Title of The Hunger Games prequel book revealed

The title of the highly-anticipated prequel novel to The Hunger Games has been revealed as The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes.

The young adult book, set before the lifetime of Hunger Games heroine Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence in the hit film franchise, is due to release on May 19 2020.

Publishers Scholastic announced the book’s title along with the cover art, which features the now-famous mockingjay symbol as well as a snake.

Earlier this year, author Suzanne Collins announced that she would revisit the world of Panem with a new book set before the days of Everdeen and the rebellion.

The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes takes place 64 years earlier, during what Collins describes as the reconstruction period after the war, the so-called Dark Days.

The tale will begin on the morning of the 10th Hunger Games competition.

The first three Hunger Games books – The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay – have sold more than 100 million copies and have been translated into more than 50 languages.

Although she was actively involved with the production of the Hunger Games films, Collins appeared to be done with the novels after the publication of Mockingjay in 2010.

She has 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.