Suzanne Collins
Collins in 2010
Collins in 2010
Born (1962-08-10) August 10, 1962[1]
Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
Occupation
  • Novelist
  • Author
EducationIndiana University Bloomington (BA)
New York University (MFA)
GenreFantasy, science fiction, children's literature, young adult fiction, dystopian fiction
Notable worksThe Hunger Games trilogy
The Underland Chronicles
Spouse
Charles Pryor
​
(m. 1991)​
Signature
Website
suzannecollinsbooks.com

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

Early life

Suzanne Collins was born on August 10, 1962, in Hartford, Connecticut, to Jane Brady Collins (born 1931) and Lieutenant Colonel Michael John Collins (1931–2003),[2] a U.S. Air Force officer who served in the Korean and the Vietnam War. She is the youngest of four children, who include Kathryn (born 1957), Andrew (born 1958), and Joan (born 1960). As the daughter of a military officer, she and her family were constantly moving. She spent her childhood in the eastern United States.[3]

Collins graduated from the Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham in 1980 as a Theater Arts major.[4] She completed her Bachelor of Arts degree from Indiana University Bloomington in 1985 with a double major in theater and telecommunications.[5][6][7] In 1989, Collins earned her Master of Fine Arts in dramatic writing from the New York University Tisch School of the Arts.[7]

Career

Collins began her career in 1991 as a writer for children's television shows.[8] She worked on several shows for Nickelodeon, including Clarissa Explains It All, The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo, Little Bear, Oswald and Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!.[8] She was also the head writer for the PBS spin-off Clifford's Puppy Days.[8] She received a Writers Guild of America nomination in animation for co-writing the critically acclaimed 2001 Christmas special, Santa, Baby![9] 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.[8]

Her inspiration for Gregor the Overlander, the first book of The New York Times best-selling series The Underland Chronicles, came from Alice in Wonderland, when she was thinking about how one was more likely to fall down a manhole than a rabbit hole, and would find something other than a tea party.[8][9] Between 2003 and 2007 she wrote the five books of the Underland Chronicles: Gregor the Overlander, Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane, Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods, Gregor and the Marks of Secret, and Gregor and the Code of Claw. During that time, Collins also wrote a rhyming picture book, When Charlie McButton Lost Power (2005), illustrated by Mike Lester.[8]

In September 2008, Scholastic Press released The Hunger Games, the first book of a trilogy by Collins.[10] 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.[3] The trilogy's second book, Catching Fire, was released in September 2009, and its third book, Mockingjay, was released on August 24, 2010.[11] Within 14 months, 1.5 million copies of the first two Hunger Games books were printed in North America alone.[12] The Hunger Games was on The New York Times Best Seller list for more than 60 weeks in a row.[12] Lions Gate Entertainment acquired worldwide distribution rights to a film adaptation of The Hunger Games, produced by Nina Jacobson's Color Force production company.[13][14] Collins adapted the novel for film herself.[14] Directed by Gary Ross, filming began in late spring 2011, with Jennifer Lawrence portraying main character Katniss Everdeen.[15] Josh Hutcherson played Peeta Mellark and Liam Hemsworth played Gale Hawthorne.[16] 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.[17] In March 2012, Amazon announced that she had become the best-selling Kindle author of all time.[18] 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.[19]

On June 17, 2019, Collins announced that a prequel to The Hunger Games would be released on May 19, 2020. It is based on the life of future President Coriolanus Snow, 64 years before the events of The Hunger Games trilogy.[20] On October 4, 2019 the title was revealed to be The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.[21] A film adaptation, starring Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow and Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird, was released on November 17, 2023.[22]

Awards

Publications

The Underland Chronicles

  1. Gregor the Overlander (2003)
  2. Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane (2004)
  3. Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods (2005)
  4. Gregor and the Marks of Secret (2006)
  5. Gregor and the Code of Claw (2007)

The Hunger Games series

Original series

  1. The Hunger Games (2008)
  2. Catching Fire (2009)
  3. Mockingjay (2010)

Prequel

  1. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (2020)

Other books

  • When Charlie McButton Lost Power (2005)
  • Year of the Jungle (2013)

