Tom Paine

Tom Paine’s past is the stuff from which memorable literary characters are made. As a teen, he carried a brief case, dressed in plaid pants and penned poetry inspired by William Blake. Years later at Princeton University, he studied pre-med and was a pacifist officer candidate in the ROTC. Quirkiness aside, Paine proved to be a blazing talent upon embracing the writing life in his early thirties. Earning an MFA from Columbia University, he exploded onto the literary scene in 2000 with the acclaimed short-story collection Scar Vegas. It’s a safe bet he’ll repeat that success with the forthcoming A Boy’s Book of Nervous Breakdowns.