Suzanne Collins is one of the most popular young adult authors in the 21st century. In 2008, she wrote The Hunger Games, which is by far her most popular novel and a very popular franchise. The first book is about a young girl living in a nation of oppressed districts facing an all powerful Capitol.
Suzanne Collins understood the popularity of her book and decided to write two more books, forming a Hunger Games Trilogy. Movies of all three of those novels were created, only heightening the media attention they received. Fanfictions, fanart, and even fan edits were made of the movies. Additionally, she released a prequel novel in 2020, giving an origin story to the president of the Hunger Games nation of Panem. It was titled Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Production of the movie adaptation was quick to be set in motion, and it was released in 2023.
On June 6, 2024, Suzanne Collins announced not only a new novel, but the future production of a movie adaptation as well. The new novel, entitled Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, is set to be released on March 18, 2025, with the movie following a little over a year later on November 20, 2026. This will be another prequel story of the original Hunger Games novel, approximately 40 years after the events in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
Before an official description of this novel was released, fans had a vague idea of what it was going to be about. They suspected that it would cover the story of the 50th Hunger Games, which would be the second Quarter Quell, where Haymitch Abernathy would compete and later win. In the Hunger Games Universe, a ‘Quarter Quell’ is a special version of the Hunger Games that takes place every 25 years. For context, the average reaping is one boy and one girl anonymously picked from an age pool of 12-17. The Quarter Quells can affect this fact and the reaping can be different for the districts, as noted in Hunger Games: Catching Fire, when the male and female tributes were selected from the existing pool of victors.
In this particular Quarter Quell, double the amount of tributes were selected and sent to the Capitol to compete. Additionally, Katniss mentions details of the arena and how Haymitch discovered a way to win, also revealing the fate of his family and the girl he was in love with.
On October 16, 2024, an official description of the novel was released, also revealing the cover to the fans. It’s officially confirmed that the story would be about Haymitch’s games. What shocked most fans, is that it’s hinted that the stories of the other three tributes would be followed as well. Even in the description of the novel, their identities are hinted at and they are broadly described as “a young friend who’s nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker and the most stuck-up girl in town”.
This is making fans even more excited for this novel. The format of her other books have always been in first person, following the story and thoughts of the main character, Katniss Everdeen, and then Coriolanus Snow. Perhaps this novel will allow for multiple points of views, which would be a fun twist. Either way, fans are very excited to read this book as soon as it comes out.