Are you ready for the Reaping? The return to the world of “The Hunger Games” in Suzanne Collins’ newly announced “Sunrise on the Reaping” is imminent as it is set to be published early next year. 

Announced by Scholastic, “Sunrise on the Reaping” is the fifth installment of the bestselling “The Hunger Games” series. The prequel is set to be published on Mar. 18, 2025. Lionsgate has also confirmed that it will be adapted into a major motion picture for release on Nov. 20, 2026. 

The prequel goes back to the 50th Hunger Games, otherwise known as the Second Quarter Quell, in which 16-year-old Haymitch Abernathy from District 12 was the victor. In “The Hunger Games,” Abernathy was the mentor of Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, and his backstory was never fully revealed. Although we first see Haymitch as a tragic alcoholic and an unwilling and pessimistic mentor, both the characters – and readers – grow to love him.  

Scholastic revealed the official synopsis of the novel, taking place 24 years before the first novel of the series.

“As the day dawns on the 50th annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes. Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances … He’s torn from his family and his love and shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes … As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he’s been set up to fail. But there’s something in him that wants to fight … and have that fight reverberate far beyond the arena.”

Fans have been begging for more stories within the Hunger Games franchise ever since the trilogy was published. The publication of “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” the series’ first prequel, increased the widespread thirst for histories of fan favorite characters. “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” tells the story of President Snow before he was the man we know from the original trilogy. We see him as 18-year-old Coriolanus, the calculating mentor of the first District 12 victor, Lucy Gray-Baird, in the 10th Hunger Games. 

To some, it may seem like no surprise that Collins’ returns for another story after the success of “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” however, Collins is known to have said that she only writes when she has something to say. Therefore, “Sunrise on the Reaping” is not just another money-grab by a popular author, but an important commentary about the times that we live in.

In a 2008 School Library Journal interview, Collins revealed that the inspiration for “The Hunger Games” stems from the unsettling dissonance caused when she was channel surfing and switching from reality television shows to news footage of young soldiers fighting in Iraq. For “Sunrise on the Reaping,” Collins told Scholastic that she was inspired by 18th century philosopher David Hume and his idea of implicit submission or “the easiness with which the many are governed by the few.” Collins added that the story delves into the use of propaganda and ended with this: “The question ‘Real or not real?’ seems more pressing to me every day.”

Like the rest of “The Hunger Games” franchise, “Sunrise on the Reaping” is bound to be a masterpiece, deftly reflecting our own reality and reminding us to question everything around us. So, I ask again. Are you ready to go back to the Hanging Tree?