom, the only survivor of a cult who, alone in a Boeing 747 only a few hours away from crashing, dictates the “story of everything that went wrong.”

But don’t take anyone else’s word for it. You can make up your own mind about Palahuniuk by showing up at Auntie’s Bookstore at 7:30 p.m. Thursday to hear him read.

By the way, Burbank is a small town located just southeast of the Tri-Cities.

Auntie’s, by contrast, is located on the northwest corner of Main and Washington in downtown Spokane. For further information, call 838-0206.

Calling all writers

For those of you who have been looking for a writing group to join, here’s one possibility. The Spokane Fiction Writers Group meets from noon to 4 p.m. on the first and third Saturdays of each month at the Argonne branch of the Spokane County Library, 4322 N. Argonne Road.

According to Steve Hughes, the group consists of about 20 members, eight to 10 of whom show up each time. Each meeting consists of members critiquing the manuscripts - fiction only, please, no poetry, nonfiction or plays - of those who attend.

“We prefer those who are really seriously interested in wanting to write fiction,” Hughes says, adding that only those who aren’t afraid of criticism should show up.

“Bring a thick skin,” he says.

For further information, call Joan Mochel at 466-2938.

Calling all poets

Idaho authors Robert Wrigley and Kim Barnes are scheduled to teach a one-day writing workshop on March 20 in Sandpoint. Wrigley, author of the poetry collection “In the Bank of Beautiful Sins,” will teach a morning poetry session. Barnes, author of the awardwinning memoir “In the Wilderness,” will teach a nonfiction session in the afternoon.

Wrigley and Barnes will give a reading of their respective works at 7:30 p.m. March 19 at the Page House, 506 N. 2nd Ave., Sandpoint. The event is free and open to the public.

Cost for each writing session is $12.50. For registration information, call Kerry Fitzharris at (208) 263-3821, e-mail kefitz@nidlink.com.

More rhymers in time

Mark your calendars all you lovers of poetry. Edward Dorn, one of the enduring practitioners of modern American poetry, will join Jennifer Dunbar Dorn in a reading of their respective works at 7 p.m. March 10 at the downtown branch of the Spokane Public Library, 906 W. Main.

Edward Dorn is the author of more than 30 collections of poetry and prose, and he teaches creative writing at the University of Colorado. Jennifer Dunbar Dorn is a writer, editor and filmmaker and author of “Cold War Cowboy: The Long Exile of Dean Reed.”

The reader board

James A. Glass, author of “Shanji,” will read from his book at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Auntie’s Bookstore, Main and Washington. For further information, call 838-0206.

Chuck Palahuniuk, author of “Survivor,” will read from his novel at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Auntie’s Bookstore.