Following the theatrical release of last year’s The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, The Hunger Games franchise is officially receiving another prequel novel titled Sunrise on the Reaping from bestselling author Suzanne Collins.
Sunrise on the Reaping is set to be published by Scholastic on March 18, 2025. This new Hunger Games book comes after five years since Scholastic first launched Collins’ Coriolanus Snow-centered prequel.
“With Sunrise on the Reaping, I was inspired by David Hume’s idea of implicit submission and, in his words, ‘the easiness with which the many are governed by the few.'” Collins said in a statement via press release. “The story also lent itself to a deeper dive into the use of propaganda and the power of those who control the narrative. The question ‘Real or not real?’ seems more pressing to me every day.”
What will happen in the new Hunger Games book Sunrise on the Reaping?
Sunrise on the Reaping will take place during The Hunger Games’ Second Quarter Quell, which is known to many fans as the game that fan-favorite character Haymitch Abernathy was a part of. The character was originally portrayed by Woody Harrelson in the film franchise. Unlike The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, fans already have an idea of what to expect from the upcoming prequel novel since 2009’s Catching Fire had mentioned key details about how Haymitch won his game, which featured 48 tributes rather than 24, while Katniss and Peeta were preparing for their own Quarter Quell.
The novel’s initial synopsis reads, “Sunrise on the Reaping will revisit the world of Panem twenty-four years before the events of The Hunger Games, starting on the morning of the reaping of the Fiftieth Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell.”
The upcoming novel will potentially explore more about Haymitch’s origins, including his life in District 12. It might also give fans a chance to get know more about Maysilee Donner, who was District 12’s female tribute, and the original owner of the Mockingjay pin in the book.
