Learn more about Suzanne Collins and her past work.

Suzanne Collins began her career in 1991 as a writer for children’s television. Shows such as Clarrisa Explains it All, The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo, Little Bear, Oswald and Clifford’s Puppy Days all had her magical touch. While working on a show called Generation O! she met author James Proimos, who inspired her to try writing a children’s book.

Suzanne began working on her first series, which became the five part Underland Chronicles. The idea for the story came from a flip of Alice in Wonderland, set in a more urban setting where the rabbit hole is more like a manhole. The series follows 11 year old Gregor as he discovers a wonderful and scary world existing under the city of New York. The books deal with five different aspects of conflict – the rescue of a prisoner of war, an assassination, biological weapons, genocide and the use of military intelligence.

After leaving the Underland, Suzanne Collins took us to Panem, with the Hunger Games Trilogy. The idea for the series came one night while watching television. Suzanne was flipping the channels between the Iraq war and a reality television show, and she was struck by how the divisions between the two blurred. She began to wonder whether other viewers might be desensitized, and perhaps might have trouble telling the show apart from reality. There were other inspirations for the series as well. The Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, where 7 female and 7 male children were sacrificed to save Athens has been mentioned several times by the author as an influence. Also adding to the story were the lessons that her father, an air force officer, gave to her and her siblings about the realities of war.

Suzanne Collins Full Color Bio Courtesy of Scholastic

Publications:

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 Trilogy:

The Hunger Games (2008)

Catching Fire (2009)

Mockingjay (2010)

Miscellaneous:

When Charlie McButton Lost Power (2006)

Fire Proof: Shelby Woo #11 (1999)