Tui Tamara Sutherland (born July 31, 1978 in

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

) is an American children's book author who has written more than 50 books under her own name and under several

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

s. In 2009, she appeared as a contestant on ''

Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given genera ...

'', becoming a two-day champion and winning a grand total of $46,200. Sutherland's books have sold over 15 million copies; she is perhaps best known for writing the ''Wings of Fire'' series of dragon fantasy novels.

Early life, education and literary career

Tui T. Sutherland was born on July 31, 1978 in

. Her mother, who was from

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, named her after the tui, a bird native to that country. Sutherland lived in Asuncion,

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, and

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...

for short periods before moving to New Jersey in high school. While in high school she began doing theater, mostly backstage work. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...

in 1998, writing her college thesis about Ophelia from

William Shakespeare's William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

,'' then earned a Master of Arts in Art History. Sutherland abandoned ideas of a career in theater in favor of writing children's books after "she partook in creative writing courses over six months in New Zealand", a decision she half-joked allowed her career path "to be more far stable and lucrative". Sutherland began her professional literary career as an editor in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, at

Grosset & Dunlap Grosset & Dunlap is a New York City-based publishing house founded in 1898. The company was purchased by G. P. Putnam's Sons in 1982 and today is part of Penguin Random House through its subsidiary Penguin Group. Today, through the Penguin Gro ...

, then at

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...

; she rose to initial notoriety after becoming a member of the Erin Hunter team alongside

Victoria Holmes Victoria "Vicky" Holmes is an English author. She is better known by the name Erin Hunter, a pseudonym under which she and others write the New York Times Bestselling '' Warriors'' series. Biography Victoria Holmes was born in Berkshire, London ...

Kate Cary Kate Cary (born 4 November 1967 in Birmingham, England) is an author, most well known for her work on the ''Warriors'' series. Works Cary is a contributor to, alongside several others, the pen name Erin Hunter. She is also the single author ...

and

Cherith Baldry Cherith Baldry (born 21 January 1947) is a British writer of children's fiction and fantasy fiction. Beside publication under her own name, she is the author of some works published under the pseudonyms Adam Blade, Jenny Dale, Jack Dillon, and ...

on the popular ''Warriors'' and ''Seekers'' series, from the perspective of

cats The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of t ...

and

bears Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the North ...

respectively. Her initial success during this time, coupled with what she learned about the inside workings of the publishing industry, helped her build the courage to publish books of her own and to eventually quit her position as an editor to write full-time. Her first solo work, ''This Must Be Love'' (a retelling of ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

''), was published in 2004. Sutherland wrote books under her actual name (or an initialized variation) and under

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

s and

s, including Tamara Summers, Heather Williams, and Rob Kidd. After releasing the eighth and final installment in her

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

-oriented ''Pet Trouble'' series, Sutherland pitched the editing team at

Scholastic Inc. Scholastic Corporation () is an American multinational publishing, education, and media company that publishes and distributes books, comics, and educational materials for schools, parents, and children. Products are distributed via retail and on ...

about writing an epic fantasy series starring dragons as the heroes. With Amanda Maciel as her editor, the first ''Wings of Fire'' book was released on July 1, 2012, to generally positive critical reviews, as did subsequent entries; the series gradually amassed a substantial

cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

and became an international bestseller.

Personal life

Sutherland grew up sharing original ideas and exploring the

classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

with her younger sister Kari. She married her husband Adam in October 2007, and the two live in

Watertown Watertown may refer to: Places in China In China, a water town is a type of ancient scenic town known for its waterways. Places in the United States *Watertown, Connecticut, a New England town **Watertown (CDP), Connecticut, the central village ...

