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Jason Pargin

Jason Keith Pargin (born January 10, 1975) is an American humor writer and novelist who formerly wrote under the name David Wong. He is the former executive editor of humor website Cracked.com.

Jason Pargin
BornJason Keith Pargin
(1975-01-10) January 10, 1975 (age 49)
Lawrenceville, Illinois, U.S.
Pen nameDavid Wong
Occupation
  • Humor writer
  • novelist
Alma materSouthern Illinois University
Period2007–present
Genre
Subject
Notable worksJohn Dies at the End
Signature
Website
johndiesattheend.com

Pargin is best known for his 2007 novel John Dies at the End, which was adapted into a 2012 film of the same name. Alongside John Dies at the End and its three sequels, Pargin has also authored three books in the Zoey Ashe series and one standalone novel, I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom.

Early life

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Jason Keith Pargin was born in Lawrenceville, Illinois, on January 10, 1975.[1] He and fellow Internet writer John Cheese (real name Mack Leighty) attended high school together and met during an art class they shared.[2] Pargin then attended the Southern Illinois University (SIU) radio-television program, graduating in 1997.[3] While at SIU, he was part of a student-run TV show on Alt.news 26:46 called Consumer Advocate. A number of episodes were produced.[4]

Pointless Waste of Time and Cracked.com

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In 1999, Pargin started the humor site Pointless Waste of Time (PWOT), which would eventually be absorbed into Cracked.com.[5] While working as a copy editor at a law firm, Pargin would spend his days copy editing insurance claims and nights posting humor articles on PWOT. Every Halloween on the site he wrote a new chapter of an online story that he published as a webserial.[6] An estimated 70,000 people read the free online versions before they were removed in September 2008. Pargin used the feedback from people reading each episode of the webserial to tweak what would eventually become the book, John Dies at the End.[5]

Demand Media hired Pargin to be the head editor for their revamped online magazine, Cracked.com, although Demand was not aware of Pargin's book deal.[6] As part of the deal, he merged PWOT into the Cracked forums. Pargin has described a disconnection between the old Cracked print magazine and the humor site Cracked.com due to multiple relaunches and almost entirely new staff.[7] As a child, he read Cracked magazine's biggest competitor, Mad magazine.[7]

In a popular article published at Cracked.com, Pargin coined the neologism "monkeysphere" which introduces the concept of Dunbar's number in a humorous manner.[8] Pargin referred to Dunbar's number again in his second novel, This Book Is Full of Spiders.[9]

David Wong pseudonym

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When Pargin started PWOT, he took on the pseudonym of David Wong to keep his real and online lives separate. Since much of his writing involved situations similar to his real life, he did not want co-workers and his employers to think that his rants about fictional characters were inspired by real people. The origin of the name was a character from one of his first short stories:[10]

It's not a very interesting story, 'David Wong' was the villain in a story I had written way back in the day, so when I was signing up for my first online accounts in 1998 I started using it. Then when hate mail started coming in with a bunch of racist anti-Chinese insults, I realized I had either gone badly wrong or badly right.

After his book and movie deal, his real name became common knowledge, but Pargin accepted it, saying, "It's not like I'm under the Witness Protection program or anything. I was just trying to keep things simple in my personal life."[7]

In late 2020, Pargin announced that he was retiring the pseudonym, with future editions of his works being published under his real name instead.[11]

Published works

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Pargin's first novel John Dies at the End was at first rejected by publishers, and he considered withdrawing it from consideration until indie horror publisher Permuted Press agreed to publish it in 2007.[12] A second edition by Thomas Dunne Books was published with additional material as a hardcover on September 29, 2009.[13][14] Three further novels in the series have been published: This Book Is Full of Spiders (2012), What the Hell Did I Just Read (2017) and If This Book Exists, You're in the Wrong Universe (2022).[15]

Pargin published the first book of the Zoey Ashe series in 2015, Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits. He has since published two further novels in the series: Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick (2020) and Zoey is Too Drunk for This Dystopia (2023).[16]

Pargin published his first standalone novel in 2024, I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom.[17]

Adaptations

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After enjoying some success John Dies at the End came to the attention of Don Coscarelli, who decided to adapt it as a film.[12] In 2007, Coscarelli optioned the film rights.[18] Filming took place from late 2010 until January 2011 at locations in Southern California.[19] The film, starring Chase Williamson, Rob Mayes, Clancy Brown, and Paul Giamatti, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2012. It also played on March 12, 2012, at South by Southwest, in Austin, Texas.[20][21][22]

