Order of Book Series
0

Joe Hill Books in Order

Joe Hill has written 69 books, published between 2005 and 2025. The first book is 20th Century Ghosts (2005) and the newest is King Sorrow (2025). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
69
Published
2005–2025
Confirmed
67 of 69 titles
Pages on record
6,106 in 20 of 69 books
See all 69 books in order Printable Joe Hill checklist
Photo of Joe Hill, author

Joe Hill is the pen name of Joseph Hillström King, an American writer born June 4, 1972. Hill's novels include Heart-Shaped Box (2007), Horns (2010), NOS4A2 (2013) and The Fireman (2016), with King Sorrow following in 2025. 20th Century Ghosts (2005) and Strange Weather (2017) are story collections. Hill also wrote the comic series Locke & Key (2008 to 2013). Awards include Bram Stoker Awards, British Fantasy Awards and an Eisner Award. The catalogue lists 69 Hill books from 2005 to 2025, and its subjects include horror, ghost stories, short stories and comics.

How many Joe Hill books are there?

Joe Hill has 69 books, released between 2005 and 2025. They include 12 separate series.

Joe Hill Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 69 Joe Hill books in the order they were released, 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 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill, book 1 of the Joe Hill Short Story series (2005)
  2. Cover of Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill, book 1 of the Joe Hill Standalone Novels series (2007)
  3. Cover of The Cape by Joe Hill, book 1 of the Cape series (2007)
  4. Cover of Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill, book 1 of the Locke & Key Graphic Novels series (2008)
  5. Cover of Horns by Joe Hill, book 3 of the Joe Hill Standalone Novels series (2009)
  6. Cover of Keys to the Kingdom by Joe Hill, book 4 of the Locke & Key Graphic Novels series (2011)
  7. Cover of NOS4A2 / NOS4R2 by Joe Hill, book 1 of the NOS4A2 series (2013)
  8. Cover of Wraith by Joe Hill, book 2 of the NOS4A2 series (2014)
  9. Cover of Alpha & Omega by Joe Hill, book 6 of the Locke & Key Graphic Novels series (2014)
  10. Cover of Locke & Key Audio Drama by Joe Hill, book 4 of the Joe Hill Standalone Novels series (2015)
  11. Cover of Tales from the Darkside by Joe Hill, book 4 of the Joe Hill Short Story series (2016)
  12. Cover of The Fireman by Joe Hill, book 5 of the Joe Hill Standalone Novels series (2016)
  13. Cover of Tales from the Darkside by Joe Hill, book 1 of the Tales From the Darkside series (2017)
  14. Cover of Strange Weather by Joe Hill, book 5 of the Joe Hill Short Story series (2017)
  15. Cover of Heaven and Earth by Joe Hill, book 8 of the Locke & Key Graphic Novels series (2017)
  16. Cover of You Are Released by Joe Hill, book 19 of the Joe Hill Short Stories/Novellas series (2018)
  17. Cover of Dying is Easy by Joe Hill, book 2 of the Joe Hill Graphic Novels series (2020)
  18. Cover of The Black Phone and Other Stories by Joe Hill, book 7 of the Joe Hill Short Story series (2022)
  19. Cover of The Golden Age by Joe Hill, book 9 of the Locke & Key Graphic Novels series (2022)
  20. Cover of King Sorrow by Joe Hill, book 6 of the Joe Hill Standalone Novels series (2025)
  1. 1
    20th Century GhostsJoe Hill Short Story #12005 · 336 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2005336
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Voluntary CommittalJoe Hill Short Stories/Novellas #12005 · confirmed 3/4
    2005–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Heart-Shaped BoxJoe Hill Standalone Novels #12007 · 384 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2007384
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Joe Hill's ThumbprintJoe Hill's Thumbprint #12007 · confirmed 3/4
    2007–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The CapeCape #12007 · confirmed 3/4
    2007–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    The Black PhoneJoe Hill Short Stories/Novellas #22007 · confirmed 3/4
    2007–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Abraham's BoysJoe Hill Short Stories/Novellas #32007 · confirmed 3/4
    2007–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Better Than HomeJoe Hill Short Stories/Novellas #42007 · confirmed 3/4
    2007–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Bobby Conroy Comes Back from the DeadJoe Hill Short Stories/Novellas #52007 · confirmed 3/4
    2007–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Dead-WoodJoe Hill Short Stories/Novellas #62007 · confirmed 3/4
    2007–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Last BreathJoe Hill Short Stories/Novellas #72007 · confirmed 3/4
    2007–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    My Father's MaskJoe Hill Short Stories/Novellas #82007 · confirmed 3/4
    2007–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Pop ArtJoe Hill Short Stories/Novellas #92007 · confirmed 3/4
    2007–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    The Widow's BreakfastJoe Hill Short Stories/Novellas #102007 · confirmed 3/4
    2007–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    You Will Hear the Locust SingJoe Hill Short Stories/Novellas #112007 · confirmed 3/4
    2007–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    In the RundownJoe Hill Short Stories/Novellas #122007 · confirmed 3/4
    2007–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Welcome to LovecraftLocke & Key Graphic Novels #12008 · 158 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2008158
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    GunpowderJoe Hill Standalone Novels #22008 · 81 pages · confirmed 3/4
    200881
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    Head GamesLocke & Key Graphic Novels #22009 · confirmed 3/4
    2009–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    HornsJoe Hill Standalone Novels #32009 · 384 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2009384
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Crown of ShadowsLocke & Key Graphic Novels #32010 · confirmed 3/4
    2010–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    The Guide To Known KeysLocke & Key: One-Shots #12011 · confirmed 3/4
    2011–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    Keys to the KingdomLocke & Key Graphic Novels #42011 · 146 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2011146
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    GrindhouseLocke & Key: One-Shots #22012 · confirmed 3/4
    2012–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    NOS4A2 / NOS4R2NOS4A2 #12013 · 692 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2013692
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    Joe Hill's Thumbprint #2Joe Hill's Thumbprint #22013 · confirmed 3/4
    2013–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    The Cape: 1969Cape #22013 · 108 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2013108
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 28
    Joe Hill's Thumbprint #3Joe Hill's Thumbprint #32013 · confirmed 3/4
    2013–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 29
    ClockworksLocke & Key Graphic Novels #52013 · 160 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2013160
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  30. 30
    Twittering from the Circus of the DeadJoe Hill Short Stories/Novellas #152013 · confirmed 3/4
    2013–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Joe Hill series and characters in order

