Tui T. Sutherland facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tui T. Sutherland
Sutherland at the 2017 New York Comic Con
Born	Tui Tamara Sutherland (1978-07-31) July 31, 1978 (age 47) Caracas, Venezuela
Pen name	Heather Williams Erin Hunter (shared) Rob Kidd (shared) Tamara Summers
Occupation	Author
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Williams College
Genre	Children's literature
Notable works	Wings of Fire (novel series)
Children	2

Tui Tamara Sutherland (born July 31, 1978, in Caracas, Venezuela) is an American children's book author. She has written over 60 books, some under her own name and others using different pen names. She is most famous for her exciting Wings of Fire series, which is about dragons. Her books have sold more than 15 million copies! In 2009, she even won $46,200 on the TV show Jeopardy!.

Tui Sutherland's Early Life and Writing Journey

Tui T. Sutherland was born in Caracas, Venezuela, on July 31, 1978. Her mother, who was from New Zealand, named her after the tūī, a bird native to that country. Tui lived in several places like Asuncion, Miami, and Santo Domingo for short times. She then moved to New Jersey when she was in high school.

While in high school, Tui enjoyed working backstage in theater. She later went to Williams College and earned a degree in English Literature in 1998. After college, she decided to write children's books. She joked that this choice made her career "more stable and lucrative" (meaning more steady and profitable).

Becoming a Published Author

Tui Sutherland started her writing career as an editor in Brooklyn, New York. Her first solo book, This Must Be Love, came out in 2004. She became a New York Times bestselling author with her book based on the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.

She also became well-known for joining the Erin Hunter team. This team writes the popular Warriors series, which is about cats, and the Seekers series, which is about bears. Working on these series helped her learn a lot about publishing. This gave her the confidence to write and publish many of her own books. Eventually, Tui left her job as an editor to become a full-time writer. She later moved to Watertown, Massachusetts.

Tui Sutherland uses her real name for some books. She also writes under other names, called pseudonyms or pen names. These include Tamara Summers, Heather Williams, and Rob Kidd.

The Wings of Fire Series

After finishing her Pet Trouble series, which was about dogs, Tui had an idea for a new series. She wanted to write an exciting fantasy series where dragons were the main heroes. She shared this idea with her agent and the team at Scholastic Inc..

The first book in the Wings of Fire series came out on July 1, 2012. It quickly became very popular. Over time, the series gained a huge fan base and became an international bestseller.

Tui Sutherland's Personal Life

Tui grew up with her younger sister, Kari. They often shared ideas and explored classic stories together. Tui married her husband, Adam, in October 2007. They live in Watertown, Massachusetts with their two sons.

Tui doesn't often share many private details about her life. However, she has mentioned that she gets ideas from different religious traditions. She went to a Baptist missionary school in Paraguay and studied Buddhism in college. She is raising her children with Judeo-Christian influences, as her husband is Jewish. She hopes her writing can start discussions and make readers think about big questions in the fantasy worlds she creates.

Tui also gets ideas for her fantasy worlds from places she has visited. These include the Waitomo Glowworm Caves in New Zealand and the Amber Palace in India. She also watches nature documentaries like Planet Earth to help her imagine different environments.

Tui's Jeopardy! Experience

Tui Sutherland has always been a big fan of the TV show Jeopardy!. She even named one of the dogs in her Pet Trouble series after the show! In 2009, she was a champion on Jeopardy!, winning a total of $46,200 over three episodes. She won her first two games by a small amount. In her last game, she didn't bet enough money on the final question and lost. If she had bet everything, she would have won that game too!

In June 2024, Tui started a free online newsletter to connect with her fans.

Tui Sutherland's Books

Tui Sutherland has written many books, both by herself and with other authors. Here are some of her well-known works:

Individual titles

• 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)
• This Must Be Love (September 1, 2004; Out of Print)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - The Junior Novelization (April 10, 2007, as T.T. Sutherland, Pirates of the Caribbean Junior Book #3; Out of Print)

Under pseudonym

As Erin Hunter

• Warriors: Secrets of the Clans (May 29, 2007, under Erin Hunter, Warriors Companion Book #1)
• Seekers: The Quest Begins (May 27, 2008, under Erin Hunter, Seekers Book #1)
• Seekers: Smoke Mountain (May 14, 2009, under Erin Hunter, Seekers Book #3)
• Seekers: Fire in the Sky (May 11, 2010, under Erin Hunter, Seekers Book #5)
• Seekers: The Melting Sea (June 5, 2012, under Erin Hunter, Seekers: Return to the Wild Book #2)

As Rob Kidd

• Legends of the Brethren Court: The Caribbean (October 14, 2008, under Rob Kidd, Legends of the Brethren Court Book #1; Out of Print)
• Legends of the Brethren Court: The East (December 9, 2008, under Rob Kidd, Legends of the Brethren Court Book #2; Out of Print)
• Legends of the Brethren Court: The Turning Tide (March 17, 2009, under Rob Kidd, Legends of the Brethren Court Book #3; Out of Print)
• Legends of the Brethren Court: Wild Waters (August 18, 2009, under Rob Kidd, Legends of the Brethren Court Book #4; Out of Print)
• Legends of the Brethren Court: Day of the Shadow (November 1, 2009, under Rob Kidd, Legends of the Brethren Court Book #5; Out of Print)

