Finishing School (29 page)

Max Allan Collins
was hailed in 2004 by
Publishers Weekly
as ‘‘a new breed of writer.'' A frequent Mystery Writers of America Edgar nominee, he has earned an unprecedented fourteen Private Eye Writers of America Shamus nominations for his historical thrillers, winning for
True Detective
and
Stolen Away
.

His graphic novel
Road to Perdition
is the basis of the Academy Award-winning film starring Tom Hanks, directed by Sam Mendes. His comics credits include the syndicated strip
Dick Tracy
; his own
Ms. Tree
;
Batman
; and
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
, for which he has also written video games and a
USA Today
bestselling series of novels.

An independent filmmaker in the Midwest, he has written and directed such features as the Lifetime movie
Mommy
and the recent DVD release
Eliot Ness: An Untouchable Life
. His produced screenplays include the HBO World Premiere
The Expert
and the current
The Last Lullaby
, based on his acclaimed novel
The Last Quarry
. His other credits include film criticism, short fiction, songwriting, trading-card sets, and movie/TV tie-in novels, among them the international bestsellers
Saving Private Ryan
,
Air Force One
, and the Scribe Award-winning
American Gangster.

Collins lives in Muscatine, Iowa, with his wife, writer Barbara Collins.