Suzanne Collins (born August 10, 1962)[2] is an American author and television writer who is best known as the author of theyoung adultdystopian book seriesThe Hunger Games. She is also the author of the children's fantasy seriesThe Underland Chronicles.
Collins was born on August 10, 1962,[2] inHartford, Connecticut, to Jane Brady Collins (born 1931) and Lieutenant Colonel Michael John Collins (1931–2003),[3] aU.S. Air Force officer who served in theKorean and theVietnam War.[4] Her grandfather and numerous uncles fought inboth World Wars.[5] She is the youngest of four children, her older siblings being Kathryn (born 1957), Andrew (born 1958), and Joan (born 1960).[4] As thedaughter of a military officer, she moved with her family very often, mostly living in Europe (specificallyBrussels, Belgium)[6] and the eastern part of America.[7] As a young girl, Collins enjoyed reading,gymnastics, and exploring the woods with her friends.[7]
In September 2008,Scholastic Press releasedThe Hunger Games, the first book ofa series by Collins.[14]The Hunger Games was partly inspired by the Greek myth ofTheseus and the Minotaur. Another inspiration was her father's career in theAir Force, which gave her insight to poverty, starvation, and the effects of war.[4] The trilogy's second book,Catching Fire, was released in September 2009, and its third book,Mockingjay, was released on August 24, 2010.[15] Within 14 months, 1.5 million copies of the first twoHunger Games books were printed inNorth America alone.[16]The Hunger Games was onThe New York Times Best Seller list for more than 60 weeks in a row.[16]Lions Gate Entertainment acquired worldwide distribution rights toa film adaptation ofThe Hunger Games, produced byNina Jacobson's Color Force production company.[17][18] Collins adapted the novel for film herself.[18] Directed byGary Ross, filming began in late spring 2011, withJennifer Lawrence portraying main characterKatniss Everdeen.[19] as well asJosh Hutcherson who playedPeeta Mellark andLiam Hemsworth who playedGale Hawthorne.[20] 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 ofThe Hunger Games books, Collins was named one ofTime magazine's most influential people of 2010.[21] In March 2012, Amazon announced that she had become the best-selling Kindle author of all time.[22] 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.[23]
On June 6, 2024, Collins announced that a new prequel toThe Hunger Games, set 24 years before the events of the main trilogy, would be released on March 18, 2025.[27] The book, titledSunrise on the Reaping, explores the 50th Hunger Games won byHaymitch Abernathy.[27]Lionsgate procured the rights to adapt the novel into a film, which is set to release on November 20, 2026.[28]
Collins moved toNew York City in 1987 and lived there until 2003.[7]
In 1991, Collins met Charles "Cap" Pryor at Indiana University and they married in 1992.[29] Pryor has been supportive of Collins's career, reading and critiquing the earliest drafts ofThe Hunger Games.[30] They live in theSandy Hook area ofNewtown,Connecticut, with their two children, Charlie and Isabel.[6][30][29][31] Though Collins'sIMDb profile claims she and Pryor divorced in 2015, this has never been confirmed.[6] Furthermore, Collins referred to Pryor as her husband in the acknowledgments of her 2020 novel,The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.[32]
In 2013,Forbes reported that Collins has a net worth of $55 million, making her No. 3 onForbes's Top-Earning Authors List.[33]
