Hunger Games Prequel ‘Sunrise at the Reaping’ Cover Revealed—See the Stunning Art

May the odds be ever in your favor, Tributes, because on October 16, 2024, Scholastic announced the cover for the brand new Hunger Game s book, written by best-selling author Suzanne Collins. The prequel novel is expected to hit shelves in the spring of 2025, with a movie adaptation releasing in the fall of 2026—much to President Snow’s dismay. But even so, we have grabbed our Mockingjay pins and bows and arrows and ventured back to Panem to find out everything you need to know about the book's cover, plot and movie adaptation.

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Tributes, may the odds be ever in your favor, because a brand-new illustrated edition of Suzanne Collins’ best-selling series The Hunger Games is hitting shelves nationwide later this year. To learn what the author herself has to say about it and get a special sneak peek at some of the illustrations, keep reading!   All about […]

The new Hunger Games cover

Four months after Scholastic announced Sunrise on the Reaping, the publishing house decided to release the book's cover that features a stunning purple background and a combined gold snake and bird with a sunrise creeping in behind them.

“The spiky sun rises on a symbol that will come to mean a lot to Haymitch Abernathy, as well as countless readers," said David Levithan, VP, Publisher, and Editorial Director for Scholastic in a statement obtained by Woman’s World. "Artist Tim O’Brien has created yet another iconic Hunger Games cover—this one symbolically exploring one of the central themes of the series: how conflicting forces can be connected by their common nature, the songbird and the snake springing from the same source.”

What is ‘Sunrise on the Reaping’ about?

Sunrise on the Reaping will serve as a prequel set 24 years before the first Hunger Games book. It will follow the tributes of the 50th Hunger Games (or the second Quarter Quell), which fans of the franchise will remember as the game Haymitch Abernathy completed in.

The press release for the cover confirmed that the newest book will focus on Abernathy and his battle with trying to make it through the games and returning home to the girl he loves.

Says Suzanne Collins in a press release obtained by Woman's World , “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.’ 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.”

‘Sunrise on the Reaping’ movie announcement, release date and more

As if getting a new Hunger Games book and cover wasn’t enough, Lionsgate also announced that they would be turning the book into a movie

When asked about the anticipated adaptation, Adam Fogelson, chair of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, said, “We know Hunger Games fans worldwide will be spellbound by where Suzanne has focused this next extraordinary story. The Second Quarter Quell is legendary and looms large over the history of the Games, even into the time of Katniss Everdeen a quarter-century later. Like fans around the globe, we are eagerly anticipating this exciting return to Panem.”

He also added, “Suzanne Collins is a master storyteller and our creative north star. We couldn’t be more fortunate than to be guided and trusted by a collaborator whose talent and imagination are so consistently brilliant.”

The new Hunger Games book is set to release on March 18, 2025, with the movie adaptation coming out on November 20, 2026. It is unclear if Woody Harrelson, who played Haymitch in the films first four movies, will be involved in this film.

If you simply cannot wait that long to head back to Panem, all of the four original Hunger Games movies are available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video , and the hit movie A Ballad of Songbird and Snakes can be streamed on Amazon Prime Video as well.

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