"His catchy, jarring prose, cryptic pronouncements and baroque flights of imagination... make this twisted tale one of his most memorable works to date." We're once again in Chuck Palahniuk country, as noted in PW's starred review of his latest, Diary. Though Palahniuk's earlier novels Choke and Lullaby each spent three weeks on PW's fiction list, Diary's #4 debut is the author's highest landing to date. Doubleday's extensive marketing and publicity blitz, not surprisingly, features the customary media hits (features in EW, Vanity Fair, etc.) and interviews. But this time the publisher's getting considerable outside help, in the form of some 2,300 fans—from as far away as Australia—who have joined a "street team campaign," signing up via the novel's Web site, www.diary-book.com. In the campaign's first round, each street teamer was challenged to hang one poster in a creative place. The routine is similar in round two, with teamers "armed" with Diary buttons, stickers and postcards. (The grand prize? A goodie box put together by the author.) Also with the help of this unique PR force, Diary posters will be hung around New York City's East Village and stencils will be painted (with biodegradable paint) in assorted downtown locations. Palahniuk's cross-country tour, which continues through September 16, features a dizzying array of readings and related events. Doubleday reports just over 121,000 copies in print after two trips to press.
—With reporting by Dick Donahue
