The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a dystopian action-adventure novel written by Suzanne Collins, and it is a prequel to the original The Hunger Games trilogy, set 64 years before the events of the first novel. The book follows a young Coriolanus Snow, who is the last hope for his failing lineage, the once-proud Snow family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol. The story takes place a decade after the war between the Districts and the Capitol, and even the "winning" side is still trying to recover. The book is divided into three parts, and at a certain time, the 10th edition of the Hunger Games occurs. The novel explores the origin of the Hunger Games and the rise of the Capitols power, as well as the character development of Coriolanus Snow. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes has received generally positive reviews. An audiobook of the novel read by American actor Santino Fontana was released simultaneously with the printed edition. A film adaptation of the novel, also titled The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, is set to be released on November 17, 2023.