 The Hunger Games was first published in hardcover on September 14 , 2008 , by Scholastic , featuring a cover designed by Tim O 'Brien . It has since been released in paperback and also as an audiobook and ebook . After an initial print of 200 @,@ 000 , the book had sold 800 @,@ 000 copies by February 2010 . Since its release , The Hunger Games has been translated into 26 languages , and publishing rights have been sold in 38 territories . The novel is the first in The Hunger Games trilogy , followed by Catching Fire ( 2009 ) and Mockingjay ( 2010 ) . A film adaptation , directed by Gary Ross and co @-@ written and co @-@ produced by Collins herself , was released in 2012 . 
