🎯 Where Should I Start?
ⓘ About Gemma Files
About Gemma Files Gemma Files, a talented Canadian writer, has earned acclaim in the realm of horror fiction. Prior to diving into the world of storytelling, she worked as a film critic for the Eye Weekly in Toronto, a publication based in Toronto. Her background in education and experience as a screenwriter have undoubtedly contributed to her proficiency in creating intriguing plots and authentic characters. Files’ multi-faceted career has enriched her narrative skills, endowing her with a well-rounded expertise in the art of storytelling. Her unique approach to character creation is one of the key reasons her writings stand out. Files has a knack for crafting protagonists who are not just central to the plot but also profoundly relatable, making her tales much more immersive.
All Book Series by Gemma Files
Each Thing I Show You Is a Piece of My Death
Series opener · book 1 of 3 · published 2009 Co-authored · Stephen J. Barringer
Alien Bootlegger
Series opener · book 1 of 112 · published 1993 Anthology · Rebecca Ore
The Grand Conversation: Essays
Book 4 of 112 · published 2004 Anthology · L. Timmel Duchamp
The Adventures of the Faithful Counselor: A Narrative Poem
Book 7 of 112 · published 2005 Anthology · Anne Sheldon
The Red Rose Rages : A Short Novel
Book 9 of 112 · published 2005 Anthology · L. Timmel Duchamp
Talking Back: Epistolary Fantasies
Book 10 of 112 · published 2006 Anthology · L. Timmel Duchamp
Candle in a Bottle
Book 11 of 112 · published 2006 Anthology · Carolyn Ives Gilman
Making Love in Madridla
Book 14 of 112 · published 2007 Anthology · Kimberly Todd Wade
Naomi Mitchison: A Profile of Her Life and Work
Book 15 of 112 · published 2007 Anthology · Lesley A. Hall
Aliens of the Heart
Book 17 of 112 · published 2007 Anthology · Carolyn Ives Gilman
Voices from Fairyland
Book 18 of 112 · published 2008 Anthology · Theodora Goss
De Secretis Mulierum
Book 19 of 112 · published 2008 Anthology · L. Timmel Duchamp
The Buonarotti Quartet
Book 21 of 112 · published 2009 Anthology · Gwyneth Jones
Slightly Behind And To The Left: Four Stories And Three Drabbles
Book 22 of 112 · published 2009 Anthology · Claire Light
Three Observations and a Dialogue
Book 23 of 112 · published 2010 Anthology · Sylvia Kelso
Through the Drowsy Dark
Book 24 of 112 · published 2010 Anthology · Rachel Swirsky
Slightly Behind and to the Left
Book 25 of 112 · published 2010 Anthology · Claire Light
Shotgun Lullabies
Book 26 of 112 · published 2011 Anthology · Sheree Renée Thomas
The Red Rose Rages
Book 28 of 112 · published 2011 Anthology · L. Timmel Duchamp
The Grand Conversation
Book 29 of 112 · published 2011 Anthology · L. Timmel Duchamp
Of Love And Other Monstersla
Book 30 of 112 · published 2011 Anthology · Vandana Singh
The Adventures of the Faithful Counselor
Book 32 of 112 · published 2011 Anthology · Anne Sheldon
Making Love in Madrid
Book 36 of 112 · published 2012 Anthology · Kimberly Todd Wade
The Receptionist and Other Tales, poems
Book 38 of 112 · published 2012 Anthology · Lesley Wheeler
Birds and Birthdays
Book 40 of 112 · published 2012 Anthology · Christopher Barzak
The Queen, the Cambion, and Seven Others
Book 42 of 112 · published 2013 Anthology · Richard Bowes
Myths, Metaphors, and Science Fiction
Book 45 of 112 · published 2014 Anthology · Sheila Finch
Numa: An Epic Poem with Photo Collages
Book 46 of 112 · published 2014 Anthology · Katrinka Moore
The Prince of the Aquamarines
Book 49 of 112 · published 2015 Anthology · Ruth Berman,Louise Cavelier Levesque
Back, Belly, and Side: True Lies and False Tales
Book 52 of 112 · published 2015 Anthology · Celeste Rita Baker
A Field Guide to the Spirits
Book 54 of 112 · published 2015 Anthology · Jean LeBlanc
Marginalia to Stone Bird
Book 55 of 112 · published 2016 Anthology · R.B. Lemberg
Sleeping Under the Tree of Life
Book 57 of 112 · published 2016 Anthology · Sheree Renée Thomas
The Adventure of the Incognita Countess
Book 60 of 112 · published 2017 Anthology · Cynthia Ward
Boundaries, Border Crossings, and Reinventing the Future
Book 61 of 112 · published 2017 Anthology · Beth Plutchak
Liberating the Astronauts
Book 62 of 112 · published 2017 Anthology · Christina M. Rau
In Search of Lost Time
Book 63 of 112 · published 2017 Anthology · Karen Heuler
Feed Me the Bones of Our Saints: Volume 60
Book 69 of 112 · published 2018 Anthology · Alex Dally MacFarlane