(in the greater

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

area) with their two children, Jonah (born 2010) and Elliot (born 2012). Though she has generally refrained from revealing private details about her life in her frequent public events, Sutherland's religious background has been noted. Sutherland is known to borrow influences from a variety of religious traditions and backgrounds; she "attended a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

missionary school in

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

, studied

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

in college" and is raising her children within a dual

Judeo-Christian The term Judeo-Christian is used to group Christianity and Judaism together, either in reference to Christianity's derivation from Judaism, Christianity's borrowing of Jewish Scripture to constitute the "Old Testament" of the Christian Bible, or ...

context, having "married a wonderful

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

man". Though she has woven philosophical and spiritual aspects from a variety of sources into her work, she has also said that "religion isn't something talked about as freely" in her daily life, instead hoping that her writing can open up discussions among readers and pose questions to contemplate in the freer, larger-than-life

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

worlds she creates. Sutherland has drawn inspiration from locations she has visited over the years, including the

Waitomo Caves Waitomo is a rural community in the King Country region of New Zealand's North Island. There are several solutional cave systems in the area around the village, which are popular tourist attractions. Restaurants and accommodation are centred in ...

and the Amber Palace in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. A long-time fan of ''

'', she named the sixth dog in the ''Pet Trouble'' series after it. In 2009, she was a two-day champion on the show, winning a total of $46,200 over three episodes; the first two games she won by a fine margin, whereas she lost the latter game by not wagering enough money on the final clue; had she wagered everything, she would have won the game.

Books

* ''Kermit's Mixed-Up Valentines'' (January 2, 2001, with Emily Sollinger; Out of Print) * ''Meet Mo and Ella'' (February 1, 2001; Out of Print) * ''Fun with Mo and Ella'' (February 1, 2002; Out of Print) * ''Who Was Harry Houdini?'' (July 1, 2002, as Tui Sutherland; Out of Print) * ''This Must Be Love'' (September 1, 2004; Out of Print) * ''Avatars: So This Is How It Ends'' (October 1, 2006, ''Avatars'' Book #1; Out of Print) * ''Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - The Junior Novelization'' (April 10, 2007, ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' Junior Book #3; Out of Print) * ''He's With Me'' (May 1, 2007, as Tamara Summers; Out of Print) * ''Warriors: Secrets of the Clans'' (May 29, 2007, as Erin Hunter, ''Warriors'' Companion Book #1) * ''Nellie Oleson meets Laura Ingalls'' (September 1, 2007, as Heather Williams; Out of Print) * ''Avatars: Shadow Falling'' (October 1, 2007, ''Avatars'' Book #2; Out of Print) * ''Save the Date'' (April 29, 2008, as Tamara Summers; Out of Print) * ''Seekers: The Quest Begins'' (May 27, 2008, as Erin Hunter, ''Seekers'' Book #1) * ''Kingdom of Twilight'' (October 1, 2008, ''Avatars'' Book #3; Out of Print) * ''Legends of the Brethren Court: The Caribbean'' (October 14, 2008, as Rob Kidd, ''Legends of the Brethren Court'' Book #1; Out of Print) * ''Legends of the Brethren Court: The East'' (December 9, 2008, as Rob Kidd, ''Legends of the Brethren Court'' Book #2; Out of Print) * ''Legends of the Brethren Court: The Turning Tide'' (March 17, 2009, as Rob Kidd, ''Legends of the Brethren Court'' Book #3; Out of Print) * ''Pet Trouble: Runaway Retriever'' (April 1, 2009, as T.T. Sutherland, ''Pet Trouble'' Book #1) * ''Pet Trouble: Loudest Beagle on the Block'' (April 1, 2009, as T.T. Sutherland, ''Pet Trouble'' Book #2) * ''Seekers: Smoke Mountain'' (May 14, 2009, as Erin Hunter, ''Seekers'' Book #3) * ''Pet Trouble: Mud-Puddle Poodle'' (July 1, 2009, as T.T. Sutherland, ''Pet Trouble'' Book #3) * ''Legends of the Brethren Court: Wild Waters'' (August 18, 2009, as Rob Kidd, ''Legends of the Brethren Court'' Book #4; Out of Print) * "Skittering" (''Half-Minute Horrors'', Short Story Anthology, August 25, 2009; Out of Print) * ''Never Bite a Boy on the First Date'' (September 16, 2009, as Tamara Summers; Out of Print) * ''Legends of the Brethren Court: Day of the Shadow'' (November 1, 2009, as Rob Kidd, ''Legends of the Brethren Court'' Book #5; Out of Print) * ''Pet Trouble: Bulldog Won't Budge'' (November 1, 2009, as T.T. Sutherland, ''Pet Trouble'' Book #4) * ''Pet Trouble: Oh No, Newf!'' (February 1, 2010, as T.T. Sutherland, ''Pet Trouble'' Book #5) * ''Pet Trouble: Smarty-Pants Sheltie'' (May 1, 2010, as T.T. Sutherland, ''Pet Trouble'' Book #6) * ''Seekers: Fire in the Sky'' (May 11, 2010, as Erin Hunter'',

