Suzanne Collins
Encyclopedia
Suzanne Collins is an American
television writer and novelist.
officer. She graduated from the Alabama School of Fine Arts
and earned her M.F.A.
from New York University
in Dramatic Writing.
, including Clarissa Explains It All
, The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo
, Little Bear
, and Oswald
. She was also the head writer for Scholastic Entertainment's Clifford's Puppy Days
. She received a Writers Guild of America
nomination in animation for co-writing the critically acclaimed Christmas special, Santa, Baby!
After meeting children's author James Proimos while working on the Kids' WB
show Generation O!
, Collins was inspired to write children's books
herself. 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. 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.
In September 2008 Scholastic Press
released the The Hunger Games
, the first book of a trilogy by Collins. 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 allowed her to better understand 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 has been on The New York Times Best Seller list for more than 60 weeks in a row. Lions Gate Entertainment
acquired worldwide distribution rights to a film adaptation of The Hunger Games, produced by Nina Jacobson
's Color Force production company. Collins will adapt the novel for film herself. Directed by Gary Ross
, filming began in late spring 2011, with Jennifer Lawrence
portraying main character Katniss Everdeen
. Josh Hutcherson
plays Peeta Mellark
and Liam Hemsworth
plays Gale Hawthorne
.
As a result of the significant popularity of The Hunger Games books, Collins was named one of Time magazine
's most influential people of 2010.
with her husband and their two children.
She also lives with her two adopted feral cats.
The Hunger Games trilogy
Other books
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television writer and novelist.
Early life
Suzanne Collins is the daughter of an Air ForceAir force
An air force, also known in some countries as an air army, is in the broadest sense, the national military organization that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army, navy or...
officer. She graduated from the Alabama School of Fine Arts
Alabama School of Fine Arts
The Alabama School of Fine Arts is a public, partially residential high school located in Birmingham, AL. The mission of the Alabama School of Fine Arts, a community of explorers, is to nurture impassioned students by guiding and inspiring them to discover and fulfill their individual creative...
and earned her M.F.A.
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
from New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
in Dramatic Writing.
Career
Collins' career began in 1991 as a writer for children's television shows. She worked on several television shows for NickelodeonNickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
, including Clarissa Explains It All
Clarissa Explains It All
Clarissa Explains It All is an American teen sitcom that aired on Nickelodeon. Created by Mitchell Kriegman, it aired for five seasons for a total of 65 episodes from March 23, 1991, to December 3, 1994, and then went into reruns....
, The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo
The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo
The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo is a youth-oriented action mystery television series that ran on Nickelodeon between 1996 and 1998. A total of 41 episodes of 30 minutes each were produced...
, Little Bear
Little Bear
Little Bear may refer to:* Little Bear , a children's book series written by Else Holmelund Minarik and illustrated by Maurice Sendak** Little Bear , a children's TV series based upon the books...
, and Oswald
Oswald (TV series)
Oswald is an American children's cartoon series on Nick Jr. about a blue octopus and his friends, that first aired August 20, 2001 and officially ended in early 2004. The show was created by Dan Yaccarino and was co-produced by HiT Entertainment. It was also shown on Noggin in reruns. The show...
. She was also the head writer for Scholastic Entertainment's Clifford's Puppy Days
Clifford's Puppy Days
Clifford's Puppy Days is an animated television series on PBS Kids. It is a spin-off of the Clifford the Big Red Dog TV series, and it features Clifford the Big Red Dog, a popular cartoon character. It is set when Clifford was a puppy...
. She received a Writers Guild of America
Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....
nomination in animation for co-writing the critically acclaimed Christmas special, Santa, Baby!
After meeting children's author James Proimos while working on the Kids' WB
Kids' WB
Kids' WB! was Warner Bros. American childrens programing division brand for The WB Television Network. In September 2006, the block moved to The CW Television Network. The CW is the result of The WB's merger with UPN in 2006...
show Generation O!
Generation O!
Generation O! was an animated children's television series made by the now defunct Sunbow Entertainment, a division of Sony Wonder, with co-production provided by Wang Films in Taiwan and Ravensberger in Germany. There are also international versions of the series called "Molly O!"...
, Collins was inspired to write children's books
Children's literature
Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
herself. Her inspiration for Gregor the Overlander
Gregor the Overlander
Gregor the Overlander is the first book of the Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins. It was published in 2003, and met with critical acclaim, including Kirkus Reviews Editors' Choice and New York Public Library's 100 Books for Reading and Sharing selection. It was featured by National Public...
, the first book of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
best selling series The Underland Chronicles
The Underland Chronicles
The Underland Chronicles is a five-part series of fantasy novels by Suzanne Collins, first published between 2003 and 2007. It tells the story of a boy named Gregor and his adventures in a land called the "Underland", hidden under New York City...
