Suzanne Collins

Early Life

Suzanne Collins, a writing and media icon, was born on 10th August 1962 in Hartford, Connecticut. She was a talented child of Lt. Col. Michael John Collins, a military officer, while her mother, Jane Brady Collins, was a simple housewife. Since her father served in the military, the family was in the constant move – a fact that provided her a chance to enjoy lovely natural sights and go through different experiences. Later, she found it facilitating to use them in her works. Also, she took her father as a role model for his task of narrating her historical stories during her childhood. The war experience narrated by her father further fueled her romantic ideas, which she used in her writings.

Education

Owing to her father’s career, the family traveled to many places, but Suzanne’s formal education started at Alabama School of Fine Arts located in Birmingham. She earned her degree in Theatre Arts in 1980. Later, in 1985, she completed her Bachelor’s from Indiana University, specializing in theatre and telecommunications. For her master’s, she went to New York University and completed it in 1989.

Achievements

Suzanne’s writing and powerful literary ideas in those pieces have made her a great author. She has won various awards and honors from different institutions. She earned NAIBA Children’s Novel Award in 2004. Later, in 2008, she received CYBIL Award and in 2011, she was awarded California Young Reader Medal. Her other notable achievements include the 2004 NAIBA Children’s Novel Award, A Book List Editor’s Choice, 2008, Authors Guild Award for Distinguished Service to the Literary Community, and Georgia Peach Book Awards for Teen Readers’.

Some Important Facts of Her Life

  1. She is widely known for her trilogy, The Hunger Games, as it has sold 100 million copies across the globe.
  2. Her famous work, The Hunger Games, has been translated into fifty-four languages.
  3. She married Charles Pryor in 1992.
  4. Her books were adapted for films and screenplays.

Her Career

Suzanne possessed a special love for reading and writing from a young age. Her career as a writer formally began in 1991 when she started producing scripts for children’s television. Besides that, she participated in several TV shows, including The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo. Some of her works for children include various stories such as Rankin/Bass Christmas special, Santa, Baby. She also got impetus from Alice in the Wonder Land and has tried to produce a literary wonder comprising exciting and thrilling adventures like that masterpiece. Thus, she came up with Gregor the Overlander, a part of the series, The Underland Chronicles. The book was published in 2003 and became an instant hit. During the same time, she came up with another praise-worthy creation, When Charlie McButton Lost Power. Once again, the publication won readers and earned fame for the writer. Later, her international bestseller three-book series appeared in 2008. This trilogy was based on the wonderful Greek mythological story of Prince Theseus and his great adventures.

Her Style

After establishing her career as a writer, Suzanne’s creativity and knack for appealing to children have left a significant mark on her career. Her literary writings present a blend of human philosophy and emotions in an impressive way. For example, her dystopian writing, The Hunger Game, beautifully takes the children into a world where they experience various negative and positive aspects of life. In fact, she has set up an understandable dichotomy in this book and emphasized love, death, hunger, and the harshness as realities in life. Regarding literary devices, she turned toward a profusely vivid and descriptive style of imagery, symbolism, foreshadowing, paradox, and other literary devices.

Some Important Works of Suzanne Collins

  • Best Novels: She crafted various literary marvels including Gregor sequel, The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and
  • Other Books: Besides writing novels, she wrote Fire Proof: Shelby Woo#111, When Charlie McButton Lost Power, and Year of the Jungle.

Suzanne Collins’s Impact on Future Literature

Suzanna Collin is a dynamic writer who has chosen to pen down the things she felt passionately about, giving her writings a unique touch. She wrote passionately about and for children because she thinks that the foundation of the thinking lies in childhood. Therefore, she has tried to introduce the concepts of politics, war, and ethical ambiguities which are introduced too late to the children. This philosophy shines in her world-famous trilogy. Her impacts echo in the modern world and inspire several aspiring writers.

Important Quotes

  1. “Deep in the meadow, hidden far away
    A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray
    Forget your woes and let your troubles lay
    And when it’s morning again, they’ll wash away
    Here it’s safe, here it’s warm
    Here the daisies guard you from every harm
    Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true
    Here is the place where I love you.” (The Hunger Games)
  1. “What I need is the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again.” (Mockingjay)
  2. “So it’s you and a syringe against the Capitol? See, this is why no one lets you make the plans.” (Catching Fire)
  3. No more fear of hunger. A new kind of freedom. But what then … what? What would my life be like on a daily basis? Most of it has been consumed with the acquisition of food. Take that away and I’m not really sure who I am, what my identity is. The idea scares me some. (The Hunger Games)