Seekers The Seekers, or Legatine-Arians as they were sometimes known, were an English dissenting group that emerged around the 1620s, probably inspired by the preaching of three brothers – Walter, Thomas, and Bartholomew Legate. Seekers considered all ...

Book #5)'' * ''Pet Trouble: Bad to the Bone Boxer'' (August 1, 2010, as T.T. Sutherland, ''Pet Trouble'' Book #7) * ''Pet Trouble: Dachshund Disaster'' (November 1, 2010, as T.T. Sutherland, ''Pet Trouble'' Book #8) * ''Farmer Boy Goes West'' (February 14, 2012 as Heather Williams; Out of Print) * ''Wings of Fire: The Dragonet Prophecy'' (July 1, 2012, ''Wings of Fire'' Book #1) * ''Wings of Fire: The Lost Heir'' (January 1, 2013, ''Wings of Fire'' Book #2) * ''The Menagerie'' (March 12, 2013, with Kari Sutherland, ''The Menagerie'' Book #1) * ''Wings of Fire: The Hidden Kingdom'' (May 28, 2013, ''Wings of Fire'' Book #3) * ''Wings of Fire: The Dark Secret'' (October 29, 2013, ''Wings of Fire'' Book #4) * "The Incredibly Important True Story of Me!" (''Lucky Dog: Twelve Tales of Rescued Dogs'', Short Story Anthology, January 28, 2014; Out of Print) * ''The Menagerie: Dragon on Trial'' (March 11, 2014, with Kari Sutherland, ''The Menagerie'' Book #2) * ''Wings of Fire: The Brightest Night'' (March 25, 2014, ''Wings of Fire'' Book #5) * ''Spirit Animals: Against the Tide'' (September 30, 2014, ''Spirit Animals'' Book #5) * ''Wings of Fire: Moon Rising'' (December 30, 2014, ''Wings of Fire'' Book #6) * ''The Menagerie: Kraken on Trial'' (March 10, 2015, with Kari Sutherland, ''The Menagerie'' Book #3) * ''Wings of Fire: Winglets #1 - Prisoners'' (March 31, 2015, ''Wings of Fire'' Short Story #1) * ''Wings of Fire: Winter Turning'' (June 30, 2015, ''Wings of Fire'' Book #7) * ''Wings of Fire: Winglets #2 - Assassin'' (September 29, 2015, ''Wings of Fire'' Short Story #2) * ''Wings of Fire: Escaping Peril'' (December 29, 2015, ''Wings of Fire'' Book #8) * ''Wings of Fire: Winglets #3 - Deserter'' (March 29, 2016, ''Wings of Fire'' Short Story #3) * ''Wings of Fire: Legends - Darkstalker'' (June 28, 2016, ''Wings of Fire'' ''Legends'' Special Edition #1) * ''Wings of Fire - A Winglets Collection: The First Three Stories'' (September 1, 2016, ''Wings of Fire'' Compilation of ''Prisoners'', ''Assassin'' and ''Deserter''; Limited Print) * ''Wings of Fire: Winglets #4 - Runaway'' (September 27, 2016, ''Wings of Fire'' Short Story #4) * ''Wings of Fire: Talons of Power'' (December 27, 2016, ''Wings of Fire'' Book #9) * ''Wings of Fire: Darkness of Dragons'' (July 25, 2017, ''Wings of Fire'' Book #10) * ''Wings of Fire - The Graphic Novel: The Dragonet Prophecy'' (January 2, 2018, with Mike Holmes, ''Wings of Fire'' Graphic Novel #1) * ''Wings of Fire: The Lost Continent'' (June 26, 2018, ''Wings