Existem muitos romances distópicos que apresentam elementos similares a ambos, "The Hunger Games" e "The Long Walk" (veja os úteis fornecido por Skippy em seu comentário sob a pergunta).
De acordo com o artigo da Wikipédia sobre Jogos Vorazes -
Collins has said that the inspiration for The Hunger Games came from channel surfing on television. On one channel she observed people competing on a reality show and on another she saw footage of the invasion of Iraq. The two "began to blur in this very unsettling way" and the idea for the book was formed. The Greek myth of Theseus served as a major basis for the story, with Collins describing Katniss as a futuristic Theseus, and Roman gladiatorial games provided the framework. The sense of loss that Collins developed through her father's service in the Vietnam War was also an influence on the story, with Katniss having lost her father at age 11, five years before the story begins.
A nota de rodapé indica que a informação foi obtida em um entrevista com Suzanne Collins no final de 2008.