Deluxe Hunger Games 4 Book Collection Hardcover UK Edition Box Set Revealed

Check out the gorgeous, brand new, deluxe hardcover collection of The Hunger Games book series from Scholastic UK. This beautiful boxset will be released on October 26th, 2023 in the UK, and is available to pre-order now. They can be shipped to the US for approx $15 plus a few dollars exchange. 

The cover art is by UK Artist Freya Betts and the design takes inspiration from Tim O’Brien’s iconic mockingjay cover art.

Tim O'Brien designed the US and Canada's original book covers, and Scholastic UK’s iconic "classic" editions in 2012, released the same year the first Hunger Games film hit screens around the world.

To celebrate the release of Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes feature film, Freya Betts has taken the four logos and added a modern twist.

The box set includes The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes with new covers, foil details, and the box. You can pre-order your copy on Amazon now HERE. 

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes Movie Tie-In Paperback Available For Pre-Order

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes movie tie-in paperback edition will be released September 19, 2023, and is now available for pre-order. They’re using the beautiful new teaser poster released back in March as the cover for the paperback.

You can get the new edition at Amazon and Books-A-Million.

Suzanne Collins on The Hunger Games Prequel Novel, 'The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes'

It’s always a treat to hear what goes through Suzanne Collins mind when she’s writing! Here's a great (and rare) interview with Suzanne and David Levithan, VP, Publisher and Editorial Director at Scholastic, and one of her editors, about the making of the book. There are a few spoilers if you haven’t read the book yet! Read on at your own risk.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

David Levithan: I’ll start with the two questions I’m sure most readers will want to ask: Did you always plan to return to Panem after the trilogy with a book set sixty-four years earlier? And if not, what made you return to the story in this way? 

Suzanne Collins: Here’s how it works now. I have two worlds, the Underland (the world of The Underland Chronicles series) and Panem (the world of The Hunger Games). I use both of them to explore elements of just war theory. When I find a related topic that I want to examine, then I look for the place it best fits. The state of nature debate of the Enlightenment period naturally lent itself to a story centered on Coriolanus Snow. 

Focusing on the 10th Hunger Games also gave me the opportunity to tell Lucy Gray’s story. In the first chapter of The Hunger Games, I make reference to a fourth District 12 victor. Katniss doesn’t seem to know anything about the person worth mentioning. While her story isn’t well-known, Lucy Gray lives on in a significant way through her music, helping to bring down Snow in the trilogy. Imagine his reaction when Katniss starts singing “Deep in the Meadow” to Rue in the arena. Beyond that, Lucy Gray’s legacy is that she introduced entertainment to the Hunger Games. 

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The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is Here! Plus Suzanne Collins Reads From Chapter 3

Happy Hunger Games prequel release day, tributes! The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is finally here! If you haven't grabbed your copy yet you can order it on kindle HERE and have it on your phone or tablet in less than a minute. 

Bonus  - Story time with Suzanne Collins! Watch as she reads from Chapter 3 of the book:

We can't wait to hear what you think of the new book! Let us know in the comments or on social media. 

'The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes': Listen To The First 11 Minutes of the Hunger Games Prequel Novel

Listen to an extended excerpt from the official audiobook of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Suzanne Collins' upcoming Hunger Games prequel! The story follows an 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow as he prepares for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the 10th Hunger Games. He's up against a lot: His family has fallen on hard times, and he's forced to guide the female tribute from District 12, considered the lowest of the low. Suddenly, their fates are intertwined.

The book is headed to film with the dream team from the last 3 movies, Suzanne Collins adapting the book for film, Francis Lawrence directing, and Nina Jacobson producing.

 

Santino Fontana, Tony-winning Broadway star of Tootsie and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend alum, reads the audiobook. “You think you know someone but there are a lot of surprises,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “You're going to understand a lot more of why he is the way he is.”

Listen to 11+ minutes of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes' first chapter at the link below. The book is available in hardcover and audiobook on May 19 and is available for pre-order HERE.

 

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes Chapter 1

More about the book:

It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.  

The odds are against him. He’s been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined — every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute . . . and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.