of Fire'' Book #11) * ''Wings of Fire: The Hive Queen'' (December 26, 2018, ''Wings of Fire'' Book #12) * ''Wings of Fire - The Graphic Novel: The Lost Heir'' (February 26, 2019, with Mike Holmes, ''Wings of Fire'' Graphic Novel #2) * ''Wings of Fire: The Winglets Flip Book'' (April 27, 2019, ''Wings of Fire'' Compilation of ''Assassin'' and ''Deserter''; Limited Print) * ''Wings of Fire: The Poison Jungle'' (July 30, 2019, ''Wings of Fire'' Book #13) * ''Wings of Fire - The Graphic Novel: The Hidden Kingdom'' (October 15, 2019, with Mike Holmes, ''Wings of Fire'' Graphic Novel #3) * ''Wings of Fire: Legends - Dragonslayer'' (March 3, 2020, ''Wings of Fire'' ''Legends'' Special Edition #2) * ''Wings of Fire: The Winglets Quartet - The First Four Stories'' (October 6, 2020, ''Wings of Fire'' Compilation of ''Prisoners'', ''Assassin'', ''Deserter'' and ''Runaway'') * ''Wings of Fire - The Graphic Novel: The Dark Secret'' (December 29, 2020, with Mike Holmes, ''Wings of Fire'' Graphic Novel #4) * ''Wings of Fire: The Dangerous Gift'' (March 2, 2021, ''Wings of Fire'' Book #14) * ''Wings of Fire: Forge Your Dragon World'' (May 4, 2021, with Mike Holmes, ''Wings of Fire'' Activity Book) * ''Wings of Fire - The Graphic Novel: The Brightest Night'' (December 28, 2021 with Mike Holmes, ''Wings of Fire'' Graphic Novel #5) * ''Wings of Fire: The Flames of Hope'' (April 5, 2022, ''Wings of Fire'' Book #15) * ''Wings of Fire: The Official Coloring Book'' (April 5, 2022, with Brianna C. Walsh, ''Wings of Fire'' Activity Book) * ''Wings of Fire - The Graphic Novel: Moon Rising'' (December 27, 2022, with Mike Holmes, ''Wings of Fire'' Graphic Novel #6) * ''Wings of Fire: A Guide to the Dragon World'' (October 3, 2023, ''Wings of Fire'' Companion Book) * ''Wings of Fire: How to Draw'' (November 7, 2023, with Brianna C. Walsh, ''Wings of Fire'' Activity Book) * ''Wings of Fire - The Graphic Novel: Winter Turning'' (TBA with Mike Holmes, ''Wings of Fire'' Graphic Novel #7) * ''Wings of Fire - The Graphic Novel: Escaping Peril'' (TBA with Mike Holmes, ''Wings of Fire'' Graphic Novel #8) * ''Wings of Fire - The Graphic Novel: Talons of Power'' (TBA with Mike Holmes, ''Wings of Fire'' Graphic Novel #9) * ''Wings of Fire - The Graphic Novel: Darkness of Dragons'' (TBA with Mike Holmes, ''Wings of Fire'' Graphic Novel #10) Note: All books credited as Tui T. Sutherland unless otherwise stated.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sutherland, Tui American children's writers 1978 births Living people Jeopardy! contestants Warriors (novel series) Williams College alumni Venezuelan emigrants to the United States American women children's writers People from Caracas 21st-century pseudonymous writers Pseudonymous women writers Fantasy writers