Spurred By Success, Publishers Look For The Next ‘Hunger Games’

The film version of the young adult book sensation The Hunger Games opens March 23rd. The hype around the movie has sent the sales of the already best-selling trilogy to new heights. And publishers are eagerly churning out more books set in post apocalyptic dystopian worlds — just like The Hunger Games.

In the beginning, The Hunger Games was not considered a sure thing. Why would it be? It’s the story of a world where teenagers are forced to fight each other to the death in a game that is broadcast and watched everywhere like a reality TV show. David Levithan, editorial director at Scholastic which publishes the books, says the company took a risk on The Hunger Games because they trusted the writer, Suzanne Collins. It wasn’t until Collins turned in the first manuscript that Levithan understood what he had. “It came in on a Friday,” he says, “and I and the other editors who worked on it read it over the weekend, and we came in on Monday and just looked at each other and said: ‘Wow.’”

Now, there are more than 26 million copies of all The Hunger Games books in print in the U.S., and all three books consistently top the best-seller lists. The film version of the book stars Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss, the courageous young heroine who volunteers to take part in the games in order to save her little sister from having to participate.