The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a dystopian action-adventure novel by American author Suzanne Collins. It is a spin-off and a prequel to The Hunger Games trilogy. It was released on May 19, 2020, by Scholastic. An audiobook of the novel read by American actor Santino Fontana was released simultaneously with the printed edition. The book received a virtual launch due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A film adaptation from Lionsgate is set to be released on November 17, 2023.