Collins’ career began in 1991 as a writer for children’s television shows. She worked on several television shows for Nickelodeon, including Clarissa Explains It All, The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo, Little Bear, and Oswald. She was also the head write for Scholastic Entertainment’s Clifford’s Puppy Days. She received a Writers Guild of America nomination in animation for co-writing the critically acclaimed Christmas special, Santa, Baby!

After meeting children’s author James Proimos while working on the Kids’ WB show Generation O!, Collins was inspired to write children’s books herself. Her inspiration for Gregor the Overlander, the first book of New York Times bestselling series The Underland Chronicles, came from Alice in Wonderland, when she was thinking about how one was more likely to fall down a manhole than a rabbit hole, and would find something other than a tea party. Collins also wrote a rhyming picture book illustrated by Mike Lester entitled When Charlie McButton Lost Power. Gregor and the Code of Claw, the last book of The Underland Chronicles, was released in 2007.

Collins also wrote a novel entitled The Hunger Games, the first of a trilogy, which was released in September 2008 by Scholastic Press. Collins lives in Connecticut with her family and 3 feral kittens.