As the literary world eagerly anticipates the next instalment of the wildly successful young adult fiction series Hunger Games, in addition to a corresponding movie that will debut in 2026, we now take a look back at the astounding net worth of its creator, Suzanne Collins, as well as the impact her books have had on the social narratives of war in contemporary society.
Noted amongst literary enthusiasts for her crisp commentary on real-world issues via her written works, Collins has long expressed that she would only expand on the young adult series when she has something of note to say. And with the announcement of her upcoming novel Sunrise on the Reaping, fans are keen to decode its true meaning, with many guessing that it may address issues of war and genocide pervading the world today.
Born on August 10 1962, Suzanne Collins is the daughter of a military officer, and the youngest of four children. Through the eyes and experiences of her father, U.S. Air Force officer Lieutenant Colonel Michael John Collins, she saw from an early age the harrowing effects of war, from poverty and starvation to the haunting trauma that follows survival. These insights would prove invaluable many years later, when she put herself to the task of writing her now-iconic Hunger Games series.
As it turns out, the odds were truly in her favour.
Collins attended the Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham, where she was a Theater Arts major. She then earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Indiana University Bloomington, double majoring in theater and telecommunications, before obtaining a master’s degree in fine arts for dramatic writing from the New York University Tisch School of the Arts. Leveraging the experiences of her youth and the fine points of her education, Collins’ written work has since earned critical acclaim for its poignant take on war and its effects. Further proving that subject matter does not dictate reading level, her children’s and young adult books have nonetheless gained popularity amongst readers of all ages.
Before The Hunger Games
Suzanne Collins released the magnum opus responsible for her staggering net worth in 2008 — The Hunger Games series of books. However, her career first took flight in 1991, two years after she earned her degree in dramatic writing from New York University.
Collins’ first role saw her assuming a writer’s position at children’s television network Nickelodeon, where she worked on Clarissa Explains It All, The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo, Little Bear, Oswald, and Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! She headed the writing team for Clifford’s Puppy Days, and later went on to co-write the Christmas animated special Santa, Baby!, for which she received a nomination for a Writers Guild of America award.
The author has long credited children’s author James Proimos for inspiring her to take up writing children’s books. The two initially met while working on Generation O!, a Kids’ WB show that aired between 2000 to 2001. Taking further inspiration from Lewis Carroll’s iconic novel Alice in Wonderland, Collins found herself ruminating on how it was more likely to fall into a manhole as opposed to a rabbit hole. Exploring the potential of such an adventure entailing something other than a tea party, Collins wrote Gregor the Overlander, the first novel in her inaugural children’s book series The Underland Chronicles.
Five books in The Underland Chronicles series were released between 2003 and 2007, marking Collins’ entrance into the children’s book sphere — Gregor the Overlander, Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane, Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods, Gregor and the Marks of Secret, and Gregor and the Code of Claw. The series went on to become a New York Times best-selling series, receiving mostly positive reviews from critics.
The success of The Hunger Games and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Partly inspired by the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, the first book in The Hunger Games series The Hunger Games was released in September 2008 through Scholastic Press, winning praise from critics and avid book lovers alike. While it was Collins’ first foray into the young adult genre, her talent for dramatic writing bore great results, and the book went on to find literary success.
The Hunger Games is a tale of class distinctions; the Capitol, inhabited by the wealthy elite, forces teenage tributes from the 12 Districts to participate in an annual Battle Royale fight-to-the-death. A commentary on genocide, the series brings readers through themes of war, injustice, propaganda, politics, media literacy, loyalty, and romance, all tied together in the narrative voice of her teenage protagonist Katniss Everdeen. Leveraging her innate ability to navigate deep and often difficult subjects while translating them into verbiage fit for younger audiences, Collins wove together an engaging tale that captured audiences from the very first sentence.
The second book of the series Catching Fire was released a year later in September 2009, with the third book, Mockingjay, hitting the shelves in August of 2010. By then, Collins had ascended into the ranks of the world’s most celebrated authors. A staggering 1.5 million copies of Collins’ first two Hunger Games books were printed in North America within the first 14 months alone; today, over 100 million copies of the trilogy, including their prequel A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, have been printed and distributed across print and digital formats worldwide. Additionally, foreign publishing rights for the series have also been sold in 54 languages, further adding weight to the already-burgeoning net worth of Suzanne Collins.
