Nina Collins

Nina Collins was born in NYC in 1969, raised in Rockland County, and graduated from Barnard in 1990. She had a long career in book publishing, first as a scout and then as an agent, and then made a career change in 2008 to pursue other interests. In 2013 Nina completed both a life coach certificate and a Columbia University Masters in Narrative Medicine. She has been consulting and writing since then. Nina’s interests—issues around transition, loss, separation, end of life, how women in particular tell stories—have come together in the creation of a closed online community for women over 40 called What Would Virginia Woolf Do? now also the title of her book, which was published by Grand Central in 2018. 

You can read an excerpt of What Would Virginia Woolf Do? here, and listen to an interview on the book on NPR's Inflection Point here.

Nina is currently at work on a memoir about her mother. She has four children, lives in Brooklyn, and is a trustee of the Brooklyn Public Library.

Read profiles of Nina in the Guardian and Vogue, and a feature on Nina and What Would Virginia Woolf Do? in The New York Times.

what would virginia woolf do?

"In What Would Virginia Woolf Do?, by Nina Lorez Collins, the ignominies of aging—and its silver linings—are explored with humor and wisdom. Whether grappling with "resting bitch face" or "divorce envy," this humane how-to is as restorative as girls' night out." -- Oprah Magazine

“Women in the market for advice on entering midlife will find [Collins] a funny and reliable guide” -- Publishers Weekly

"A funny, smart, enlightening What to Expect When You're Expecting Middle Age." -- Cathi Hanauer, New York Times bestselling author of The Bitch is Back

"Every generation needs its Virgil and its Muse. For women Gen Xers on (or over) the brink of menopause, the two are fused in one: Nina Lorez Collins. . . . Collins has written THE book on the great midlife 'change'" -- Susan Rieger, author of The Heirs

"Nina Lorez Collins is a warm, funny tour guide on this long, strange trip we call aging." -- Julie Klam, New York Times bestselling author of The Stars in Our Eyes

"Nina Lorez Collins in a force of (Mother) Nature. her book is an irreverent, fun, and candid Nina-hosted party you can read in the bath." -- Sandra Tsing Loh, author of The Madwoman in the Volvo

"If only What Would Virginia Woolf Do? was out before I spent the fortune I don't have on supplements and Spanx--I could have saved so much money and worry! This is the manual you've hoped for to help you navigate your apology-free future"
-- Annabelle Gurwitch, New York Times bestselling author of I See You Made an Effort

more press

"When Women Age Without Apology: What Would Virginia Woolf Do? is a rally cry for women over 40" on

"What Would Virginia Woolf Do? US Women Sign Up for Answers" in Times of London