Each link below opens a reading-order page with every book in publication order.

Joe Hill 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.

Joe Hill Short Stories/Novellas

20 books

20 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.

Locke & Key Graphic Novels in order

9 books
  1. 1. Welcome to Lovecraft
  2. 2. Head Games
  3. 3. Crown of Shadows
  4. 4. Keys to the Kingdom
  5. 5. Clockworks
  6. 6. Alpha & Omega
  7. 7. Small World
  8. 8. Heaven and Earth
  9. 9. The Golden Age

Joe Hill Standalone Novels

6 books

6 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.

Joe Hill Short Story

5 books

5 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.

Tales from the Darkside Comic in order

4 books
  1. 1. Tales From The Darkside #1
  2. 2. Tales From The Darkside #2
  3. 3. Tales From The Darkside #3
  4. 4. Tales From The Darkside #4

Joe Hill's Thumbprint in order

3 books
  1. 1. Joe Hill's Thumbprint
  2. 2. Joe Hill's Thumbprint #2
  3. 3. Joe Hill's Thumbprint #3

Locke & Key: One-Shots in order

3 books
  1. 1. The Guide To Known Keys
  2. 2. Grindhouse
  3. 3. Locke & Key: Dog Days

Joe Hill Graphic Novels in order

3 books
  1. 1. Basketful of Heads
  2. 2. Dying is Easy
  3. 3. Plunge

Locke & Key/Sandman: Hell & Gone in order

3 books
  1. 1. Locke & Key/Sandman: Hell & Gone #0
  2. 2. Locke & Key/Sandman: Hell & Gone #1
  3. 3. Locke & Key/Sandman: Hell & Gone #2

Locke & Key: ...In Pale Battalions Go… in order

3 books
  1. 1. Locke & Key: ...In Pale Battalions Go… #1
  2. 2. Locke & Key: ...In Pale Battalions Go… #2
  3. 3. Locke & Key: ...In Pale Battalions Go… #3

Cape in order

2 books
  1. 1. The Cape
  2. 2. The Cape: 1969

Creature Feature Collection

2 books

2 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.

Tales From the Darkside in order

1 book
  1. 1. Tales from the Darkside

Finis Vitae in order

1 book
  1. 1. Off World

Joe Hill's Rain Series in order

1 book
  1. 1. Rain

Shivers Collection

1 book

1 title published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.

Joe Hill Books in Chronological Order

By publication date, the Joe Hill books run from 20th Century Ghosts (2005) to King Sorrow (2025), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for Joe Hill in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.

Do you have to read Joe Hill books in order?

You only need to read Joe Hill books in order within each series: the books listed here span 12 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with Joe Hill

Start with the first book of the Joe Hill series you want to read: NOS4A2 starts with NOS4A2 / NOS4R2 (2013) and Locke & Key starts with Welcome to Lovecraft (2008). The earliest catalogued title overall is 20th Century Ghosts (2005).

What is the newest Joe Hill book?

King Sorrow (2025) is the newest Joe Hill book released so far.

Is there a new Joe Hill book coming?

No next Joe Hill 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 Joe Hill has won

Wikidata records 11 awards and 23 nominations for Joe Hill. The most recent 12 are listed here. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • British Fantasy Award for Best Collection2018Wonfor Strange Weather
  • Locus Award for Best Horror Novel2017Wonfor The Fireman
  • Bram Stoker Award for Best Fiction Collection2017Wonfor Strange Weather
  • Eisner Award for Best Writer2011Won
  • Locus Award for Best First Novel2008Wonfor Heart-Shaped Box
  • Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel2007Wonfor Heart-Shaped Box
  • World Fantasy Award for Best Novella2006Wonfor Voluntary Commital
  • British Fantasy Awards2006Won
  • British Fantasy Award for Best Short Fiction2006Wonfor Best New Horror
  • British Fantasy Award for Best Collection2006Wonfor 20th Century Ghosts
  • Bram Stoker Award for Best Fiction Collection2005Wonfor 20th Century Ghosts
  • Locus Award for Best Horror Novel2026Shortlistedfor King Sorrow

Joe Hill at a glance

Still publishing
Joe Hill published a book as recently as 2025.
Release pace
Joe Hill books have appeared more than one a year on average.
Length
6,106 pages across the 20 of 69 books with a recorded length, a median of 198 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Joe Hill books, 31 of 69, were published in the 2010s.
Corroboration
1 of the 69 titles appear in all four independent book listings, and 67 in at least three.

What the Joe Hill books are about

22 of the 69 Joe Hill books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: comics & graphic novels, horror is tagged on 11 of 22. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.