The Hunger Games trilogy is expected to achieve cult status in South Africa mirroring that of the Twilight and Harry Potter series. Author Suzanne Collins gives us insight into her creation

The Hunger Games trilogy is set in Panem, a post-apocalyptic country that was once known as the United States of America. In the first novel, readers are introduced to 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who takes the place of her younger sister, Primrose, in an annual televised battle to the death between one girl and one boy from each of Panem’s 12 oppressed Districts.

The Games, as they are known, were instituted as punishment for the Districts’ rebellion against Panem’s powerful controlling central city, Capitol.

As “tribute” (as the fighters are known), Katniss is not only forced to face unknown peers from neighbouring Districts in a dangerous outdoor arena but also her childhood friend, Peeta Mellark, who complicates matters when he reveals his love for her on the eve of the battle.

Q: You weave action, adventure, mythology, sci-fi, romance and philosophy throughout The Hunger Games. What influenced the creation of The Hunger Games?

A: A significant influence would have to be the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. The myth tells how in punishment for past deeds, Athens periodically had to send seven youths and seven maidens to Crete, where they were thrown in the Labyrinth and devoured by the monstrous Minotaur.

Even as a kid, I could appreciate how ruthless this was. Crete was sending a very clear message: “Mess with us and we’ll do something worse than kill you. We’ll kill your children.” And the thing is, it was allowed; the parents sat by powerless to stop it. Theseus, who was the son of the king, volunteered to go. I guess in her own way, Katniss is a futuristic Theseus.

In keeping with the classical roots, I send my tributes into an updated version of the Roman gladiator games, which entails a ruthless government forcing people to fight to the death as popular entertainment. The world of Panem, particularly the Capitol, is loaded with Roman references. Panem itself comes from the expression “Panem et Circenses”, which translates into “Bread and Circuses”.

The audiences for both the Roman games and reality TV are almost characters in themselves. They can respond with great enthusiasm or play a role in your elimination.

I was channel surfing between reality TV programming and actual war coverage when Katniss’s story came to me.

One night I’m sitting there flipping around and on one channel there’s a group of young people competing for, I don’t know, money maybe? And on the next, there’s a group of young people fighting an actual war. And I was tired, and the lines began to blur in this very unsettling way, and I thought of this story.

Q: The Hunger Games is an annual televised event in which one boy and one girl from each of the 12 districts is forced to participate in a fight to the death on live TV. What do you think the appeal of reality television is?

A: Well, they’re often set up as games and, like sporting events, there’s an interest in seeing who wins. The contestants are usually unknown, which makes them relatable. Sometimes they have very talented people performing.

Then there’s the voyeuristic thrill – watching people being humiliated, or brought to tears, or suffering physically – which I find very disturbing.

There’s also the potential for desensitising the audience, so that when they see real tragedy playing out on, say, the news, it doesn’t have the impact it should.

Q: The book’s premise is very brutal, yet is handled so tastefully. Was this a difficult balance to achieve?

A: Yes, the death scenes are always hard to write. It’s difficult to put kids in violent situations. Characters will die. It’s not fun to write, but I think if you can’t commit to really doing the idea, it’s probably better to work on another type of story.

Given that, you have to remember who you’re trying to reach with the book. I try and think of how I would tell a particularly difficult event to my own children – exactly what details they need to know to really understand it, and what would be gratuitous.

Q: The Hunger Games tackles issues like severe poverty, starvation, oppression and the effects of war, among others. What drew you to such serious subject matter?

A: That was probably my dad’s influence. He was career air force, a military specialist, a historian and a doctor of political science. When I was a kid, he was gone for a year in Vietnam. It was very important to him that we understood about certain aspects of life.

So, it wasn’t enough to visit a battlefield, we needed to know why the battle occurred, how it played out, and the consequences. Fortunately, he had a gift for presenting history as a fascinating story.

He also seemed to have a good sense of exactly how much a child could handle, which is quite a bit.

Q: In The Hunger Games, Katniss and Gale have an extensive knowledge of hunting, foraging, wildlife and survival techniques. What kinds of research did you do, if any?

A: Some things I knew from listening to my dad talking about his childhood. He grew up during the Depression. For his family, hunting was not a sport but a way to put meat on the table.

He also knew a certain amount about edible plants. He’d go into the woods and gather all these wild mushrooms and bring them home and sauté them. My mom wouldn’t let any of us go near them. But he’d eat them up and they never harmed him, so I guess he knew which ones were safe, because wild mushrooms can be very deadly.

I also read a big stack of wilderness survival guidebooks. What I learned: you’ve got to be really good to survive out there for more than a few days.

Q: Was The Hunger Games always planned as a trilogy?

A: Not necessarily. But once I’d thought through to the end of the first book, I realised that there was no way the story was concluded. Katniss does something that would never go unpunished in her world. There would definitely be repercussions.

And so the question of whether to continue with a series was answered for me.

Q: What do you hope readers will come away with when they read this book?

A: Questions about how elements of the book might be relevant in their own lives. And, if they’re disturbing, what they might do about them.