Michael Collins (Irish author)

Michael Collins (born 4 June 1964) is an Irish novelist and international ultra-distance runner. His novel The Keepers of Truth was shortlisted for the 2000 Booker Prize.[1] He has also won the Kerry Ingredients Irish Novel of the Year Award and the Lucien Barriere Literary Prize at the Deauville American Film Festival.[2][3]

Early life and education

Collins was born in Limerick.[4] He earned an athletic scholarship to University of Notre Dame and received a master's degree from Oxford University.[4] He has a doctorate from the University of Illinois Chicago.[4]

Athletics

A former member of the Irish National Team for the 100k distance (62.2 miles),[5] Collins holds the Irish national masters record over the 100k distance. As captain of the Irish National Team in 2010,[6] he won a bronze medal at the World 100k Championships held in Gibraltar. He has also won The 100-mile Himalayan Stage Race and The Mount Everest Challenge Marathon, along with The Last Marathon in Antarctica, and The North Pole Marathon.[7]

Works

  • The Meat Eaters (short stories, also published as The Man who Dreamt of Lobsters), 1992
  • The Life and Times of a Teaboy, 1993[8]
  • The Feminists Go Swimming, 1994, ISBN 9781897580080[9]
  • Emerald Underground, 1998[10]
  • The Keepers of Truth, 2000[11]
  • The Resurrectionists, 2003
  • Lost Souls, 2004
  • Death of a Writer (British title: The Secret Life of E. Robert Pendleton), 2006
  • Midnight in a Perfect Life (British title), 2010
  • The New Existence (British title: The Death of all Things Seen), 2016

References

  1. ^ Moseley, Merritt (2001). "The Booker Prize for 2000". The Sewanee Review. 109 (3): 438–446. JSTOR 27549063.
  2. ^ "Michael Collins | The Booker Prizes". thebookerprizes.com. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
  3. ^ Leffler, Rebecca (27 July 2011). "Deauville American Film Fest Unveils Lineup". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
  4. ^ a b c "HOME". michael-collins. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
  5. ^ "ULTRA RUNNER". michael-collins. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
  6. ^ Collins, Michael. "Michael Collins: my marathon a day, for a month, to honour Irish emigrants". The Irish Times. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
  7. ^ "Michael Collins | University of Iowa Press - The University of Iowa". uipress.uiowa.edu. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
  8. ^ "The Life And Times Of A Tea Boy by Michael Collins | Waterstones". www.waterstones.com. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
  9. ^ "The Feminists Go Swimming, by Michael Collins (Phoenix, 5.99 in UK)". irishtimes.com. Irish Times. 23 August 1997. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  10. ^ "Emerald Underground by Michael Collins | Waterstones". www.waterstones.com. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
  11. ^ "Literature Ireland |". www.literatureireland.com. Retrieved 20 October 2024.