In this opening chapter of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the forthcoming prequel to the bestselling Hunger Games trilogy, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow – the future president of Panem – prepares to attend the reaping ceremony, where the competitors (“tributes”) who will fight in the 10th annual Hunger Games will be chosen. Read by author Suzanne Collins.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will be published worldwide on 19 May.