Hunger Games fans woke up to real news: Suzanne Collins returns with “Sunrise on the Reaping”, set for March 18, 2025 in English, as confirmed by Scholastic. French readers instantly asked the same thing: when and how will the VF land, and under what title.
Here is what stands solid today. Scholastic announced a first North American print run of 2.5 million copies and a story starting on the morning of the reaping of the 50th Hunger Games, 24 years after “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” (press release, May 6, 2024). Lionsgate also dated the movie adaptation for November 20, 2026. Those timelines matter for France, because big franchises coordinate translations and retail rollouts fast when demand spikes.
Sunrise on the Reaping VF: what is confirmed right now
The English-language release is locked for March 18, 2025 across print, ebook, and audiobook, according to Scholastic. That multiplatform launch rhythm usually sets the pace for international editions.
In France, the franchise sits with Pocket Jeunesse for the books. The imprint published the original trilogy and released “La ballade du serpent et de l’oiseau chanteur” in 2020. For that previous prequel, the French edition arrived on 20 May 2020, within days of the US date, a strong clue that a near-simultaneous VF window is realistic again.
The global footprint still pulls weight. The Hunger Games series has sold over 100 million copies worldwide, a figure widely cited by the publisher since the mid‑2010s. That scale tends to accelerate translation schedules, cover reveals, and preorders in major markets like France.
French translation: expected timing, publisher, and title
Officially, the exact French title and on-sale date have not been disclosed by Pocket Jeunesse at the time of writing. The working search terms people use are clear though: “VF”, “traduction française”, “date de sortie”, and “précommande”.
Track record helps. Pocket Jeunesse has coordinated close to day-and-date launches for high-demand young adult blockbusters, including Suzanne Collins’ last prequel. Retailers such as Fnac and Cultura typically list ISBNs and open preorders weeks or months ahead of publication, often once the French title and jacket are cleared.
About the name itself, publishers sometimes keep the English subtitle when it carries franchise value, or they opt for a direct French rendering. With “reaping” being a core Hunger Games term, a literal approach is plausible, yet the final choice will depend on editorial and marketing strategy. No leak, no promise. Definitly pending.
VF formats: print, ebook, and audiobook in the pipeline
Scholastic confirmed that “Sunrise on the Reaping” arrives in English in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook on March 18, 2025. That set of formats normally cascades to France soon after, once translation and production wrap.
For the last prequel in 2020, the French market saw hardcover and ebook on the same window, with audio following through a local partner. Expect a similar pattern: print first, digital alongside or immediately after, then audio once casting and studio schedules line up.
Pricing typically mirrors major YA blockbusters in France, and retailers often run preorder price guarantees. Concrete euros will appear on product pages once ISBNs go live.
How to catch the VF announcement and be first to read
Fans hate missing day one. The simplest path is to plug into official channels and watch the early retail signals that tend to precede a press note by a few hours.
- Follow Pocket Jeunesse and Scholastic on their newsrooms and social feeds for title and cover reveals.
- Set alerts on Fnac, Amazon.fr, Decitre, and Cultura for “Sunrise on the Reaping” and “Hunger Games VF”.
- Check ISBN aggregators and legal deposit listings, which often surface formats before stores do.
- Join publisher newsletters, where preorder dates and exclusive jackets are announced first.
- Watch Lionsgate France updates as the 2026 film nears, since tie-in editions often sync with trailer drops.
Why this cadence matters now. A March 2025 English release means translation teams are already at work, jacket designers are testing French typography, and supply teams are reserving paper. With a 2.5 million first printing in North America and a dated film on the horizon, the French window should lock in earlier than usual on retailer backends.
Last note for context. The new novel begins on the morning of the 50th Hunger Games reaping, a key moment in Panem history that readers know by heart. That narrative hook explains the rush around the VF: a story everyone can follow, and a vocabulary that French fans have used for more than a decade. Once the title, date, and ISBN drop from Pocket Jeunesse, the preorder race starts, and the rest follows naturally: cover, formats, page count, then the audiobook voice reveal.