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Tui Sutherland
“There's a tree," Starflight said, jumping to his feet. "In the forest." 
"No way," Glory said. "A tree in the forest?”
― Tui T. Sutherland, The Lost Heir 

Tui T. Sutherland is a Venezuelan-American children's book author who has also written under the pen name Heather Williams. She shares another pen name, Erin Hunter, with writers Kate Cary, Cherith Baldry, and others when they collaborate with editor Victoria Holmes on the Seekers and Warriors series of novels. She is well known for writing the Wings of Fire series.

She was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and grew up in South America. She now lives in Boston with her husband and Sunshine, her ridiculous, perfect dog. For several years she was an editor in children’s book publishing in New York, working on series including The Zack Files, Grail Quest, Midnighters, Warriors, and Spy Goddess. 

Fun facts

  • Tui is named after a very noisy New Zealand bird.
  • She has the same birthday as Harry Potter – 31 July.  
  • Tui has lived in Paraguay, Florida, the Dominican Republic, New Jersey, New York and Boston.
  • Tui has written under a bunch of different names including Robb Kidd, Tamara Summers, Erin Hunter and Heather Williams.
  • In 2009, she appeared as a contestant on Jeopardy!, becoming a two-day champion and winning a grand total of $46,200.
  • Tui’s dog Sunshine is a Yoodle. What is a yoodle, you ask? A dog that is three-quarters poodle and one-quarter Yorkshire terrier.
  • She loves getting snail mail. You can send her a letter through her Publisher in New York, Scholastic.
  • Tui believes she is best suited for writing, a job where she can sleep until noon and work in her pyjamas.

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