<P> 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 . </P>
when was the first hunger games book published
September 14 , 2008