, 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. Between 2003 and 2007 she wrote the five books of the Underland Chronicles: Gregor the Overlander
Gregor the Overlander
Gregor the Overlander is the first book of the Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins. It was published in 2003, and met with critical acclaim, including Kirkus Reviews Editors' Choice and New York Public Library's 100 Books for Reading and Sharing selection. It was featured by National Public...
, Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane
Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane
- Back Book Text :Months have passed since Gregor first fell into the strange Underland beneath New York City, and he swears he will never go back. But he is destined to be a key player in another prophecy, this one about and ominous white rat called the Bane...
, Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods
Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods
Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods is the third book in The Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins. -Plot summary:The book starts out with Gregor reading the Prophecy of Blood on a scroll given to him by Nerissa. Soon, a message from Vikus arrives in the laundry room with the announcement...
, Gregor and the Marks of Secret
Gregor and the Marks of Secret
Gregor and the Marks of Secret is the fourth book in the Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins. It picks up soon after the end of Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods. -Plot:...
, 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.
In September 2008 Scholastic Press
Scholastic Press
Scholastic is a global book publishing company known for publishing educational materials for schools, teachers, and parents, and selling and distributing them by mail order and via book clubs and book fairs. It also has the exclusive United States' publishing rights to the Harry Potter book...
released the The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games is a first person young-adult science fiction novel written by Suzanne Collins. It was originally published on September 14, 2008, by Scholastic. It is the first book of the Hunger Games trilogy. It introduces sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives in a post-apocalyptic world...
, the first book of a trilogy by Collins. The Hunger Games was partly inspired by the Greek myth of Theseus
Theseus
For other uses, see Theseus Theseus was the mythical founder-king of Athens, son of Aethra, and fathered by Aegeus and Poseidon, both of whom Aethra had slept with in one night. Theseus was a founder-hero, like Perseus, Cadmus, or Heracles, all of whom battled and overcame foes that were...
and the Minotaur
Minotaur
In Greek mythology, the Minotaur , as the Greeks imagined him, was a creature with the head of a bull on the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, "part man and part bull"...
. Another inspiration was her father's career in the Air Force
Air force
An air force, also known in some countries as an air army, is in the broadest sense, the national military organization that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army, navy or...
, which allowed her to better understand poverty, starvation, and the effects of war. The trilogy's second book, Catching Fire
Catching Fire (2009 novel)
Catching Fire is the second book in The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins. As the sequel to the 2008 bestseller The Hunger Games, it continues the story of Katniss Everdeen and the fictional, futuristic nation of Panem...
, was released in September 2009, and its third book Mockingjay
Mockingjay
Mockingjay is a 2010 young adult dystopian novel by American author Suzanne Collins. It is the third installment of The Hunger Games trilogy, following 2008's The Hunger Games and 2009's Catching Fire, and continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, who agrees to lead the rebellion against the rulers...
, 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
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
alone. The Hunger Games has been on The New York Times Best Seller list for more than 60 weeks in a row. Lions Gate Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation is a North American entertainment company. The company was formed in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1997, and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California...
acquired worldwide distribution rights to a film adaptation of The Hunger Games, produced by Nina Jacobson
Nina Jacobson
Nina Jacobson is an American film executive who, until July 2006, was president of the Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
's Color Force production company. Collins will adapt the novel for film herself. Directed by Gary Ross
Gary Ross
Gary Ross is an American writer, director, and actor. He is best known for directing Pleasantville and Seabiscuit, both of which featured Tobey Maguire in the lead role...
, filming began in late spring 2011, with Jennifer Lawrence
Jennifer Lawrence
Jennifer Shrader Lawrence is an American film and television actress. She has had lead roles in TBS's The Bill Engvall Show and in the independent films The Burning Plain and Winter's Bone, for which she received critical acclaim and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress...
portraying main character Katniss Everdeen
Katniss Everdeen
Katniss Everdeen is the main character of Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games trilogy. Her name comes from an edible plant called katniss. Jennifer Lawrence is set to portray Katniss in the upcoming movie The Hunger Games, directed by Gary Ross....
. Josh Hutcherson
Josh Hutcherson
Joshua Ryan "Josh" Hutcherson is an American film and television actor. He began working in the early 2000s, appearing in several minor film and television roles...
plays Peeta Mellark
Peeta Mellark
Peeta Mellark is one of the protagonists of The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins...
and Liam Hemsworth
Liam Hemsworth
Liam Hemsworth is an Australian actor. He took the role of Josh Taylor in the soap opera Neighbours and as "Marcus" on the children's television series The Elephant Princess and appeared in the American film The Last Song, released on 31 March 2010...
plays Gale Hawthorne
Gale Hawthorne
Gale Hawthorne is one of the main characters of Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games trilogy.-Character background:Gale is two years older than the main protagonist, Katniss Everdeen. His father was killed in the mine explosion that also killed Katniss's father, leaving his mother, Hazelle, a widow...