References

  1. ↑ Armitstead, Claire (April 27, 2012). "Suzanne Collins: Hunger Games author who found rich pickings in dystopia". The Guardian. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  2. ↑ Llanas, Sheila Griffin (August 1, 2012). How to Analyze the Works of Suzanne Collins. ABDO. p. 13. ISBN 9781614789574. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  3. 1 2 Collins, Suzanne. "A Conversation with Suzanne Collins, Q & A." (PDF). Scholastic. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 29, 2019. Retrieved February 9, 2010.
  4. ↑ Harvey, Alec (March 23, 2010). "Did you know 'Hunger Games' author Suzanne Collins has an Alabama connection". Birmingham News. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Suzanne Collins Interview by Deborah Hopkinson on BookPage". BookPage. September 2012. Archived from the original on January 2, 2013. Retrieved December 15, 2009.
  6. ↑ "'Hunger Games' author Suzanne Collins graduated from IU". Indiana University. March 22, 2017. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
  7. 1 2 "Suzanne Collins". biography.com. A&E Networks. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Biography". www.suzannecollinsbooks.com. Retrieved December 14, 2008.
  9. 1 2 "Suzanne Collins Biography". Scholastic. Archived from the original on March 7, 2010. Retrieved December 14, 2008.
  10. ↑ Collins, Suzanne. "Planning the Trilogy". Scholastic Canada (Interview: Video). Archived from the original on February 12, 2009. Retrieved December 14, 2008.
  11. ↑ Staskiewicz, Keith (February 11, 2010). "Final 'Hunger Games' novel has been given a title and a cover". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 11, 2010.
  12. 1 2 Collins, Suzanne. "Suzanne Collins's Third Book in The Hunger Games Trilogy to be Published on August 24, 2010". Scholastic. Retrieved February 9, 2010.
  13. ↑ Sellers, John A. (March 12, 2009). "Hungry? The Latest on 'The Hunger Games'". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on June 2, 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  14. 1 2 Fe, Jay A.; Kit, Borys (March 17, 2009). "Lionsgate picks up 'Hunger Games'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 22, 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  15. ↑ Weinstein, Joshua L. "Jennifer Lawrence Gets Lead Role in 'The Hunger Games'" Archived May 24, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, TheWrap.com. March 16, 2011. Retrieved March 17, 2011.
  16. ↑ "Hunger Games Peeta and Gale Casting". HungerGamesfan.com. Retrieved April 9, 2011.
  17. ↑ Skurnick, Lizzie (April 29, 2010). "The 2010 Time 100: Suzanne Collins". Time. Archived from the original on May 1, 2010. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  18. ↑ "Hungry for Hunger Games: Amazon.com Reveals the Top Cities in the U.S. Reading The Hunger Games Trilogy". Archived from the original on April 11, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
  19. ↑ "Who is the Best-Selling Kindle Author of All Time?". March 17, 2012. Retrieved March 17, 2012.
  20. ↑ Italie, Hillel (June 17, 2019). "Hunger Games' Prequel Novel Coming in 2020". US News. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  21. ↑ "Title, book cover announced for 'The Hunger Games' prequel". SFGate. October 4, 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  22. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 28, 2022). "'Hunger Games' Prequel 'The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes' Gets 2023 Release Date – CinemaCon". Deadline. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  23. ↑ "2010 Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers Winner Announced". Georgia Library Media Association. Archived from the original on October 18, 2011. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
  24. ↑ "Best Children's Books of 2009". Publishers Weekly. November 2, 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  25. ↑ "2009 Best Books for Young Adults Archived August 10, 2011, at the Wayback Machine." American Library Association. ALA, Web. January 29, 2010.
  26. ↑ "ALSC Announces 2009 Notable Children's Books." ALA. February 10, 2009. American Library Association, Web. January 29, 2010.
  27. ↑ "The 2008-9 Cybils Winners." Cybils: The 2008-9 Cybil Winners. Cybils, Web. January 29, 2010.
  28. ↑ "The Best Young-Adult Books of 2008." Kirkus Reviews. December 1, 2008. Kirkus Reviews, Web. January 29, 2010.
  29. ↑ "Horn Book Fanfare Best Book." Goodreads. 2010. Goodreads Inc, Web. February 4, 2010.
  30. ↑ "Review of the Day: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins ." School Library Journal. 2010. Reed Business Information, Web. February 4, 2010.
  31. ↑ "The Hunger Games." Booklist Online. Oct 2008. American Library Association, Web. February 4, 2010.
  32. ↑ "GREGOR THE OVERLANDER: Suzanne Collins. Web. February 8, 2010.
  33. ↑ "NAIBA Book of the Year Awards." Archived October 5, 2013, at the Wayback Machine NAIBA. 2009. New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association, Web. February 8, 2010.
  34. ↑ "ALSC Notable Recording." Books on Tape. Archived December 23, 2009, at the Wayback Machine Random House, Inc., Web. February 8, 2010.
  35. ↑ "Authors Guild Benefit Honors Suzanne Collins, Celebrates Books for Young Readers". Industry & Advocacy News. Authors Guild. May 27, 2016. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
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