Sunrise on the Reaping is the fifth novel in Suzanne Collins' worldwide bestselling Hunger Games series and the second prequel to the original trilogy, published by Scholastic on March 18, 2025. Set 24 years before the events of The Hunger Games, this 400-page dystopian novel centers on a 16-year-old Haymitch Abernathy as he is thrust into the 50th Annual Hunger Games—the Second Quarter Quell—where twice as many tributes are reaped from each district. Inspired by Scottish philosopher David Hume's ideas on implicit submission and the power of the few to govern the many, Collins crafts a story exploring political manipulation, propaganda, and the mechanisms of societal control under a totalitarian regime.

Growing up impoverished in District 12, Haymitch is unexpectedly chosen as a substitute tribute after a fellow district member attempts to flee the reaping. Inside the Capitol's arena, he forges uneasy alliances, confronts the brutal machinery of the Games, and discovers the extent to which the televised spectacle is edited to erase rebellion and manufacture compliant narratives. The novel reveals the origins of Haymitch's famous cynicism and heavy alcoholism, and introduces characters who connect directly to the events of the original trilogy, including a young Plutarch Heavensbee, Maysilee Donner (original owner of the Mockingjay pin), and Burdock Everdeen—Katniss's future father.

Sunrise on the Reaping sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide in its first week of publication, marking the biggest debut in the entire Hunger Games series—more than twice the opening sales of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and over three times that of Mockingjay. An audiobook edition narrated by Jefferson White (Yellowstone) was released simultaneously. A feature film adaptation directed by Francis Lawrence, written by Billy Ray, and distributed by Lionsgate is scheduled for release on November 20, 2026.