As Tamara Summers

• He's With Me (May 1, 2007, as Tamara Summers; Out of Print)
• Save the Date (April 29, 2008, as Tamara Summers; Out of Print)
• Never Bite a Boy on the First Date (September 16, 2009, as Tamara Summers; Out of Print)

As Heather Williams

• Nellie Oleson meets Laura Ingalls (September 1, 2007, as Heather Williams; Out of Print)
• Farmer Boy Goes West (February 14, 2012, as Heather Williams; Out of Print)

Anthologies

• "Skittering" (Half-Minute Horrors, Short Story Anthology, August 25, 2009; Out of Print)
• "The Incredibly Important True Story of Me!" (Lucky Dog: Twelve Tales of Rescued Dogs, Short Story Anthology, January 28, 2014; Out of Print)

Series

Avatars

• Avatars: So This Is How It Ends (October 1, 2006, Avatars Book #1; Out of Print)
• Avatars: Shadow Falling (October 1, 2007, Avatars Book #2; Out of Print)
• Kingdom of Twilight (October 1, 2008, Avatars Book #3; Out of Print)

Pet Trouble

• 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)
• Pet Trouble: Mud-Puddle Poodle (July 1, 2009, as T.T. Sutherland, Pet Trouble Book #3)
• 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)
• 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)

The Menagerie

• The Menagerie (March 12, 2013, with Kari Sutherland, The Menagerie Book #1)
• The Menagerie: Dragon on Trial (March 11, 2014, with Kari Sutherland, The Menagerie Book #2)
• The Menagerie: Krakens and Lies (March 10, 2015, with Kari Sutherland, The Menagerie Book #3)

Spirit Animals

• Spirit Animals: Against the Tide (September 30, 2014, Spirit Animals Book #5)

Wings of Fire

• 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)
• 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)
• Wings of Fire: The Brightest Night (March 25, 2014, Wings of Fire Book #5)
• Wings of Fire: Moon Rising (December 30, 2014, Wings of Fire Book #6)
• Wings of Fire: Winter Turning (June 30, 2015, Wings of Fire Book #7)
• Wings of Fire: Escaping Peril (December 29, 2015, Wings of Fire Book #8)
• 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 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 Poison Jungle (July 30, 2019, Wings of Fire Book #13)
• Wings of Fire: The Dangerous Gift (March 2, 2021, Wings of Fire Book #14)
• Wings of Fire: The Flames of Hope (April 5, 2022, Wings of Fire Book #15)
• Wings of Fire: The Hybrid Prince (March 3, 2026, Wings of Fire Book #16)

Wings of Fire: Winglets

• Wings of Fire: Winglets #1 - Prisoners (March 31, 2015, Wings of Fire Short Story #1)
• Wings of Fire: Winglets #2 - Assassin (September 29, 2015, Wings of Fire Short Story #2)
• Wings of Fire: Winglets #3 - Deserter (March 29, 2016, Wings of Fire Short Story #3)
• Wings of Fire: Winglets #4 - Runaway (September 27, 2016, Wings of Fire Short Story #4)
• 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: The Winglets Flip Book (April 27, 2019, Wings of Fire Compilation of Assassin and Deserter; Limited Print)
• 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: Legends

• Wings of Fire: Legends - Darkstalker (June 28, 2016, Wings of Fire Legends Special Edition #1)
• Wings of Fire: Legends - Dragonslayer (March 3, 2020, Wings of Fire Legends Special Edition #2)

Wings of Fire - The Graphic Novel

• 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 Graphic Novel: The Lost Heir (February 26, 2019, with Mike Holmes, Wings of Fire Graphic Novel #2)
• Wings of Fire - The Graphic Novel: The Hidden Kingdom (October 15, 2019, with Mike Holmes, Wings of Fire Graphic Novel #3)
• 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 Graphic Novel: The Brightest Night (December 28, 2021, with Mike Holmes, Wings of Fire Graphic Novel #5)
• Wings of Fire - The Graphic Novel: Moon Rising (December 27, 2022, with Mike Holmes, Wings of Fire Graphic Novel #6)
• Wings of Fire - The Graphic Novel: Winter Turning (December 26, 2023, with Mike Holmes, Wings of Fire Graphic Novel #7)
• Wings of Fire - The Graphic Novel: Escaping Peril (December 24, 2024, with Mike Holmes, Wings of Fire Graphic Novel #8)
• Wings of Fire - The Graphic Novel: Talons of Power (December 30, 2025, with Mike Holmes, Wings of Fire Graphic Novel #9)

Wings of Fire (Spin-offs and Tie-ins)

• Wings of Fire: Forge Your Dragon World (May 4, 2021, with Mike Holmes, Wings of Fire Activity Book)
• Wings of Fire: The Official Coloring Book (April 5, 2022, with Brianna C. Walsh, Wings of Fire Activity Book)
• 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)
• The Official Wings of Fire Stained Glass Art Book (February 4, 2025, Wings of Fire Activity Book)
• The Official Wings of Fire Stickerpedia (March 3, 2026, with Brianna C. Walsh, Wings of Fire Activity Book)