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...? Well, that's 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 the 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's spent over six years to date on The New York Times bestseller list since publication in September 2008, and has also 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 who also shared screenplay credit with Suzanne and Billy Ray. It broke multiple box office records and went on to become the 14th highest-grossing North American release of all time on its way to generating nearly $700 million at the worldwide box office. Lionsgate released the second installment THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE worldwide on November 22, 2013, directed by Francis Lawrence from a screenplay by Simon Beaufoy and Michael (Arndt) DeBruyn and bringing back stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Willow Shields, Paula Malcomson, Donald Sutherland, Stanley Tucci and Lenny Kravitz along with new cast members Philip Seymour Hoffman, Sam Claflin, Jena Malone and Jeffrey Wright. It was the highest-grossing domestic box office release of 2013 and the 10th highest-grossing domestic release of all time. Lionsgate released THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY – PART 1 on November 21, 2014 and THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY – PART 2 on November 20, 2015, also directed by Lawrence and welcoming Julianne Moore, Mahershala Ali, Natalie Dormer, and Patina Miller to the cast. Both screenplays were by Peter Craig and Danny Strong from an adaptation by Suzanne Collins. All four films were produced by Nina Jacobson of Color Force and Jon Kilik. On November 17, 2023, Lionsgate released THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES directed by Francis Lawrence, written by Michael Lesslie and Michael Arndt, and produced by Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson and Lawrence. It starred Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Viola Davis, Peter Dinklage, Hunter Schafer, Fionnula Flanagan, Jason Schwartzman, and Josh Andres Rivera. The worldwide box for the entire franchise is over 3.3 billion. THE HUNGER GAMES: SUNRISE ON THE REAPING, directed by Lawrence and produced by Jacobson, Simpson and Lawrence is set to be released by Lionsgate on November 20, 2026.
The first-ever live stage adaptation of "The Hunger Games" will begin performances on Oct. 20, 2025 at the Troubadour Canary Wharf Theatre in London. Adapted from the first book and the first film in the series 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 Viet Nam. It has been sold into 12 territories in 11 languages. 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. It has been sold into 4 foreign territories.
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 2016 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. It was the first time the Guild presented the award to a YA author.
Her books have sold over 100 million copies worldwide.