The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Coriolanus Snow is chosen to mentor a tribute in the upcoming 10th Hunger Games with hopes of securing a scholarship to the University for mentoring a winning tribute. Coriolanus is assigned the District 12 tribute, Lucy Gray Baird, who sparks the Capitol's attention after singing during the reaping.

When Coriolanus visits the tributes and realizes they have not been fed since arriving in the Capitol, he begins sneaking Lucy Gray food from the Academy. The other mentors follow suit, but the arrangement ends when one mentor, Arachne Crane, is murdered by her tribute Brandy after Arachne taunts her with a sandwich. Clemensia, Coriolanus's team member, is distraught by the murder, leaving Coriolanus to complete an essay they were to do together, alone. He presents the essay to Head Gamemaker Volumnia Gaul, proposing a betting scheme and sponsorship of the tributes to engage the people of the Capitol in the Games.

During a tour of the dilapidated Arena, undetected bombs from the Dark Days explode, killing several tributes and mentors. The remainder partake in televised interviews to garner favor and donations. The Games begin, and many tributes quickly die from starvation, disease, or injuries sustained during the explosions, while Dr. Gaul enacts Coriolanus' proposals within the Games. Sejanus, resentful of both the Capitol and the Games, enters the Arena at night to die as a martyr, and under the orders of Dr. Gaul, Coriolanus extracts him.

After learning that rainbow snake muttations would be released into the Arena, Coriolanus slips a handkerchief used by Lucy Gray into the tank of snakes to familiarize them with her scent. As a result, Lucy Gray is not attacked by the muttations; using them as a weapon, along with the rat poison, Lucy Gray is declared the victor of the Games. At a celebration party at the Academy, Coriolanus is confronted with the handkerchief, makeup compact, and an Academy stamped napkin, implicating him in cheating in the Games and stealing food from the Academy. Facing punishment and public humiliation he chooses to become a Peacekeeper in District 12 assigned on a mission to recover jabberjays, bird muttations that can record human speech, from the wild, so they can be studied in the Capitol.

Coriolanus reunites with Lucy Gray during a performance at the local black market. He discovers that Sejanus, now a fellow Peacekeeper, plans to help District 12 residents escape north, which is rumored to be beyond the Capitol's control, by drugging the prison guards and acquiring several guns to survive in the wild. Lucy Gray's former lover Billy Taupe, and the Mayor's daughter, Mayfair, overhear the conversation, and are shot dead by Spruce and Coriolanus to prevent them from blowing their cover. The group returns to the concert while Spruce goes to dispose of the weapons.

The bodies are discovered by the Covey after the concert, and the Mayor suspects Lucy Gray. Spruce dies without revealing the events of the murders. Sejanus is arrested by Peacekeepers and hanged, leaving Lucy Gray and Coriolanus as the only remaining witnesses of the murders. He is called to the Commander's office, where he learns that Dr. Gaul discovered his message about Sejanus’ treason. Lucy Gray tells Coriolanus that she is going to escape North and he decides to leave with her. She performs one last song, “The Hanging Tree,” in which she encodes instructions for Coriolanus to meet her at the hanging gallows for their escape. The next morning, Coriolanus is told that he has passed the officer test and will be leaving the next day for an elite training school in District 2, but is still bent on leaving with Lucy Gray.

Upon entering a partially-ruined house to escape from the rain, Coriolanus finds the hidden guns, while Lucy Gray hastily exits to collect some food. He realizes that if he destroyed the weapons, there would be no link between him and the murders, allowing him to rejoin Capitol society as a successful officer. He decides that Lucy Gray must have made the same realization and pursues her into the woods with the rifle. Worried that she might kill him out of fear, Coriolanus discovers her scarf and is attacked by a hiding snake. Angered and believing her to be nearby, he begins shooting randomly into the woods, but is unable to determine if he successfully shot her. After dumping the incriminating weapons in the lake, Coriolanus returns to District 12.

His absence went unnoticed by his bunkmates and he is treated for the snake bite in the clinic. Coriolanus boards a hovercraft bound for District 2 with Sejanus’ personal possessions, intending to return them to the Plinth family. Upon arrival, Coriolanus is surprised to find himself back in the Capitol, and is brought to meet with Dr. Gaul. She explains that this summer was to give him experience in the districts and a better understanding of its residents. Coriolanus is completely convinced of the necessity of the Games and the importance of the Capitol. He is also told that he will be given an honorable discharge from the Peacekeepers and is enrolled in the University to continue tutelage under Dr. Gaul.

In the epilogue, Dean Highbottom reveals he had developed the idea of the Hunger Games simply as a cruel, but theoretical, event for a school project with Coriolanus's father, Crassus, who would later present the idea to Dr. Gaul, making the Games a reality, causing animosity between Highbottom and Crassus. Coriolanus poisons Dean Highbottom, starting his trademark killings that will fuel his rise to power. Meanwhile, Coriolanus implements many of his ideas into future Hunger Games as a Gamemaker, and Lucy Gray is never seen again.

Critics had a mixed overall reception to the novel, some stating it would "[be] sure to appease fans with answers about who came up with the idea of the Hunger Games in the first place" and calling it "pleasing and thrilling," while others criticized the length, philosophical undertones and its use of Coriolanus Snow as the protagonist.[3]

The Guardian praised the novel: "Collins’s themes of friendship, betrayal, authority and oppression, as well as the extra layers of lore about mockingjays and Capitol’s history, will please and thrill."[4] Similarly, Time stated that Collins shines most "as she weaves in tantalising details that lend depth to the gruesome world she created in the original series."[5] Kirkus Reviews gave it a starred review, saying the novel is "both a tense, character-driven piece and a cautionary tale."[6]

Meanwhile, The Telegraph criticized it as "not the most promising opening [fans expected]" and that Collins should "stick to plucky heroes and dazzling plot-twists. When it comes to writing the murkiest backwaters of the human psyche, Collins is fathoms out of her depth."[7] Entertainment Weekly said of the storytelling: "The storytelling itself trends desperate at times. Chapters close on violent cliffhangers that edge into parody" and that "there are too many folk music interludes [and] some ludicrous franchise callbacks" but overall it "is a major work with major flaws, but it sure gives you a lot to chew on," ultimately giving it a grade of B-.[8]

In August 2017, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer expressed interest in spin-offs of The Hunger Games, with intentions to create a writers' room to explore the concept.[9]

In June 2019, Joe Drake, Chairman of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, announced that the company is working with Collins with regards to an adaptation of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.[10] By April 2020, Collins and Lionsgate confirmed that plans were underway for the movie's development. Casting has not yet begun, but director Francis Lawrence has been confirmed to return after his success with The Hunger Games trilogy. The scriptwriter will be Michael Arndt, with Nina Jacobson and author Suzanne Collins as producers.[11]