Feed Me the Bones of Our Saints
Book 70 of 112 · published 2018 Anthology · Alex Dally MacFarlane
The Adventure of the Dux Bellorum
Book 73 of 112 · published 2018 Anthology · Cynthia Ward
The Green and Growing
Book 76 of 112 · published 2019 Anthology · Erin K. Wagner
Everything is Made of Letters
Book 77 of 112 · published 2019 Anthology · Sofía Rhei
Midnight at the Organporium
Book 78 of 112 · published 2019 Anthology · Tara Campbell
Algorithmic Shapeshifting
Book 79 of 112 · published 2019 Anthology · Bogi Takács
Mary Shelley Makes a Monster
Book 81 of 112 · published 2019 Anthology · Octavia Cade
Articulation: Short Plays to Nourish the Mind & Soul
Book 83 of 112 · published 2019 Anthology · Cesi Davidson
City of a Thousand Feelings
Book 84 of 112 · published 2020 Anthology · Anya Johanna DeNiro
The Adventure of the Naked Guide
Book 85 of 112 · published 2020 Anthology · Cynthia Ward
Goddess Bandit of the Thousand Arms
Book 89 of 112 · published 2020 Anthology · Hal Y. Zhang
Resistance and Transformation
Book 90 of 112 · published 2021 Anthology · Mari Ness
Resistance and Transformation: On Fairy Tales
Book 91 of 112 · published 2021 Anthology · Mari Ness
The Silences of Ararat
Book 92 of 112 · published 2021 Anthology · L. Timmel Duchamp
Cabinet of Wrath: A Doll Collection
Book 93 of 112 · published 2021 Anthology · Tara Campbell
The Adventure of the Golden Woman
Book 95 of 112 · published 2021 Anthology · Cynthia Ward
Fricatives: Short Plays to Nourish the Mind & Soul
Book 96 of 112 · published 2021 Anthology · Cesi Davidson
We’ve Been Here Before
Book 98 of 112 · published 2022 Anthology · Anne Carly Abad
When Home, No Need to Cry
Book 100 of 112 · published 2022 Anthology · Erin K. Wagner
To the Woman in the Pink Hat
Book 102 of 112 · published 2023 Anthology · LaToya Jordan
From Voyages Unreturning
Book 103 of 112 · published 2023 Anthology · Deborah L. Davitt
Tales from Mnemosyne
Book 104 of 112 · published 2024 Anthology · Dennis Danvers
Cul de Sac Stories
Book 106 of 112 · published 2024 Anthology · Tamara Kaye Sellman
Sinking, Singing
Book 107 of 112 · published 2024 Anthology · Gwynne Garfinkle
Stop Plosive: Short Plays to Nourish the Mind and Soul
Book 108 of 112 · published 2024 Anthology · Cesi Davidson
Like Shards of Rainbow Frolicking in the Air
Book 110 of 112 · published 2025 Anthology · L. Timmel Duchamp
Bankrupting Sky Banks
Book 111 of 112 · published 2025 Anthology · Erik Hofstatter
Parallax
Latest in the series · book 112 of 112 · published 2025 Anthology · T.D. Walker
The Abyssal Plain
Series opener · book 1 of 2 · published 2019 Anthology · Brett J. Talley,Michelle Garza,WilliamHolloway
Clockwork Phoenix
Series opener · book 1 of 5 · published 2008 Anthology · Tanith Lee,John C. Wright,Deborah Biancotti,Laird Barron,Mike Allen,Vandana Singh,Catherynne M. Valente,Cat Rambo,Cat Sparks,John Grant,Ekaterina Sedia,Leah Bobet,Erin Hoffman,Michael J. DeLuca,Jennifer Crow,C.S. MacCath,David Sandner,Marie Brennan,Joanna Galbraith
Clockwork Phoenix 3: New Tales of Beauty and Strangeness
Book 3 of 5 · published 2010
Clockwork Phoenix 5
Latest in the series · book 5 of 5 · published 2016 Anthology · Alex Dally MacFarlane,A.C. Wise,Mike Allen,Keffy R.M. Kehrli,Rich Larson,Cassandra Khaw,C.S.E. Cooney,Carlos Hernandez,Benjanun Sriduangkaew,Sonya Taaffe,Beth Cato,Barbara Krasnoff,Patricia Russo,Gray Rinehart,Marie Brennan,Sam Fleming,Shveta Thakrar,Holly Heisey,Jason Kimble,Rachael L. Jones,Rob Cameron,Sunil Patel
Dark Forces at Work: Essays on Social Dynamics and Cinematic Horrors
Series opener · book 1 of 14 · published 2019
Gothic Mash-Ups: Hybridity, Appropriation, and Intertextuality in Gothic Storytelling
Book 2 of 14 · published 2022
The Anthropocene and the Undead: Cultural Anxieties in the Contemporary Popular Imagination
Book 3 of 14 · published 2022
Supranational Horrors: Italian and Spanish Horror Cinema since 1968
Book 4 of 14 · published 2022
Grief in Contemporary Horror Cinema: Screening Loss
Book 5 of 14 · published 2022
The Evolution of Horror in the Twenty-First Century
Book 6 of 14 · published 2023
Transnational Zombie Cinema, 2010 to 2020: Readings in a Mutating Tradition
Book 8 of 14 · published 2023
The Ethics of Horror: Spectral Alterity in Twenty-First-Century Horror Film
Book 9 of 14 · published 2024
Disney Gothic: Dark Shadows in the House of Mouse
Book 11 of 14 · published 2024
