Suzanne Collins is a well-known children’s book author who is most known for the ‘Hunger Games’ trilogy, which includes ‘The Hunger Games,’ ‘Catching Fire,’ and ‘Mockingjay.’ The young woman began creating screenplays for popular animated children’s television shows after studying drama and pursuing a concentration in writing for the stage. She has written episodes for children’s shows such as ‘Clarissa Explains It All,’ ‘Little Bear,’ and ‘Oswald.’ She decided to become a children’s book author after nearly thirteen years of working as a television scriptwriter. She started with the first book in the ‘Underland Chronicles,’ Gregor the Overlander. Her ideas were inspired by the classic tale ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ in which she imagined what would happen if someone slipped down a manhole rather than a keyhole, and what they would find instead of high tea. ‘The New York Times’ declared the book a bestseller, and she went on to write further volumes in the same series. Soon after, she authored ‘The Hunger Games,’ which was so well-received that 1.5 million copies of the book and its sequel, ‘Catching Fire,’ were immediately sold out. She followed it up with a second sequel, ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay,’ which was also well-received. She’s created a reputation for herself as a writer of children’s and young adult fiction thanks to the success of her works.
Childhood and Adolescence
Suzanne Marie Collins was born on August 10, 1962, in Hartford, Connecticut, to Michael and Jane Collins, both of whom worked for the United States Air Force. The girl moved around the eastern United States as a result of her father’s job.
She studied Theatre Arts at Birmingham’s ‘Alabama School of Fine Arts.’ She graduated from the institution in 1980, at the age of eighteen, with a bachelor’s degree.
She graduated from ‘Indiana University’ in 1985 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in telecommunications and theatre.
She went on to the ‘New York University Tisch School of the Arts,’ where she obtained her degree in Dramatic Writing in 1989.
Career of Suzanne Collins
Suzanne began writing screenplays for children’s television shows in 1991, with the first being ‘Clarissa Explains It All,’ which aired on ‘Nickelodeon’ for four years.
She wrote screenplays for popular animated shows such as ‘The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo’ and ‘Little Bear’ from 1996 to 1999. The latter was based on Else Holmelund Minarik’s book and was initially broadcast in the United Kingdom on ‘Children’s BBC.’
Collins also wrote the script for ‘Oswald,’ which starred a blue octopus and initially aired on ‘Nick Jr’ in 2001. The following year, she co-wrote the script for ‘Santa, Baby!’ with writer Peter Bakalian, which aired on the ‘Fox network.’ She was also working on an animated comedy show called ‘Generation O!’ at the time.
For a year, the gifted writer was the primary writer for ‘Clifford’s Puppy Days,’ a cartoon series that aired on ‘PBS’ (‘Public Broadcasting Service’) and ‘PBS Kids.’
Suzanne met author James Promio while writing episodes for ‘Generation O!’ Suzanne met author James Promio while writing episodes for ‘Generation O!’ He inspired her to begin writing children’s novels, and she began with ‘Gregor the Overlander,’ which is part of the ‘The Underland Chronicles’ series. The novel was inspired by Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ which was published in 2003.
The book was a blockbuster, and she went on to write further stories between 2003 and 2007. The books 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 were all part of the ‘The Underland Chronicles’ series.
She also made ‘When Charlie McButton Lost Power’ in 2005, which was a rhyming illustration.
Collins’ ‘The Hunger Games’ was published by Scholastic Press in September of 2008. The book was the first in a three-part series based on the Greek epic account of Prince Theseus and his quest to destroy the Minotaur.
‘Catching Fire’ and ‘Mockingjay,’ the last installments of ‘The Hunger Games’ trilogy, were released within the next two years.
Major Projects of Suzanne Collins
Collins rose to prominence as a result of the phenomenal popularity of the ‘Hunger Games’ trilogy. The novels proved so popular that they spent a record-breaking 60 weeks on the bestselling list of ‘The New York Times.’ The author adapted the first novel for the cinema, and the film was published under the title of ‘Lions Gate Entertainment.’
Achievements & Awards
For the best-selling ‘The Underland Chronicles,’ this acclaimed author got the ‘Children’s Novel Award’ from the ‘New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association’ (‘NAIBA’) in 2004.
In 2006, the ‘Association for Library Service to Children’ (‘ALSC’), a division of the ‘American Library Association,’ honored this prolific author with a ‘Notable Children’s Recording’ award.
The ‘KIRKUS Review’ publication named ‘The Hunger Games’ as the ‘Best Young Adult Book’ in 2008. Collins received the ‘CYBIL Award’ for ‘Fantasy and Science Fiction’ for the aforementioned novel the same year.
She won the ‘Georgia Peach Book Awards for Teen Readers’ two years later, and then the ‘California Young Reader Medal’ in 2011.
Personal History and Legacy
Suzanne married Charles Pryor in 1992, and they have two children, Charlie and Isabel. The family lives in New Town, Connecticut, in the village of Sandy Hook.
Suzanne Collins Net Worth
Trivia
Jennifer Lawrence, an American actress, portrayed Katniss Everdeen, a character created by this famous author in her most popular book.