Jason Pargin Explained

Jason Pargin
Pseudonym:David Wong
Birth Name:Jason Keith Pargin
Birth Date:10 January 1975
Birth Place:Lawrenceville, Illinois, U.S.
Alma Mater:Southern Illinois University
Period:2007–present
Notableworks:John Dies at the End
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Page Display Name:Jason Pargin, author
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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.

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

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 called Consumer Advocate. A number of episodes were produced.[4]

Pointless Waste of Time and Cracked.com

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.

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. 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

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]

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

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

After enjoying some success John Dies at the End came to the attention of Don Coscarelli, who decided to adapt it as a film. 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

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

Bibliography

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

Zoey Ashe series

Standalone

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Wong, David, 1975 January 10- . 2024-09-20 . Library of Congress.
  2. Web site: 2012 . Is there an origins story to your pseudonym"John Cheese"? . johncheesecracked.tumblr.com . May 12, 2012 . Cheese . John . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131022094128/http://johncheesecracked.tumblr.com/post/14361454593/is-there-an-origins-story-to-your-pseudonym-john . October 22, 2013 . mdy .
  3. Web site: Mileur . Eli . February 22, 2012 . SIU grad makes it big with comedy website . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20140911161741/http://dailyegyptian.com/siu-grad-makes-it-big-with-comedy-website/ . September 11, 2014 . May 22, 2012 . The Daily Egyptian.
  4. Web site: 1996. alt.news – Consumer Advocate – etch (1996 season one). Alt.news cable TV. May 22, 2012. Consumer Advocate. January 29, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140129191120/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzhEHqCaCsA. live.
  5. Web site: November 7, 2010. Inter-review Sunday: David Wong & JDatE. May 12, 2012. Lee. Jodi. December 28, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141228131437/http://jodilee.sacredtriskele.net/?p=1198. live.
  6. Web site: February 22, 2012. SIU grad makes it big with comedy website. The Daily Egyptian. May 22, 2012. Mileur. Eli. September 11, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140911161741/http://dailyegyptian.com/siu-grad-makes-it-big-with-comedy-website/. live.
  7. Web site: 2012. The many dimensions of David Wong. Adhominem. May 12, 2012. Adhominem. April 16, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120416025405/http://adhominem.weebly.com/01182011.html. live.
  8. Web site: Pargin . Jason . September 30, 2007 . Inside the Monkeysphere . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210511035235/https://www.cracked.com/article_14990_what-monkeysphere.html . May 11, 2021 . 2007-12-25.
  9. Web site: Roseman . Josh . 2013-02-19 . Book Review: This Book is Full of Spiders: Seriously, Dude, Don’t Touch It by David Wong . 2024-09-20 . Escape Pod . en-US.
  10. Web site: December 22, 2014 . 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" . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20161030202028/https://m.reddit.com/r/BestofCracked/comments/2q2rck/comment/cn2a2y8 . October 30, 2016 . October 30, 2016 . reddit.
  11. Web site: 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.. February 23, 2021. Jason "David Wong" Pargin. Twitter. February 25, 2021. February 23, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210223182523/https://twitter.com/JohnDiesattheEn/status/1364279878405795843. live.
  12. Web site: September 25, 2011. John Dies at the End Teaser Trailer. Cracked. May 12, 2012. Wong. David. May 12, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150512003425/http://www.cracked.com/article_19477_john-dies-at-end-teaser-trailer.html. live.
  13. July 13, 2009. Fiction review. Publishers Weekly. May 12, 2012. Publishers Weekly. September 24, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150924120349/http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-312-55513-9. live.
  14. Web site: September 29, 2009. September 29, 2009. johndiesattheend.com. May 12, 2012. Wong. David. dead. https://archive.today/20120907184030/http://www.johndiesattheend.com/updates/?p=471. September 7, 2012. mdy-all.
  15. Web site: John Dies at the End . 2024-09-20 . Macmillan Publishers.
  16. Web site: Zoey Ashe . Macmillan Publishers.
  17. Web site: I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom: A Novel . 2024-09-20 . Macmillan Publishers.
  18. Web site: 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! . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20101205101119/http://www.aintitcool.com/node/47146 . December 5, 2010 . January 12, 2011 . Ain't It Cool News.
  19. Web site: 11 Filming locations for John Dies at the End . 2024-09-20 . Things On TV . en.
  20. Labrecque . Jeff . January 24, 2012 . Sundance: 'Bubba Ho-Tep' director back with a vengeance – VIDEO . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20150112032418/http://insidemovies.ew.com/2012/01/24/sundance-john-dies-at-the-end/ . January 12, 2015 . May 12, 2012 . Entertainment Weekly.
  21. Web site: Sundance Film Festival . Sundance Film Festival . December 19, 2011 . Four Additional Films Selected for 2012 Sundance Film Festival . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20140928041716/http://www.sundance.org/press-center/release/four-additional-films-selected-for-2012-sundance-film-festival/ . September 28, 2014 . May 12, 2012 . Sundance Film Festival.
  22. Web site: South by Southwest . South by Southwest . 2012 . John Dies At The End . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120517165348/http://schedule.sxsw.com/2012/events/event_FS12646 . May 17, 2012 . May 12, 2012 . South by Southwest.
  23. Web site: Pargin . Jason . About Jason Pargin AKA David Wong . 2024-09-20 . en-US.
  24. Web site: McCormick . Luke . November 30, 2009 . Wong writes way into Hollywood . dead . https://archive.today/20130118125129/http://www.browndailyherald.com/mobile/se/daily-egyptian/a-e/wong-writes-way-into-hollywood-1.2108497 . January 18, 2013 . May 22, 2012 . The Daily Egyptian.
  25. Web site: Testa . Adam . January 16, 2011 . 'Cracked' Up: Local author finds niche in humor market . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20181215174655/https://thesouthern.com/entertainment/books-and-literature/article_6fa3274a-212d-11e0-896c-001cc4c002e0.html . December 15, 2018 . May 21, 2012 . The Southern Illinoisan.

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