Order of Book Series
0

Gemma Files Books in Order

Gemma Files has written 16 books, published between 2003 and 2025. The first book is Kissing Carrion (2003) and the newest is Little Horn (2025). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
16
Published
2003–2025
Pages on record
1,027 in 3 of 16 books
See all 16 books in order Printable Gemma Files checklist
Photo of Gemma Files, author of the Hexslinger series

Gemma Files is a Canadian horror writer who also works as a journalist and film critic. The International Horror Guild gave Files its best short story award for 1999, for The Emperor's Old Bones, and the television series The Hunger adapted five of the short stories. Hexslinger is the one series in the catalogue, and outlaws, magicians and the American Civil War sit among the recorded subjects. Sixteen books are listed, from Kissing Carrion (2003) to Little Horn (2025), including A Book of Tongues (2010), A Rope of Thorns (2011), A Tree of Bones (2012) and Experimental Film (2015).

How many Gemma Files books are there?

Gemma Files has 16 books, released between 2003 and 2025. 3 of them belong to the Hexslinger series.

Gemma Files Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 16 Gemma Files books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of The Jacaranda Smile by Gemma Files (2009)
  2. Cover of A Book of Tongues by Gemma Files, book 1 of the Hexslinger series (2010)
  3. Cover of Spectral Evidence by Gemma Files (2018)
  1. 1
    Kissing Carrion2003 · confirmed 1/4
    2003–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Worm in Every Heart2004 · confirmed 1/4
    2004–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    The Jacaranda Smile2009 · 544 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2009544
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    A Book of TonguesHexslinger #12010 · 274 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2010274
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    A Rope of ThornsHexslinger #22011 · confirmed 1/4
    2011–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    A Tree of BonesHexslinger #32012 · confirmed 1/4
    2012–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    We Will All Go Down Together2014 · confirmed 1/4
    2014–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Experimental Film2015 · confirmed 1/4
    2015–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Coffle2017 · confirmed 1/4
    2017–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Spectral Evidence2018 · 209 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2018209
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Drawn Up From Deep Places2018 · confirmed 1/4
    2018–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    InvocabularyConversation Pieces #752018 · confirmed 1/4
    2018–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Dark is Better2023 · confirmed 1/4
    2023–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Blood from the Air2023 · confirmed 1/4
    2023–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Black Seas of InfinityR'lyeh Cycle #22024 · confirmed 1/4
    2024–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Little Horn2025 · confirmed 1/4
    2025–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Gemma Files books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.

Hexslinger in order

3 books
  1. 1. A Book of Tongues
  2. 2. A Rope of Thorns
  3. 3. A Tree of Bones

R'lyeh Cycle in order

1 book
  1. 2. Black Seas of Infinity

Conversation Pieces in order

1 book
  1. 75. Invocabulary

Standalone books

11 books

11 Gemma Files titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Gemma Files books in order?

You only need to read Gemma Files books in order within the Hexslinger series, which holds 3 of the 16 Gemma Files books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.

Where to start with Gemma Files

Start with Kissing Carrion (2003), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Gemma Files book?

Little Horn (2025) is the newest Gemma Files book released so far.

Is there a new Gemma Files book coming?

No next Gemma Files book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Awards Gemma Files has won

Wikidata records 5 awards and 7 nominations for Gemma Files. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Bram Stoker Award for Best Fiction Collection2023Wonfor Blood from the Air
  • Bram Stoker Award for Best Fiction Collection2021Wonfor In That Endlessness, Our End
  • Sunburst Award2016Won
  • Shirley Jackson Award for Novel2015Wonfor Experimental Film
  • International Horror Guild Award1999Won
  • Bram Stoker Award for Best Fiction Collection2018Shortlistedfor Spectral Evidence
  • Locus Award for Best Short Story2017Shortlistedfor Ghost Pressure
  • Locus Award for Best Short Story2016Shortlistedfor Hairwork
  • Locus Award for Best Novelette2015Shortlistedfor A Wish from a Bone
  • Locus Award for Best First Novel2011Shortlistedfor A Book of Tongues
  • Locus Award for Best Novelette2010Shortlistedfor each thing i show you is a piece of my death
  • Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel2010Shortlistedfor A Book of Tongues

Gemma Files at a glance

Still publishing
Gemma Files published a book as recently as 2025.
Release pace
Gemma Files books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
1,027 pages across the 3 of 16 books with a recorded length, a median of 274 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Gemma Files books, 9 of 16, were published in the 2010s.

What the Gemma Files books are about

2 of the 16 Gemma Files books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. No subject is tagged on more than one of them, so each one below describes a single book. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.