Riding high on the incredible success of the series, Collins was named one of Time’s most influential people of 2010. Amazon also announced in March 2012 that she had become the best-selling Kindle author of all time. A full decade later, she ranks third on the list of best Kindle authors of all time, having remained on it for six full years. All three books in Collins’ groundbreaking trilogy also spent over a year and a half on Amazon’s list top 100 bestselling Kindle ebooks list. Most notably, The Hunger Games occupied a place on the New York Times bestseller list for over 60 consecutive weeks, elevating Collins into a place of literary greats alongside Jeff Kinney (Diary of a Wimpy Kid), Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief), and Paul Coelho (The Alchemist).
The highs of success continued to follow in Collins’ path. In March of 2009, Lions Gate Entertainment (Lionsgate) entered into an agreement with production company Color Force, which had secured worldwide distribution rights to The Hunger Games a few weeks prior — allegedly for USD 200,000. Eager for a piece in what could become a hugely profitable production, Lionsgate shuffled their budgets from other commitments, even going so far as to sell their assets to secure a USD 88 million budget for filming and production.
Empowered by her personal successes in writing for television, Collins adapted her novel for film herself. Filming began shortly thereafter in spring of 2011 with an incredible cast of Hollywood’s finest including Jennifer Lawrence (Katniss Everdeen), Josh Hutcherson (Peeta Mellark), Liam Hemsworth (Gale Hawthorne), Elizabeth Banks (Effie Trinket), the late Donald Sutherland (President Snow), and Woody Harrelson (Haymitch Abarnathy). The film went on to gross USD 695.2 million worldwide, propelling the talented young actors into widespread fame brought on by fans’ love of the novels.
The second and third books of the trilogy were also adapted for screen, with Mockingjay being split into two films. Along with the series’ fifth movie A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (which was released in cinemas last November), the franchise grossed USD 3.3 billion worldwide, making it the 20th highest-grossing film franchise of all time. The incredible success of the series served to platform numerous other actors, some of whom had been established beforehand, and yet enjoyed the fame that came with being cast in one of the most popular movie franchises in the world.
Among The Hunger Games franchise’s star-studded cast, several names have emerged as fan favourites. These include Stanley Tucci, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Lenny Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright, Sam Claflin, Jena Malone, and Julianne Moore. Interestingly, three members of the Game of Thrones cast also joined the Hunger Games franchise, with Natalie Dormer (who portrayed Margaery Tyrell in Game of Thrones) taking up the role of Cressida in Mockingjay Part I and II, Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth) portraying Commander Lyme in Mockingjay Part II, and Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister) portraying Casca Highbottom in A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
Like Lawrence, Hutcherson, and Hemsworth, the leads of A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes Tom Blyth (Young President Snow) and Rachel Zegler (Lucy Gray Baird) have also found critical success among fans, alongside Euphoria’s Hunter Schafer (Tigris Snow) and How To Get Away With Murder’s Viola Davis (Dr. Volumnia Gaul).
While The Hunger Games presents an inherently interesting storyline with an engaging plot that easily captures the imagination, it bears noting that the series also addresses the current state of world affairs. With a key focus on power dynamics between regimes and rebels, the series confronts issues pervading our world today, from war, social inequality, and survival to politics, corruption, and media narratives.
Most notably, it does not shy away from uncomfortable truths, leading many viewers to believe that Collins’ personal politics are best expressed through her art.
How The Hunger Games series provides apt commentary on modern warfare
Much like how Les Miserables and the Star Wars series have cultivated in us a desire to fight injustice where it is fraught within cruel and uncaring regimes, so too has The Hunger Games inspired the younger generation of today. Among series protagonist Katniss’ most quotable lines, “Fire is catching. If we burn, you burn with us,” has been used by activists in numerous anti-violence and anti-war protests and campaigns. In essence, the quote speaks of the downtrodden rising up to reclaim their rights, serving as both a rallying cry and an emblem of protestors’ rage and strength.
Through her written works, Collins ensures her personal thoughts and opinions on matters are made clear. And while the award-winning author has never publicly spoken on her politics, it is an easy enough guess that she holds little regard for authoritarian rule, instead leveraging her way with the word to inspire courage for standing up for what is right.
thinking about how “if we burn, you burn with us” really means something in the context of palestine today btw. if you cannot get behind that then you do NOT deserve to be a hunger games enjoyer.
