Suzanne Collins has secretly been working on a new The Hunger Games prequel novel, Sunrise on the Reaping, and its story is one that fans have requested for years. The popular young adult dystopian book series started with the original trilogy — The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay — which revolved around Katniss Everdeen, a teenage girl who volunteered to replace her sister as the District 12 female tribute at the 74th Hunger Games. Following the trilogy’s success and the subsequent Hunger Games movie adaptations, Collins brought readers back to the world of Panem with The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

Many were surprised to learn that the first Hunger Games tale Collins explored after Mockingjay was Coriolanus Snow’s origins. However, once The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was published, it soon became clear why the villain’s story had to be told and how intriguing it truly was. After the prequel was released and the film adaptation premiered, many wondered if the author would continue writing one-off novels and speculated which narrative Collins could (and should) explore. Thankfully, Collins seemingly listened to fans and is now debuting Sunrise on the Reaping, which revolves around one of the best Hunger Games characters.

Sunrise On The Reaping Is Set 40 Years After The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes

Sunrise On The Reaping Takes Place 24 Years Before The First Hunger Games Book

Sunrise on the Reaping will chronicle the Second Quarter Quell, the Games Haymitch Abernathy won when he was 16 years old. Haymitch’s time in the arena was occasionally mentioned during the original Hunger Games trilogy, so, readers know some information about that time in Katniss and Peeta’s mentor’s life. Since the Second Quarter Quell was the 50th Hunger Games, Sunrise on the Reaping takes place 40 years after The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which featured Lucy Gray Baird winning the 10th Hunger Games.

The upcoming Hunger Games book is also set 24 years before Haymitch mentored Katniss and Peeta during the 74th Hunger Games. As fans will recall, when the District 12 tributes meet Haymitch for the first time, he’s a helpless drunk who has resigned himself to believing Katniss and Peeta would die, so, there was no use helping them. Of course, over time, he began to see their potential, but readers will learn more about why Haymitch turned out the way he did once Sunrise on the Reaping is published.

What We Know About The Hunger Games Era Sunrise On The Reaping Is Set In

The Upcoming Hunger Games Novel Begins The Morning Of The Second Quarter Quell’s Reaping

As of the writing of this article, all that is officially known about Sunrise on the Reaping is that it starts on the morning of the reaping for the 50th Hunger Games. However, a handful of other details about this era are known, thanks to previous books. The 50th Games was also the Second Quarter Quell, which designated that each district offer up twice the amount of tributes, meaning that four children would represent each district instead of two. So, in total, Haymitch’s Hunger Games featured 48 tributes, and Woody Harrelson’s character in the Hunger Games movies outlasted them all.