Suzanne Collins: The Creator of The Hunger Games
In 2008, Stephen King called The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins “a violent, jarring, speed-rap of a novel that generates nearly constant suspense.” Collins, a New York Times best-selling author, imagines a dystopian future in which her young heroine Katniss Everdeen battles for survival – and food – in a twisted reality TV show.
The final two installments in this trilogy, Catching Fire and Mockingjay, also sold millions of copies worldwide. Other acclaimed children’s books by Collins include Gregor the Overlander and Year of the Jungle.
Suzanne Collins Travel Tips
Do you dare to immerse yourself in the world of The Hunger Games? Head to Motiongate Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. This theme park includes a Hunger Games section with a Capitol Bullet Train roller coaster and an aerial tour of Panem, among other attractions.
A Washington Post travel article speculated that Denver is the setting for the corrupt Capitol in The Hunger Games. In the Colorado capital, pick up books by Suzanne Collins at the award-winning Tattered Cover independent bookstore. Drink like the sottish Haymitch Abernathy at Wynkoop Brewing Co. or the Ale House. Or gape at the giant blue bear, reminiscent of the scary Hunger Games “muttations,” outside the Colorado Convention Center.
Georgia is famed as the setting for Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind, but it also hosted filming for the Hunger Games movies starring Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, and Lenny Kravitz. In Atlanta, take a self-guided tour including locations like the Atlanta Marriott Marquis (the tributes’ quarters) and the Atlanta History Center (President Snow’s residence).
More Hunger Games film locations await in North Carolina. Just south of Asheville, DuPont State Recreational Forest is where Katniss Everdeen hunts for food and flees her foes. The ominous reaping scene where children are chosen to fight in The Hunger Games was shot in Shelby. During filming in nearby Charlotte, Woody Harrelson enjoyed playing chess at Amelie’s, a popular local bakery, and Lenny Kravitz feasted at the Cabo Fish Taco.
Are you hungry to build The Hunger Games into your next Hawaii trip? On Oahu, stay at the Turtle Bay Resort, where cast and crew members bunked down during the filming of Catching Fire. From surfing and kayaking in Kuilima Cove to dining and drinking at Ola’s and Lei Lei’s, the resort offers many ways to relax. Other Catching Fire scenes showcase Kawela Bay and the Manoa Valley trails.