Tui T Sutherland Books

Tui T Sutherland is a Venezuelan-American author that writes children’s fiction. She collaborated with various authors to write the Seekers and Warriors series under the ‘Erin Hunter’ pen name. She won $46,000 in 2009 after appearing on ‘Jeopardy!’.

As a child, Sutherland was obsessed with the written word. She grew up reading stories about girls that wanted to tell stories of their own. She was also drawn to novels with female characters that were determined to carve out a place for themselves in the world. ‘Anne of Green Gables’ was one of her favorites.

As a writer, she was always drawn to children’s fiction. To Sutherland, children were simply the most interesting audience in the world and she enjoyed the challenge of finding new ways to entertain them.

She also found that her fondest reading memories were connected to the books she read between the ages of 10 and 14. The stories she encountered in that period went on to shape her entire life. Her objective is to write hopeful and joyful novels.

She isn’t afraid to tackle darker ideas. But every journey her characters start, no matter how dreary, eventually reaches a peaceful and encouraging destination. She wants children to realize that it is within their power to control their destinies regardless of the restrictions life has have placed upon them.

Born in Caracas, Venezuela in 1978, her mother was a New Zealand woman who named her after the Tui, a New Zealand bird. Life eventually took her to places like Asuncion, Paraguay, and Miami, not to mention the Dominican Republic and Santo Domingo.

She attended high school in New Jersey. It was during those years that she got involved with the theater, though she mostly worked backstage. This did not leave her quite as much time to write. She was just as busy in college.

After graduating from Williams College in 1998, the author found that she did not know what to do with the rest of her life. She considered going to art history graduate school. It also occurred to her that she might have a future as a stage manager in theater.

Numerous other ideas flitted through her head during this period. But none of them gave her peace. So she packed her things and went back home, hoping to use the change of pace to find her footing.

But it only took a week for her mother to start hinting that it might be time for her to move out again. So Sutherland packed her things once more. But this time she fled to New Zealand; she had no idea what to expect from her six-month trip.

The author found an uncle with whom she could stay. She took that opportunity to attend the University of Auckland. While she tried her hand at a number of classes, the children’s literature course left a lasting impression.

She also found that she had a hunger to write. And after attending the children’s literature class, she concluded that children’s books were her passion. So, she started pursuing this new dream. The author’s journey was far from straightforward.

She started out by interviewing for an editorial assistant position at Penguin. In the years that followed, she did quite a bit of editing, using the experience to gain an in-depth understanding of storytelling

Finally, she struck out on her own, making a name for herself as a solo author, not to mention all the work she did under the ‘Erin Hunter’ umbrella.

Tui T. Sutherland Awards

Sutherland was nominated for Colorado, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina Children’s Book Awards. She also received a nomination for the Nene Award.

Best Tui T. Sutherland Books

Sutherland writes for children because she knows that her stories have the power to influence them drastically at that young age, with some of the best books in her bibliography including:

Dragonet Prophecy: Five dragonets have been chosen to bring peace to the seven dragon tribes that have been at war for generations. The Talons of Peace have entrusted them with a prophecy that promises an eventual end to the fighting.

But the dragonets don’t care about destiny, which is why they have chosen to run away.

The Lost Heir: Tsunami was stolen from her home when she was an egg. Now she is finally returning to the SeaWing Kingdom. Tsunami hopes to reunite with her mother, the Queen. But she is also wary of the assassin that has been killing Queen Coral’s heirs.

When Does The Next Tui T Sutherland book come out?

Tui T Sutherland doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is Dragonslayer and was released on March, 3rd 2020. It is the newest book in the Wings of Fire: Legends Series.

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