Biography

In 1991, Suzanne Collins began her professional career writing for children's television. She worked on the staffs of several Nickelodeon shows, including the Emmy-nominated hit Clarissa Explains It All and The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo. For preschool viewers, she penned multiple stories for the Emmy-nominated Little Bear and Oswald. She also co-wrote the Rankin/Bass Christmas special Santa, Baby! with her friend Peter Bakalian, which was nominated for a WGA Award in Animation. Most recently she was the head writer for Scholastic Entertainment's Clifford's Puppy Days and a freelancer on Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! While working on a Kids WB show called Generation O!, she met children's author and illustrator James Proimos, who talked her into giving children's books a try.

Thinking one day about Alice in Wonderland, she was struck by how pastoral the setting must seem to kids who, like her own, lived in urban surroundings. In New York City, you're much more likely to fall down a manhole than a rabbit hole and, if you do, you're not going to find a tea party. What you might find is the story of Gregor the Overlander, the first book in her five-part fantasy war series, The Underland Chronicles, which became a New York Times bestseller. Internationally, it has been sold in 21 languages. Audio books in English are read by Paul Boehmer, and the first and final books were chosen as ALSC Notable Children's Recordings.

Her next series, The Hunger Games, is a dystopian war story composed of five books, including the initial trilogy of The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay, and two prequels, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and Sunrise on the Reaping. It has spent over eight years to date on The New York Times bestseller list since publication in September 2008, and has appeared consistently on USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. An international bestseller, it has been sold in 55 languages. October 1, 2024 saw the publication of the first book in the illustrated series with art by Nico Delort. Recent audio books in English are read by Tatiana Maslany (The Hunger Games trilogy), Santino Fontana (The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes), and Jefferson White (Sunrise on the Reaping).

Lionsgate released a film adaptation of The Hunger Games on March 23, 2012, directed by Gary Ross. It went on to generate nearly $700 million at the worldwide box office. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire followed in November 2013, with The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 in 2014 and Part 2 in 2015, all directed by Francis Lawrence. On November 17, 2023, Lionsgate released The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. The worldwide box office for the entire franchise is over $3.3 billion. The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is set for release on November 20, 2026. Suzanne has been an Executive Producer on all six films.

The first-ever live stage adaptation of The Hunger Games will begin performances on October 20, 2025 at the Troubadour Canary Wharf Theatre in London. Adapted from the first book and the first film by award-winning playwright Conor McPherson, it will be helmed by renowned director Matthew Dunster.

In September 2013, Suzanne released a critically acclaimed autobiographical picture book, Year of the Jungle, illustrated by James Proimos. It deals with the year she was six and her father was deployed to Vietnam. Her first picture book, When Charlie McButton Lost Power, about a boy obsessed with computer games, was illustrated by Mike Lester and came out in 2005.

In 2010, Suzanne was named to the TIME 100 list as well as the Entertainment Weekly Entertainers of the Year list. In 2016, she was presented with the Authors Guild Award for Distinguished Service to the Literary Community for exemplifying the unique power of young people's literature to change lives and create lifelong book lovers — the first time the Guild presented the award to a YA author. She is a nominee for the 2026 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.

Her books have sold over 100 million copies worldwide.

Source: suzannecollinsbooks.com/bio