Scholastic to publish Hunger Games prequel

Scholastic will next year publish a prequel to Suzanne Collins’ bestselling The Hunger Games series in the UK, US, Canada, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.

The novel, which is currently known as Untitled Panem Novel, will revisit the world of Panem 64 years before the events of The Hunger Games, on the morning of the reaping of the Tenth Hunger Games, and will be published in print, digital and audiobook formats.

The deal was negotiated by David Levithan, vice president, publisher and editorial director for Scholastic, and Rosemary Stimola of the Stimola Literary Studio.

Collins said, “With this book, I wanted to explore the state of nature, who we are, and what we perceive is required for our survival. The reconstruction period ten years after the war, commonly referred to as the Dark Days—as the country of Panem struggles back to its feet—provides fertile ground for characters to grapple with these questions and thereby define their views of humanity.”

Ellie Berger, president of Scholastic Trade, added: “Suzanne Collins is a master at combining brilliant storytelling, superb world building, breathtaking suspense, and social commentary. We are absolutely thrilled—as both readers and publishers—to introduce the devoted fans of the series and a new audience to an entirely new perspective on this modern classic.”

The prequel will be published on 19th May next year.

The Hunger Games series has sold 3.85 million copies for £21.5m in the UK, according to Nielsen BookScan, with the first title’s paperback selling 680,267 copies and spending three weeks in the overall number one spot.