🎯 Where Should I Start?
ⓘ About Poppy Z. Brite
Billy Martin was born on May 25, 1967 in Bowling Green, Kentucky at Western University Hospital. Poppy Z. Brite (his writing name) moved to New Orleans in the year 1993, and before that, lived in Athens, Georgia; Chapel Hill, North Carolina; and Bowling Green, Kentucky. He started life as a woman (born with the name Melissa Ann Brite) but is a trans man and prefers the pronouns and terms used with men when being referred to. From the time that he heard about gay men, he has seen himself as one but trapped in a female body. He started gender reassignment in the August 2010. For a while, he and Chris DeBarr (who is a chef) were life partners, but split in the year 2011. He started his career writing horror and gothic novels and short fiction.
All Book Series by Poppy Z. Brite
Triads
Latest in the series · book 8 of 8 · published 2004 Co-authored · Christa Faust
The Ash of Memory, the Dust of Desire
Series opener · book 1 of 4 · published 1991
Portrait of a Phantom
Latest in the series · book 2 of 2 · published 2017 Co-authored · Zeke Schein,Dion DiMucci
City of Angels
Series opener · book 1 of 8 · published 1996 Anthology · Chet Williamson
A Murder of Crows
Book 5 of 8 · published 1998 Co-authored · Chet Williamson,David Bischoff
The Hellbound
Latest in the series · book 8 of 8 · published 2001 Anthology · A.A. Attanasio
Cemetery Dance Select: Bev Vincent
Series opener · book 1 of 20 · published 2015 Anthology · Bev Vincent
Cemetery Dance Select: Lisa Morton
Book 2 of 20 · published 2015 Anthology · Lisa Morton
Cemetery Dance Select: Jeff Strand
Book 3 of 20 · published 2015 Anthology · Jeff Strand
Cemetery Dance Select: Kaaron Warren
Book 4 of 20 · published 2015 Anthology · Kaaron Warren
Cemetery Dance Select: Lisa Tuttle
Book 5 of 20 · published 2015 Anthology · Lisa Tuttle
Cemetery Dance Select: Terry Dowling
Book 6 of 20 · published 2015 Anthology · Terry Dowling
Cemetery Dance Select: Michael Marshall Smith
Book 7 of 20 · published 2015 Anthology · Michael Marshall Smith
Cemetery Dance Select: John R. Little
Book 8 of 20 · published 2015 Anthology · John R. Little
Cemetery Dance Select: Lee Thomas
Book 9 of 20 · published 2015 Anthology · Lee Thomas
Cemetery Dance Select: Peter Atkins
Book 10 of 20 · published 2015 Anthology · Peter Atkins
Cemetery Dance Select: Kealan Patrick Burke
Book 11 of 20 · published 2015 Anthology · Kealan Patrick Burke
Cemetery Dance Select: Ed Gorman
Book 12 of 20 · published 2016 Anthology · Ed Gorman
Cemetery Dance Select: Simon Clark
Book 13 of 20 · published 2016 Anthology · Simon Clark
Cemetery Dance Select: Michael McBride
Book 14 of 20 · published 2016 Anthology · Michael McBride
Cemetery Dance Select: Christopher Conlon
Book 16 of 20 · published 2017 Anthology · Christopher Conlon
Cemetery Dance Select: Gene O'Neill
Book 17 of 20 · published 2017 Anthology · Gene O'Neill
Cemetery Dance Select: Keith Minnion
Book 18 of 20 · published 2017 Anthology · Keith Minnion
Cemetery Dance Select: Tim Waggoner
Book 19 of 20 · published 2017 Anthology · Tim Waggoner
Cemetery Dance Select: Rick Hautala
Latest in the series · book 20 of 20 · published 2020 Anthology · Rick Hautala
The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Fifth Annual Collection
Book 9 of 53 · published 1992
The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: 6th annual collection
Book 13 of 53 · published 1993
The Mammoth Book of the Best of Best New Erotica
Book 44 of 53 · published 2012
Rock On: The Greatest Hits of Science Fiction & Fantasy
Book 45 of 53 · published 2012
Professor Charlatan Bardot’s Travel Anthology to the MostHaunted Buildings in the Weird, Wild World
Book 51 of 53 · published 2021
Just One Fix: A Literary Salute to William S. Burroughs
Latest in the series · book 53 of 53 · published 2025
? Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Poppy Z. Brite?
Billy Martin was born on May 25, 1967 in Bowling Green, Kentucky at Western University Hospital. Poppy Z. Brite (his writing name) moved to New Orleans in the year 1993, and before that, lived in Athens, Georgia; Chapel Hill, North Carolina; and Bowling Green, Kentucky. He started life as a woman (born with the name Melissa Ann Brite) but is a trans man and prefers the pronouns and terms used with men when being referred to.
Which Poppy Z. Brite series should I start with?
The best place to start is the Poppy Z. Brite Standalone Novels series, the earliest of Poppy Z. Brite's multi-book series: it opens with Seed of Lost Souls (1988) and runs to 8 books across 1988–2004, ending with Triads (2004). Poppy Z. Brite's other series stand alone, so they can be read in any order.
How many books has Poppy Z. Brite written?
Poppy Z. Brite has 109 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1981 and 2025. 56 of them belong to 7 named series — the largest being the Poppy Z. Brite Short Story Collections series with 9 books — and 53 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.
In what order should Poppy Z. Brite's series be read?
Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Poppy Z. Brite's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are Poppy Z. Brite Standalone Novels (1988–2004, 8 books), Poppy Z. Brite Short Stories/Novellas (1991–2016, 4 books) and Poppy Z. Brite Short Story Collections (1993–2016, 9 books), plus 3 more.
How are Poppy Z. Brite's books organised into series?
This guide splits Poppy Z. Brite's 109 books into 7 named series and 53 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: Poppy Z. Brite Short Story Collections (9 books, 1993–2016); Poppy Z. Brite Standalone Novels (8 books, 1988–2004); The Crow (8 books, 1996–2001); Rickey and G-Man (5 books, 2003–2007); Poppy Z. Brite Short Stories/Novellas (4 books, 1991–2016), plus 2 further series.