Personal life

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Pargin is married and has a dog.[23] He lived in Marion, Illinois,[24][25] until 2014, when he moved to Nashville.[citation needed]

Bibliography

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John Dies at the End series (also known as the John and Dave series)

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  • Wong, David (2007). John Dies at the End. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 9780312659141.
  • Wong, David (2012). This Book Is Full of Spiders: Seriously, Dude, Don't Touch It. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 9780312546342.
  • Wong, David (2017). What the Hell Did I Just Read. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 9781250040206.
  • Pargin, Jason (2022). If This Book Exists, You're in the Wrong Universe. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 9781250195821.

Zoey Ashe series

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Standalone

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Wong, David, 1975 January 10-". Library of Congress. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
  2. ^ Cheese, John (2012). "Is there an origins story to your pseudonym"John Cheese"?". johncheesecracked.tumblr.com. Archived from the original on October 22, 2013. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
  3. ^ Mileur, Eli (February 22, 2012). "SIU grad makes it big with comedy website". The Daily Egyptian. Archived from the original on September 11, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
  4. ^ Consumer Advocate (1996). "alt.news – Consumer Advocate – etch (1996 season one)". Alt.news cable TV. Archived from the original on January 29, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
  5. ^ a b Lee, Jodi (November 7, 2010). "Inter-review Sunday: David Wong & JDatE". Archived from the original on December 28, 2014. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
  6. ^ a b Mileur, Eli (February 22, 2012). "SIU grad makes it big with comedy website". The Daily Egyptian. Archived from the original on September 11, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
  7. ^ a b c Adhominem (2012). "The many dimensions of David Wong". Adhominem. Archived from the original on April 16, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
  8. ^ Pargin, Jason (September 30, 2007). "Inside the Monkeysphere". Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  9. ^ Roseman, Josh (February 19, 2013). "Book Review: This Book is Full of Spiders: Seriously, Dude, Don't Touch It by David Wong". Escape Pod. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
  10. ^ "r/BestofCracked - Comment by u/JasonDavidWongPargin on "I am Cracked Executive Editor David Wong aka Jason Pargin, I just wrote an article about the true meaning of Christmas, Ask Me Anything"". reddit. December 22, 2014. Archived from the original on October 30, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  11. ^ "Update: As I mentioned back in December, I'm retiring the David Wong pseudonym as of the next release (the paperback of Zoey this October), we're also re-releasing all of my other books under my real name, I don't have the exact dates yet for those". Jason "David Wong" Pargin. Twitter. February 23, 2021. Archived from the original on February 23, 2021. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  12. ^ a b Wong, David (September 25, 2011). "John Dies at the End Teaser Trailer". Cracked. Archived from the original on May 12, 2015. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
  13. ^ Publishers Weekly (July 13, 2009). "Fiction review". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
  14. ^ Wong, David (September 29, 2009). "September 29, 2009". johndiesattheend.com. Archived from the original on September 7, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
  15. ^ "John Dies at the End". Macmillan Publishers. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
  16. ^ "Zoey Ashe". Macmillan Publishers.
  17. ^ "I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom: A Novel". Macmillan Publishers. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
  18. ^ Quint (October 21, 2010). "Quint knows what Don Coscarelli's new movie is! And more importantly he knows Paul Giamatti and The Kurgan are in it!". Ain't It Cool News. Archived from the original on December 5, 2010. Retrieved January 12, 2011.
  19. ^ "11 Filming locations for John Dies at the End". Things On TV. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
  20. ^ Labrecque, Jeff (January 24, 2012). "Sundance: 'Bubba Ho-Tep' director back with a vengeance – VIDEO". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 12, 2015. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
  21. ^ Sundance Film Festival (December 19, 2011). "Four Additional Films Selected for 2012 Sundance Film Festival". Sundance Film Festival. Archived from the original on September 28, 2014. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
  22. ^ South by Southwest (2012). "John Dies At The End". South by Southwest. Archived from the original on May 17, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
  23. ^ Pargin, Jason. "About Jason Pargin AKA David Wong". Retrieved September 20, 2024.
  24. ^ McCormick, Luke (November 30, 2009). "Wong writes way into Hollywood". The Daily Egyptian. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
  25. ^ Testa, Adam (January 16, 2011). "'Cracked' Up: Local author finds niche in humor market". The Southern Illinoisan. Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
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