— m 🍂 on strike for 🇵🇸 (@blakeverdeen) April 30, 2024
Famously, Collins has said that she will not add to her beloved franchise until she has something new to say. The announcement and subsequent publishing of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes shed light on the birth of the Capitol, as well as the becoming of the series antagonist President Coriolanus Snow. Through this novel, Collins addressed the folly of ambition and power, showing that both can easily corrupt one’s intentions no matter how honourably they start out. The prequel also provided a rare glimpse at how war can often impact both the victors and the vanquished, highlighting its devastating effects on a mass scale from starvation to poverty alike.
With war and genocide pervading our world today, it makes sense that Collins would return to her beloved franchise. With the announcement of her new book, Sunrise on the Reaping and its corresponding movie, Suzanne Collins has once again lit the fire of revolution within her fans, many of whom are eager to hear what she has to say.
Sunrise on the Reaping: What we know so far
The fifth book in the Hunger Games Series, Sunrise on the Reaping, is set to take place between the events of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and The Hunger Games. Yet another prequel to the original trilogy, the new book will detail the events of the 50th Annual Hunger Games, which is also the second quarter quell, which was famously won by Haymitch Abernathy.
Through the eyes of Katniss and Peeta, who end up becoming Haymitch’s charges some 24 years later during the 74th and later 75th Annual Hunger Games, we learn that the second quarter quell had seen twice the number of tributes entering the arena — 48 as opposed to the usual 24. It is shown that Haymitch had taken advantage of the arena mechanics to secure his win, and in doing so sealed the fates of his family and loved ones. It is also shown that Haymitch entered the arena with Maysilee Donner, who is the aunt of Madge Undersee, Katniss’ friend and daughter of District 12’s mayor at the time of Katniss’ games.
We also learn that the arena was visually breathtaking, a meadow with azure blue skies and fluffy, billowing white clouds. However, danger lurked beneath the beauty, taking the form of a deadly volcano in the distance and lethal poisons that suffused everything. With plants, insects, water, and even the fragrance of blooms proving deadly, the tributes were forced to find alternative means of food and drink.
Having long set the foundation for her upcoming book, Suzanne Collins is poised to make yet another memorable entry into the Hunger Games series, with its success guaranteed to add to her incredible net worth.
The net worth of Suzanne Collins and how her books have contributed to it
Given the global acclaim of her literary works, it comes as no surprise that Suzanne Collins has amassed a staggering net worth of USD 90 million as of 2024. A significant portion of it comes from the sales and the publishing rights of her books, and it has been estimated by Lit Hub that she made USD 114 million from 2008 to 2018.
However, Collins also adapted her novels for the screen herself, an endeavour that has allowed her to retain the spirit of her work while simultaneously padding her net worth with writing fees. With the upcoming release of Sunrise on the Reaping and its subsequent movie, it is expected that Suzanne Collins’ net worth will only continue to grow.
(Main image: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images, The Hunger Games/Instagram, featured image: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
– Why did Suzanne Collins write The Hunger Games?
Suzanne Collins wrote The Hunger Games because she was inspired by the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. Additionally, she drew inspiration from the wartime experiences of her father, U.S. Air Force officer Lieutenant Colonel Michael John Collins, from whom she learned the harrowing effects of war from poverty to starvation.
– What did Suzanne Collins do before she wrote The Hunger Games?
Suzanne Collins worked as a writer for kids network Nickelodeon before delving into writing children’s books. Her first series, The Underland Chronicles, found moderate success. However, it was not until The Hunger Games series was released that she became a household name.
– What genre does Suzanne Collins write?
Suzanne Collins has written childrens books, as well as a young adult series The Hunger Games. However, her books frequently address heavy issues pervading our real world today, from war and starvation to politics and genocide.
This article first appeared here.
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Emmelyn curates and creates content in Kuala Lumpur, where she's spent the past decade building a portfolio comprising copy and video spanning both print and digital platforms. Endlessly fascinated with cookbooks, interior design, aesthetics, and video games, she is also an ardent foodie - a lemon tart, lychee martini, and coffee enthusiast. Her favourite animal is the common wombat. She's written one award winning cookbook.
