Aaron McCollough was born in 1971 in Columbus, Ohio and raised in Tennessee.

He has a BA from the University of the South (1994), an MA in English Literature from North Carolina State University (1998), an MFA in creative writing from the Iowa Writers' Workshop (2001), as well as an MA and PhD in English Language and Literature from the University of Michigan (2002 & 2007 respectively).

Along with Karla Kelsey, he now edits a small press called SplitLevel Texts.

McCollough has published poems in 1913, 6 x 6, Boston Review, jubilat, A Public Space, Denver Quarterly, Colorado Review, Fence, Quarterly West, The Canary, VOLT, American Letters & Commentary, Conduit, LIT, Slope, Carolina Quarterly, Jacket, Court Green, and numerous other journals.

McCollough's books have been reviewed in print journals including Denver Quarterly, Colorado Review, and Publishers Weekly as well as in online journals such as Free Verse, Coldfront, NewPages and Eclectica.