.
As a result of the significant popularity of The Hunger Games books, Collins was named one of Time magazine
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
's most influential people of 2010.
Personal life
Collins resides in ConnecticutConnecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
with her husband and their two children.
She also lives with her two adopted feral cats.
Publications
The Underland ChroniclesThe Underland Chronicles
The Underland Chronicles is a five-part series of fantasy novels by Suzanne Collins, first published between 2003 and 2007. It tells the story of a boy named Gregor and his adventures in a land called the "Underland", hidden under New York City...
- Gregor the OverlanderGregor the OverlanderGregor the Overlander is the first book of the Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins. It was published in 2003, and met with critical acclaim, including Kirkus Reviews Editors' Choice and New York Public Library's 100 Books for Reading and Sharing selection. It was featured by National Public...
(2003) - Gregor and the Prophecy of BaneGregor and the Prophecy of Bane- Back Book Text :Months have passed since Gregor first fell into the strange Underland beneath New York City, and he swears he will never go back. But he is destined to be a key player in another prophecy, this one about and ominous white rat called the Bane...
(2004) - Gregor and the Curse of the WarmbloodsGregor and the Curse of the WarmbloodsGregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods is the third book in The Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins. -Plot summary:The book starts out with Gregor reading the Prophecy of Blood on a scroll given to him by Nerissa. Soon, a message from Vikus arrives in the laundry room with the announcement...
(2005) - Gregor and the Marks of SecretGregor and the Marks of SecretGregor and the Marks of Secret is the fourth book in the Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins. It picks up soon after the end of Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods. -Plot:...
(2006) - Gregor and the Code of Claw (2007)
The Hunger Games trilogy
The Hunger Games trilogy
The Hunger Games trilogy is a young-adult adventure science fiction series written by Suzanne Collins. The trilogy consists of The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay....
- The Hunger GamesThe Hunger GamesThe Hunger Games is a first person young-adult science fiction novel written by Suzanne Collins. It was originally published on September 14, 2008, by Scholastic. It is the first book of the Hunger Games trilogy. It introduces sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives in a post-apocalyptic world...
(2008) - Catching FireCatching Fire (2009 novel)Catching Fire is the second book in The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins. As the sequel to the 2008 bestseller The Hunger Games, it continues the story of Katniss Everdeen and the fictional, futuristic nation of Panem...
(2009) - MockingjayMockingjayMockingjay is a 2010 young adult dystopian novel by American author Suzanne Collins. It is the third installment of The Hunger Games trilogy, following 2008's The Hunger Games and 2009's Catching Fire, and continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, who agrees to lead the rebellion against the rulers...
(2010)
Other books
- Fire Proof: Shelby Woo #11 (1999)
- When Charlie McButton Lost Power (2005)
- When Charlie McButton Gained Power (2009)
Awards
- 2011 - California Young Reader MedalCalifornia Young Reader MedalThe California Young Reader Medal is an award given annually to books nominated and voted on by children in California. The medal was established in 1974 and encourages recreational reading...
- 2010 - Georgia Peach Book Awards for Teen Readers
- Publishers WeeklyPublishers WeeklyPublishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
's Best Books of the Year: Children's Fiction - An American Library AssociationAmerican Library AssociationThe American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
Top 10 Best Books For Young Adult Selection - An ALA Notable Children's Book
- 2008 CYBIL AwardCybils AwardsThe Cybils Awards, or Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards, are a series of book awards given by children's and young adult book bloggers...
--Fantasy and Science Fiction - KIRKUSKirkus ReviewsKirkus Reviews is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus . Kirkus serves the book and literary trade sector, including libraries, publishers, literary and film agents, film and TV producers and booksellers. Kirkus Reviews is published on the first and 15th of each month...
Best Young Adult Book of 2008 - A Horn Book Fanfare
- School Library JournalSchool Library JournalThe School Library Journal is a monthly magazine with articles and reviews for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with a focus on technology and multimedia. Reviews are included for preschool to 4th grade,...
Best Books of 2008 - A Book List Editor's Choice, 2008
- NY Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing
- 2004 NAIBA Children's Novel Award
- 2006 ALSCAssociation for Library Service to ChildrenThe Association for Library Service to Children is a division of the American Library Association. Its members are concerned with the profession of children's Librarianship...
Notable Children's Recording (audio version)