Paul Reed (May 28, 1956 – January 28, 2002) was an American writer, best known as one of the first major writers of HIV/AIDS-themed literature in the United States.^[1]

Born Paul Hustoft in San Diego, California, his father died when he was a child and he later adopted his stepfather's surname Reed after his mother remarried.^[2] He was educated at California State University, Chico and the University of California, Davis.^[2]

He worked for Ten Speed Press in the 1980s, eventually becoming editor-in-chief of its Celestial Arts subsidiary.^[2] Diagnosed with ARC in 1987, he left the company in 1991.^[2]

Reed's 1984 novel Facing It was credited as the first major AIDS-themed novel.^[1] He also later published the novels Longing (1988) and Vertical Intercourse (2000), and the memoirs The Q Journal (1991), The Savage Garden (1994) and The Redwood Diary (2001).^[1] He cowrote the HIV treatment and prevention guide How to Persuade Your Lover to Use a Condom and Why You Should (1987),^[1] and published a collection of spiritual self-help essays for people with HIV, Serenity: Challenging the Fear of AIDS, from Despair to Hope (1987).^[1] He also wrote several works of safer sex erotica under the pen name Max Evander,^[1] including Safestud: The Safesex Chronicles of Max Evander (1985), Lovesex: The Horny Relationship Chronicles of Max Evander (1986), Leathersex: Cruel Affections (1994) and Deeds of the Night (1995).^[1]

Reed died on January 28, 2002, of AIDS-related complications.^[1] His final work, a compilation of his Max Evander writings titled Swollen, was published later the same year.^[1]

Longing was the subject of an essay by Bill Brent in the 2010 book The Lost Library: Gay Fiction Rediscovered.^[3]