Suzanne Collins’ Literary Agent Discusses The Hunger Games Author And YA Books

Posted November 21, 2012 by Ciara in Books

Rosemary Stimola, the literary agent of Suzanne Collins, attended “Pop Culture Publishing: Young Adult Megahits,” a panel discussing the way in which publishing for Young Adult novels has changed in the past decade due to the successes of such titles as Harry Potter and Twilight. One of the recent blockbuster series is of course The Hunger Games:

For Stimola, who represents Suzanne Collins, her discovery of The Hunger Games was less serendipitous: Collins was already one of her clients. Stimola admitted that, if any other author had approached her with an idea for a book in which a group of children in a dystopian society battle to the death, she “might have hesitated.” But having worked with Collins on her middle-grade series, The Underland Chronicles, Stimola already knew of the “wealth of info” that Collins typically brings to a project, along with her ability to create complex worlds and characters that function beyond dichotomies of black and white or good and evil. Among the earliest concerns that she and Collins discussed was how to keep Katniss sympathetic in spite of “the harshness and deprivation she has endured.” Stimola also revealed that The Hunger Games was sold to Scholastic based on a “four-page proposal” from Collins.
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Naturally, an author’s life changes dramatically when a book catapults into success. Suzanne Collins has remained largely out of the spotlight by choice, though she has provided steady input for the Hunger Games films and worked directly with Gary Ross on the scripts, says Stimola. She has also remained carefully guarded of her writing process, and insisted that she complete Mockingjay before any film developments began so the book would not be colored by outside influences.

The panel also agreed that whilst popularity for a certain kind of series determined great success, repetition is not an option. Diversity in novels is the key to stable and continuing business:

While the slush pile will continue to overflow with queries claiming a manuscript to be “better than Twilight,” the panelists continue to seek strong, original stories that don’t capitalize on a previous book’s success. Stimola said that if a book features a rebellious girl facing down a totalitarian government in a post-apocalyptic world, she’s likely to pass: “I’ve done that.”

I’m glad Collins chose to wait to complete the series before production on the film adaptations began. The article reveals more about the changing industry including the way in which fame can hinder the writing process, you can read it in its entirety here at Publisher’s Weekly. Source: The Hob