Michael Collins (Irish author)
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Michael Collins (born 1964) is an Irish novelist and also an international ultra-distance runner. He is a current member of the Irish National Team for the 100k distance (62.2 miles).
Collins grew up in Limerick, Ireland and attended St Munchin's Boarding School in Limerick. He is a distant relative of the Irish patriot Michael Collins. In 1983 he was awarded an athletic scholarship to the University of Notre Dame, where he earned his undergraduate degree and a Masters of Fine Arts. He then earned a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Chicago 1997.
Collins is the author of eight books, including novels and short stories which have been translated into twenty languages. His work has garnered numerous awards, including Irish Novel of the Year, along with being shortlisted for both the Man Booker Prize and Impac Prize, and his work has been twice selected for inclusion in the New York Times Notable Books of the Year.
Current adapations of his novels include The Resurrectionists to be directed by John Madden.
Lost Souls is currently being adapted by A Film Monkey Production.
A screenplay Collins adapted for director, Erick Zonka, titled, Julia is in post-production and stars Tilda Swinton.
In recognition of the help he received during his early years, Collins sponsors numourous writing prizes. This year he sponsored The Dowagaic Writing Prize, awarding high-schoolers in three categories, fiction, poetry and photography. He also sponsored The Brisbane Writers' High-School Prize, again awarding prizes for fiction, poetry and photography. The emphasis, or theme for these prizes focuses on "home" or "place".
[edit] Works
- The Meat Eaters,(short stories) 1992
- The Life and Times of a Teaboy, 1993
- The Feminists Go Swimming, 1994
- Emerald Underground, 1998
- The Keepers of Truth, 2000
- The Resurrectionists, 2003
- Lost Souls, 2004
- Death of a Writer (British title: The Secret Life of E. Robert Pendleton), 2006
[edit] Athletic achievement
Collins has raced the marathon and ultra-marathon distance at the South and North Pole, on Mount Everest and Sahara desert. In 2007, he finished 5th at the USA (USATF) 50 Mile Trail National Championships, and was the USA Masters National Champion Runner-Up. A current member of the Irish National team at the 100k distance, he is set to race at the World Championships in the Netherlands in September 2007.
Collins' endurance and extreme running races have also centered on humanitarian awareness, raising money for various causes and charities as he participates in these extreme events.
