Suzanne Collins

Suzanne Collins (born August 10, 1962) is an American author and television writer who is best known as the author of the young adult dystopian fiction book series The Hunger Games. She is also the author of the children's fantasy series The Underland Chronicles.

Early life and education Collins was born on August 10, 1962, a U.S. Air Force officer who served in the Korean and the Vietnam War. She is the youngest of four children, her older siblings being Kathryn (born 1957), Andrew (born 1958), and Joan (born 1960). and the eastern part of America. As a young girl, Collins enjoyed reading, gymnastics, and exploring the woods with her friends. She completed her Bachelor of Arts degree from Indiana University Bloomington in 1985 with a double major in theater and telecommunications. In 1989, Collins earned her Master of Fine Arts in dramatic writing from the New York University Tisch School of the Arts. She worked on several shows for Nickelodeon and Nick Jr., including Clarissa Explains It All, The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo, Little Bear, Oswald, and Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!. After meeting children's author James Proimos while working on the Kids' WB show Generation O!, Collins felt inspired to write children's books herself. The Hunger Games was partly inspired by the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. Another inspiration was her father's career in the Air Force, which gave her insight to poverty, starvation, and the effects of war. The trilogy's second book, Catching Fire, was released in September 2009, and its third book, Mockingjay, was released on August 24, 2010. Within 14 months, 1.5 million copies of the first two Hunger Games books were printed in North America alone. The Hunger Games was on The New York Times Best Seller list for more than 60 consecutive weeks. Collins adapted the novel for film herself. as well as Josh Hutcherson who played Peeta Mellark and Liam Hemsworth who played Gale Hawthorne.

The subsequent two novels were adapted into films as well, with the latter book split into two cinematic installments, for a total of four films representing the three books. As a result of the popularity of The Hunger Games books, Collins was named one of Time magazine's most influential people of 2010. In March 2012, Amazon announced that she had become the best-selling Kindle author of all time. Amazon also revealed that Collins had written 29 of the 100 most highlighted passages in Kindle ebooks—and on a separate Amazon list of recently highlighted passages, she had written 17 of the top 20.

Collins released a Hunger Games prequel titled The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes in May 2020. It is based on the life of future President Coriolanus Snow, 64 years before the events of The Hunger Games trilogy. A film adaptation, starring Tom Blyth as Snow and Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird, was released on November 17, 2023. In March 2025, it was followed by Sunrise on the Reaping,

Personal life Collins moved to New York City in 1987 and lived there until 2003. Pryor has been supportive of Collins's career, reading and critiquing the earliest drafts of The Hunger Games. They live in the Sandy Hook area of Newtown, Connecticut, with their two children, Charlie and Isabel. Though Collins's IMDb profile claims she and Pryor divorced in 2015, this has never been confirmed.

Awards

Other awards ALSC Notable Children's Recording (audio version) 2009: Publishers Weeklys Best Books of the Year: Children's Fiction for Catching Fire An American Library Association Top 10 Best Books For Young Adult Selection An ALA Notable Children's Book A Horn Book Fanfare NY Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing 2016: Authors Guild Award for Distinguished Service to the Literary Community (first time awarded to an author of young adult fiction)

Published works

The Underland Chronicles

Gregor the Overlander (2003) Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane (2004) Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods (2005) Gregor and the Marks of Secret (2006) Gregor and the Code of Claw (2007)

The Hunger Games series

Original series The Hunger Games (September 14, 2008) Catching Fire (September 1, 2009) Mockingjay (August 24, 2010)

Prequels The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (May 19, 2020) Sunrise on the Reaping (March 18, 2025)

Other books Fire Proof (The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo, #11) (1999) When Charlie McButton Lost Power (2005) Year of the Jungle (2013)