Paul Collins is an American writer

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, editor and associate professor of English at Portland State University

Portland State University

Portland State University is a public state urban university located in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1946, it has the largest overall enrollment of any university in the state of Oregon, including undergraduate and graduate students. It is also the only public university in...

. He is best known for his work with McSweeney's

McSweeney's

McSweeney's is an American publishing house founded by editor Dave Eggers.Apart from its book list, McSweeney's is responsible for four regular publications: the quarterly literary journal,...

 and The Believer

The Believer (magazine)

The Believer is a United States literary magazine that also covers other arts and general culture. Founded and designed in 2003 by the writer and publisher Dave Eggers, it is edited by Vendela Vida, Heidi Julavits and Ed Park...

, as editor of the Collins Library

Collins Library

The Collins Library is an imprint of McSweeney's Books that publishes unusual out-of-print books. The imprint is named for its editor, Paul Collins.-Publications:...

 imprint for McSweeney's Books, and for his appearances on National Public Radio's Weekend Edition Saturday with Scott Simon

Scott Simon

Scott Simon is an American journalist and the host of Weekend Edition Saturday on National Public Radio.- Life and career :...

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

Damian Kulash

Damian Joseph Kulash Jr. is the lead singer and guitarist for Chicago-based rock band OK Go.-Early life:Born in Washington D.C., USA, Kulash graduated from St. Albans School in 1994, and later Brown University in 1998 with a concentration in Art-Semiotics. The family name was originally "Kulas"...

 of the band OK Go

OK Go

OK Go is a rock band originally from Chicago, Illinois, USA, now residing in Los Angeles, California, USA. The band is composed of Damian Kulash , Tim Nordwind , Dan Konopka and Andy Ross , who joined them in 2005, replacing Andy Duncan...

 has stated that the chapter in Collins' book "Banvard's Folly" about Augustus Pleasonton

Augustus Pleasonton

Augustus James Pleasonton, often called A. J. Pleasonton , was a General during the American Civil War. He wrote the pseudo-scientific book The Influence Of The Blue Ray Of The Sunlight And Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky, which was published in 1876. His book is often attributed to being the birth...

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

Of the Blue Colour of the Sky

Of the Blue Colour of the Sky is the third studio album by American rock band OK Go. It was released on January 12, 2010 on Capitol Records in the USA and EMI in the UK, and re-released on the band's independent label Paracadute Records on April 1. After the band's split with EMI and Capitol,...

.

Collins is the parent of an autistic child and is known for his writings on the subject of autism

Autism

Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...

. His book on the subject, Not Even Wrong, was adapted by Oliver Goldstick

Oliver Goldstick

Oliver Goldstick is an American television screenwriter and producer.Most notably, Goldstick was the creator and executive producer of Inconceivable, a short-lived medical drama...

 into the play Wild Boy.

He is a graduate of the University of California, Davis

University of California, Davis

The University of California, Davis is a public teaching and research university established in 1905 and located in Davis, California, USA. Spanning over , the campus is the largest within the University of California system and third largest by enrollment...

 and College of William and Mary

College of William and Mary

The College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States...

. He is married to the children's author and illustrator Jennifer Elder

Jennifer Elder

Jennifer Elder is an American author, illustrator, and assistant editor for the Collins Library. She graduated from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1990. The mother of an autistic son, she has written two books for autistic children: Different Like Me and Autistic Planet...

.

Books

• Community Writing: Researching Social Issues Through Composition (Erlbaum, 2001) ISBN 0-8058-3834-1
• Banvard's Folly: Thirteen Tales of Renowned Obscurity, Famous Anonymity, and Rotten Luck (Picador USA, 2001) ISBN 0-312-26886-6
• Sixpence House: Lost in a Town of Books (Bloomsbury, 2003) ISBN 1-58234-284-9
• Not Even Wrong: Adventures in Autism (Bloomsbury, 2004) ISBN 1-58234-367-5
• The Trouble with Tom: The Strange Afterlife and Times of Thomas Paine (Bloomsbury, 2005) ISBN 1-58234-502-3
• The Book of William: How Shakespeare's First Folio Conquered the World (Bloomsbury, 2009) ISBN 1-59691-195-6
• The Murder of the Century: The Gilded Age Crime That Scandalized a City and Sparked the Tabloid Wars (Crown, 2011) ISBN 978-0307592200

External links

• Identity Theory interview