Hidden Histories: The Many Ghosts of Disney’s Haunted Mansion
Book 12 of 14 · published 2024
Violence in the Films of Stephen King
Latest in the series · book 14 of 14 · published 2021
The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2010 Edition
Series opener · book 1 of 15 · published 2010
The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2011 Edition
Book 2 of 15 · published 2011
The Year's Best Dark Fantasy and Horror, 2012 Edition
Book 3 of 15 · published 2012
The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2013 Edition
Book 4 of 15 · published 2013
The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2014 Edition
Book 5 of 15 · published 2014
The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2015 Edition
Book 6 of 15 · published 2015
The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2016 Edition
Book 7 of 15 · published 2016
The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2017 Edition
Book 8 of 15 · published 2017
The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2018 Edition
Book 9 of 15 · published 2018
The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2019 Edition
Book 10 of 15 · published 2020
The Year's Best Dark Fantasy and Horror, Volume 3
Book 13 of 15 · published 2022
The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, Volume 5
Latest in the series · book 15 of 15 · published 2024
The Best Horror of the Year: Volume One
Series opener · book 1 of 19 · published 2009
The Best of the Best Horror of the Year: 10 Years of Essential Short Horror Fiction
Book 11 of 19 · published 2018
Best Horror of the Year, Volume Eighteen
Latest in the series · book 19 of 19 · published 2026
The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2010 Edition
Book 12 of 85 · published 2010
Chilling Tales: Evil I Did Dwell; Lewd Did I Live
Book 15 of 85 · published 2011
Nightmare Magazine 25: October 2014. Women Destroy Horror! Special Issue
Book 31 of 85 · published 2014
Aghast Vol. 1: A Journal of the Darkly Fantastic
Book 37 of 85 · published 2015
Daughters of Frankenstein: Lesbian Mad Scientists!
Book 39 of 85 · published 2015
The Best of Beneath Ceaseless Skies Online Magazine, Year Seven
Book 43 of 85 · published 2016
Final Cuts: New Tales of Hollywood Horror and Other Spectacles
Book 65 of 85 · published 2020
There Is No Death, There Are No Dead: Tales of Spiritualism Horror
Book 70 of 85 · published 2021
A Darkness Visible: Explorations of Horror in the Postmodern
Book 82 of 85 · published 2023
Grimdark Magazine Issue #48
Latest in the series · book 85 of 85 · published 2026
? Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Gemma Files?
About Gemma Files Gemma Files, a talented Canadian writer, has earned acclaim in the realm of horror fiction. Prior to diving into the world of storytelling, she worked as a film critic for the Eye Weekly in Toronto, a publication based in Toronto. Her background in education and experience as a screenwriter have undoubtedly contributed to her proficiency in creating intriguing plots and authentic characters.
Which Gemma Files series should I start with?
The best place to start is the Conversation Pieces series, the earliest of Gemma Files's multi-book series: it opens with Alien Bootlegger (1993) and runs to 112 books across 1993–2025, ending with Parallax (2025). Gemma Files's other series stand alone, so they can be read in any order.
How many books has Gemma Files written?
Gemma Files has 272 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1993 and 2026. 175 of them belong to 8 named series — the largest being the Conversation Pieces series with 112 books — and 97 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.
In what order should Gemma Files's series be read?
Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Gemma Files's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are Conversation Pieces (1993–2025, 112 books), Hexslinger (2010–2012, 3 books) and Lexington Books Horror Studies (2019–2024, 14 books), plus 1 more.
How are Gemma Files's books organised into series?
This guide splits Gemma Files's 272 books into 8 named series and 97 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: Conversation Pieces (112 books, 1993–2025); Lexington Books Horror Studies (14 books, 2019–2024); Hexslinger (3 books, 2010–2012); R'lyeh Cycle (2 books, 2019–2024); Best Horror of the Year (19 books, 2009–2026), plus 3 further series.