Max Allan Collins

Max Allan Collins

Mystery Writers of America Grand Master, Recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, twenty-two time Shamus Award nominee, and multiple Shamus, Scribe, and Anthony Award winner.

MAX ALLAN COLLINS has earned an unprecedented twenty-two Private Eye Writers of America “Shamus” nominations, winning for his Nathan Heller novels, True Detective (1983) and Stolen Away (1991), and the Mike Hammer short story, “So Long, Chief” (2013). In 2017, he was named Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America, in 2007 he received the PWA life achievement award, the Eye, and in 2012 his Nathan Heller saga was honored with the PWA “Hammer” award for its major contribution to the private eye genre.

His graphic novel Road to Perdition (1998) was the basis of the Academy Award-winning Tom Hanks film and was followed by two acclaimed prose sequels and several graphic novels, all of which are being republished by Brash Books. He has created a number of innovative suspense series, including Mallory, Quarry, Eliot Ness, Jack and Maggie Starr, Reeder and Rogers, and the “Disaster” novels. He is completing a number of “Mike Hammer” novels begun by the late Mickey Spillane, most recently Murder Never Knocks; his full-cast Hammer audio novel, The Little Death with Stacy Keach, won a 2011 Audie.

His many comics credits include the syndicated strip “Dick Tracy”; his own “Ms. Tree”; “Batman”; and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, for which he wrote ten best-selling novels and several award-winning video games. His tie-in books have appeared on the USA TODAY bestseller list nine times and the New York Times three. His movie novels include Saving Private Ryan, Air Force One, and American Gangster (IAMTW Best Novel “Scribe” Award, 2008).

An independent filmmaker in the Midwest, Collins has written and directed four features, including the Lifetime movie “Mommy” (1996); and he scripted “The Expert,” a 1995 HBO World Premiere, and the film-festival favorite, “The Last Lullaby” (2009), based on his novel, The Last Quarry. His documentary “Caveman: V.T. Hamlin & Alley Oop” (2008) has appeared on PBS and on DVD, and his documentary “Mike Hammer’s Mickey Spillane” (1998/2011) appears on the Criterion Collection DVD and Blu-ray of “Kiss Me Deadly.”

His play “Eliot Ness: An Untouchable Life,” was nominated for an Edgar Award in 2004 by the Mystery Writers of America; a film version, written and directed by Collins, was released on DVD and appeared on PBS stations in 2009.

His other credits include film criticism, short fiction, songwriting, trading-card sets, and video games. His coffee-table book, The History of Mystery, was nominated for every major mystery award, and his Men’s Adventure Magazines won the Anthony Award.

Collins lives in Muscatine, Iowa, with his wife, writer Barbara Collins; as “Barbara Allan,” they have collaborated on eleven novels, including the successful “Trash ‘n’ Treasures” mysteries, Antiques Flee Market (2008) winning the Romantic Times Best Humorous Mystery Novel award in 2009. Their son Nathan is a Japanese-to-English translator, working on video games, manga and novels.

 

Books by Max Allan Collins

The Perdition Saga: All Three Novels

The Perdition Saga: All Three Novels

All three books in Mystery Writer of America Grandmaster Max Allan Collins' legendary Perdition saga, the basis for the Academy Award winning movie.

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USS Powderkeg

USS Powderkeg

A high-seas adventure on an ammo ship facing racism, mutiny, typhoons, kamikaze pilots and murder during World War II.

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Black Hats

Black Hats

Legendary lawman Wyatt Earp straps on his six-shooter to battle a new breed of bad man in a new land  -- rising gangster Al Capone and his machine-gun toting killers on the streets of New York City.

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Reviews For Max Allan Collins

Max Allan Collins: Talkin’ About SHAFT 5.0

No one can twist through a maze with the intensity and suspense of Max Allan Collins.

Clive Cussler

Max Allan Collins: Talkin’ About SHAFT 5.0

Collins is a consumate storyteller.

Booklist

Max Allan Collins: Talkin’ About SHAFT 5.0

Collins fills his story with period detail, juicy mob stories and characters, but the best part...is its heart

Chicago Sun Times

Max Allan Collins: Talkin’ About SHAFT 5.0

Collins masterfully blends fact and fiction into a compelling tale that transcends the historical thriller

Jeffrey Deaver

Max Allan Collins: Talkin’ About SHAFT 5.0

Compelling mix of history, bloodshed and retribution...Readers will eat it up and beg for more

Publishers Weekly

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