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Colleen Collins (1956-) is an award-winning American author known for her historical fiction novels. Born in New York, Collins developed a passion for writing in her childhood. After graduating from the University of Iowa, she worked as a journalist and an English teacher, while secretly pursuing her writing dreams. Her debut novel, "The Accidental Tourist," was published in 1985, garnering critical acclaim. The novel was later adapted into an Academy Award-winning film. Collins's other notable works include "My Friend Anna," "The Terms of My Surrender," and "The Missing Rose." Collins's novels often explore themes of love, loss, and redemption. She has received numerous awards, including the National Book Award for Fiction (2001) for "The Accidental Tourist." Her work is critically praised for its lyrical prose, complex characters, and evocative sense of time and place.