The Hunger Games Prequel Novel Title And Cover Art Revealed: 'The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes'

Rejoice, tributes! Author Suzanne Collins’ new Hunger Games prequel novel officially has a name and cover art! Announced Friday on Good Morning America, the upcoming book will be titled The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, and will hit shelves on May 19, 2020.

The book’s cover features a golden mockingjay and snake encircled with a thorned branch over a green and black bullseye background. Ellie Berger, President, Scholastic Trade said in a press release, “It has been thrilling to see the growing excitement from readers around the globe for this new Hunger Games novel. Suzanne Collins is an expert storyteller and world-builder, and in revisiting the world of Panem, she again raises important questions about authority, the use of violence, and the truth of human nature.”

“This cover does an extraordinary job of capturing the conflict—both inner and outer—that lies at the heart of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” said David Levithan, VP, Publisher, and Editorial Director for Scholastic. “The mockingjay has returned, but at a new angle . . . which is very much in line with the story that Suzanne Collins is telling.” 

Cover art for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes projected on to Senate House in central London. Photograph: Dave Benett/Getty Images for Scholastic

ABOUT THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES:

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will revisit the world of Panem sixty-four years before the events of The Hunger Games, starting on the morning of the reaping of the Tenth Hunger Games. 

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.

On returning to the world of The Hunger Games, Suzanne 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.”

You can pre-order your copy of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes right now HERE!