{"id":219172,"date":"2019-06-17T20:02:19","date_gmt":"2019-06-18T00:02:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=219172"},"modified":"2019-06-17T20:02:19","modified_gmt":"2019-06-18T00:02:19","slug":"hunger-games-prequel-novel-coming-in-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2019\/06\/17\/hunger-games-prequel-novel-coming-in-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Hunger Games’ prequel novel coming in 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Set on the morning of the reaping of the Tenth Hunger Games, the book takes place well before the lifetime of \u201cHunger Games\u201d heroine Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence in the billion-dollar movie franchise. (File Photo<\/a>: The Hunger Games\/Facebook<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NEW YORK \u2014 A decade after seemingly wrapping up \u201cThe Hunger Games,\u201d Suzanne Collins is bringing readers back to Panem. A prequel, set 64 years before the beginning of her multimillion-selling trilogy, is coming next year.<\/p>\n

The novel, currently untitled, is scheduled for release on May 19, 2020. Collins said in a statement Monday that she would go back to the years following the so-called \u201cDark Days,\u201d the failed rebellion in Panem. Collins set the \u201cHunger Games\u201d books in a post-apocalyptic dystopia where young people must fight and kill each other, on live television.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith this book, I wanted to explore the state of nature, who we are, and what we perceive is required for our survival,\u201d she said. \u201cThe reconstruction period 10 years after the war, commonly referred to as the Dark Days \u2014 as the country of Panem struggles back to its feet \u2014 provides fertile ground for characters to grapple with these questions and thereby define their views of humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Set on the morning of the reaping of the Tenth Hunger Games, the book takes place well before the lifetime of \u201cHunger Games\u201d heroine Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence in the billion-dollar movie franchise. Scholastic spokeswoman Tracy van Straaten declined comment on the new book’s contents or featured characters beyond what’s described in Monday’s announcement.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuzanne Collins is a master at combining brilliant storytelling, superb world building, breathtaking suspense, and social commentary,\u201d Scholastic Trade Publishing President Ellie Berger said in a statement. \u201cWe are absolutely thrilled \u2014 as both readers and publishers \u2014 to introduce the devoted fans of the series and a new audience to an entirely new perspective on this modern classic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lionsgate released the four \u201cHunger Games\u201d movies, and the studio’s vice chairman, Michael Burns, has suggested a prequel. In a recent statement to The Associated Press, the chairman of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, Joe Drake, said, \u201cAs the proud home of the ‘Hunger Games’ movies, we can hardly wait for Suzanne’s next book to be published. We’ve been communicating with her during the writing process and we look forward to continuing to work closely with her on the movie.\u201d The studio did not immediately respond when asked if an agreement for film rights had already been reached.<\/p>\n

The first three \u201cHunger Games\u201d books \u2014 \u201cThe Hunger Games,\u201d \u201cCatching Fire\u201d and \u201cMockingjay\u201d \u2014 have sold more than 100 million copies, have been translated into more than 50 languages and have been credited with launching a wave of Dystopian fiction for young people. The very title \u201cThe Hunger Games\u201d has become a catchphrase for suffering and deadly competition, inspiring such headlines as \u201cTrump’s $1 trillion (infrastructure) plan inspires ‘Hunger Games’ angst.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although she was actively involved with the production of the \u201cHunger Games\u201d films, Collins appeared done with the novels after the publication of \u201cMockingjay,\u201d in 2010. She had said little about her plans in recent years, beyond telling a gathering at the 2013 BookExpo publishing convention that she was working on a new series. Her most recent book, of any kind, came out in 2013: The picture story \u201cYear of the Jungle\u201d was based on the time in Vietnam served by Collins’ father, a career Air Force officer.<\/p>\n

Collins has cited her father as a reason for her lifelong studies of war, and cited both contemporary and classical culture as inspirations for \u201cThe Hunger Games.\u201d She named the country Panem as a reference to the Roman expression \u201cpanem et circenses,\u201d meaning bread and circuses, diversions for the masses. In a 2010 interview with The AP, she recalled watching television one night, switching channels, and becoming momentarily disoriented by going back and forth between a reality program and the Iraq War.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have so much programming coming at us all the time. Is it too much? Are we becoming desensitized to the entire experience?\u201d she said. \u201cDystopian stories are places where you can play out the scenarios in your head \u2014 your anxieties \u2014 and see what might come of them. And, hopefully, as a young person, with the possibilities of the future waiting for you, you’re thinking about how to head these things off.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u2014 A decade after seemingly wrapping up \u201cThe Hunger Games,\u201d Suzanne Collins is bringing readers back to Panem. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":219176,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,106],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-219172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","category-hollywood","mauthors-hillel-italie","mauthors-the-associated-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219172"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219172\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":219179,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219172\/revisions\/219179"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/219176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}