Mark Z. Danielewski – American novelist of postmodern fiction, best known for House of Leaves and the experimental saga The Familiar. Born in New York into an artistic family (his father was a filmmaker, his sister Poe a musician), he became known for “paper labyrinths”: books with shifting typography, coloured fonts and dense footnotes that turn reading into an immersive puzzle.
✨ House of Leaves became a cult object even before publication, circulating in photocopies. 📖 His sister Poe’s album Haunted was conceived as a companion piece. 🎓 Studied English literature at Yale and philosophy at Berkeley. 🎬 Worked as an editor and screenwriter before turning to novels. 📚 His style is described as “ergodic literature,” demanding effort from the reader. 🌌 Planned 27 volumes of The Familiar, but only 5 were released. 🌀 Has a devoted fan base that dissects every typographic twist online. 🖋️ Says he doesn’t write stories but “experiences” readers must undergo. 🙃 Quirk: publishers initially rejected House of Leaves as “unprintable.” 😄 Amusing: admitted his cat walked over the keyboard, and he kept some random symbols in the final draft.