Paul Collins (born January 12, 1969) is an

American writer American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry ...

, editor and Chair of English at

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two decad ...

, in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

.Portland State University: English - Contact
Retrieved on 06 January 2015 He is best known for his work with

McSweeney's McSweeney's Publishing is an American non-profit publishing house founded by Dave Eggers in 1998 and headquartered in San Francisco. Initially publishing the literary journal'' Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern'', the company has moved to ...

and '' The Believer'', as editor of the Collins Library imprint for McSweeney's Books, and for his appearances on National Public Radio's ''Weekend Edition Saturday'' with

Scott Simon Scott Simon (born March 16, 1952) is an American journalist and the host of ''Weekend Edition Saturday'' on NPR. Early life Simon was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of comedian Ernie Simon and actress Patricia Lyons.

. His own books deal primarily with quirky forgotten figures from history, sometimes interwoven with memoir.

Damian Kulash Damian Joseph Kulash Jr. (born October 7, 1975) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and music video director, best known for being the lead singer and guitarist of the American rock band OK Go. Early life and education Kulash was born in ...

of the band OK Go has stated that the chapter in Collins' book "Banvard's Folly" about

Augustus Pleasonton Augustus James Pleasonton, often called A. J. Pleasonton (January 21, 1808 – July 26, 1894), was a militia general during the American Civil War. He wrote the book ''The Influence of the Blue Ray of the Sunlight and of the Blue Color of the Sky' ...

's patent on blue light led to them naming their third album '' Of the Blue Colour of the Sky''.

Biography

Collins was born in 1969 in

Perkiomenville, Pennsylvania Perkiomenville is an unincorporated community that is located in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. History The community takes its name from nearby Perkiomen Creek. Geography Situated in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro ...

, and graduated from the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The inst ...

, and

College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III ...

. He is married to the children's author and illustrator Jennifer Elder. He is the parent of an autistic child and is known for his writings on the subject of autism. His book on the subject, ''Not Even Wrong'', was adapted by

Oliver Goldstick Oliver Goldstick (born January 9, 1961) is an American television screenwriter and executive producer, working on Netflix’s new series Bridgerton. Prior to this, Goldstick launched High School Musical: The Series for Disney + and spent seven y ...

into the play ''Wild Boy''. Collins was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2009.Paul Collins

Books

* ''Community Writing: Researching Social Issues Through Composition'' (Erlbaum, 2001) * ''Banvard's Folly: Thirteen Tales of Renowned Obscurity, Famous Anonymity, and Rotten Luck'' (Picador USA, 2001) * ''Sixpence House: Lost in a Town of Books'' (Bloomsbury, 2003) * ''Not Even Wrong: Adventures in Autism'' (Bloomsbury, 2004) * ''The Trouble with Tom: The Strange Afterlife and Times of Thomas Paine'' (Bloomsbury, 2005) * ''The Book of William: How Shakespeare's First Folio Conquered the World'' (Bloomsbury, 2009) * ''The Murder of the Century: The Gilded Age Crime That Scandalized a City and Sparked the Tabloid Wars'' (Crown, 2011) * ''Duel With the Devil: The True Story of How Alexander Hamilton And Aaron Burr Teamed Up to Take On America's First Sensational Murder Mystery'' (Crown, 2013) * ''Edgar Allan Poe: The Fever Called Living'' (New Harvest, 2014) * ''Blood & Ivy: The 1849 Murder That Scandalized Harvard'' (W W Norton & Company, 2018)

References

External links

Identity Theory interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Paul 1969 births Living people American male writers Writers from Pennsylvania McSweeney's University of California, Davis alumni College of William & Mary alumni Portland State University faculty People from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania