Esther M. Friesner books

Esther M. Friesner is a Nebula Award-winning American fantasy and science fiction author known for her humorous writing style, with 121 books spanning series like Chicks in Chainmail, Majyk, and Nobody's Princess.

Anthologies

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Carmen Miranda’s Ghost is Haunting Space Station Three 1990 Buy
Snow White, Blood Red 1993 Buy
The Crafters 1991 Buy
Black Thorn, White Rose 2008 N/A
Battlestations 1992 Buy
Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears 2014 N/A
Black Swan, White Raven 1997 Buy
Dark Destiny 1994 Buy
Silver Birch, Blood Moon 1999 N/A
Excalibur 1995 Buy
Black Heart, Ivory Bones 2000 Buy
Angels! 1995 Buy
Cthulhu 2000 1995 Buy
Blood Muse 1995 Buy
Don’t Forget Your Spacesuit, Dear 1996 Buy
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction 1997 Buy
Asimov’s Science Fiction, May 1997 1997 Buy
Starlight 2 1998 Buy
Nebula Awards 32: SFWA’s Choices for the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year 1998 Buy
Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, July 1999 1999 Buy
The Best from Fantasy & Science Fiction: The 50th Anniversary Anthology 1999 Buy
Meditations on Middle-Earth 2001 Buy
The Mammoth Book of Awesome Comic Fantasy 2001 Buy
The Further Adventures of Xena: Warrior Princess 2001 Buy
The Best of Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine: Joe Haldeman and Others 2003 Buy
Haunted Holidays 2004 Buy
Elemental: The Tsunami Relief Anthology 2006 Buy
My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding 2006 Buy
Under Cover of Darkness 2007 Buy
Best New Romantic Fantasy 2 2007 Buy
Sword and Sorceress 22 2007 Buy
Witch Way to the Mall 2009 Buy
Strip Mauled 2009 Buy
Fangs for the Mammaries 2010 Buy
Happily Ever After 2011 Buy
Unidentified Funny Objects 2 2013 Buy
Unidentified Funny Objects 4 2015 Buy
Unidentified Funny Objects 5 2016 Buy
Funny Horror 2017 Buy
Little Green Men—Attack! 2017 Buy
Ex Libris: Stories of Librarians, Libraries, and Lore 2017 Buy
Submerged 2017 Buy
Unidentified Funny Objects 6 2017 Buy
Unidentified Funny Objects 7 2018 Buy
Unidentified Funny Objects 8 2020 Buy

Author’s Choice Monthly Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Old Funny Stuff 1989 Buy
Daily Voices 1989 N/A
Heroines 1990 Buy
Peripheral Vision 1990 Buy
Swatting at the Cosmos 1990 Buy
Neon Twilight 1990 Buy
Tales from a Vanished Country 1990 Buy
True Minds 1990 Buy
Hedgework & Guessery 1991 Buy
Unthreatened by the Morning Light 1991 Buy
Stories by Mama Lansdales Youngest Boy 1991 Buy
Nine Hard Questions About the Nature of the Universe 1991 Buy
It’s Been Fun 1991 Buy

Blood Of Ten Chiefs Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Blood of Ten Chiefs 1986 Buy
Wolfsong 1989 Buy
The Winds of Change 1989 Buy
Against the Wind 1990 Buy
Dark Hours 1993 Buy

Chicks In Chainmail Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Chicks Ahoy! 1994 Buy
Chicks in Chainmail 1995 Buy
Mathemagics 1996 Buy
Did You Say Chicks?! 1998 Buy
Chicks ’n Chained Males 1999 Buy
The Chick is in the Mail 2000 Buy
Turn the Other Chick 2004 Buy
Chicks and Balances 2015 Buy

Collections

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Death and the Librarian and Other Stories 1995 Buy
Up the Wall 1999 Buy

Deception’s Princess Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Deception’s Princess 2014 Buy
Deception’s Pawn 2015 Buy

Demons Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Here Be Demons 1988 Buy
Demon Blues 1989 Buy
Hooray For Hellywood 1990 Buy

Dragonflight Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Letters from Atlantis 1990 Buy
The Dreaming Place 1990 Buy
Dragon’s Plunder 1992 Buy
Wishing Season 1993 Buy
Born of Elven Blood 1994 Buy
Monet’s Ghost 1997 Buy

Majyk Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Majyk By Accident (Majyk, #1) 1993 N/A
Majyk By Design 1994 Buy
Majyk By Hook or Crook 1994 Buy
Majyk By Accident 1993 Buy

Men In Black Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Men In Black 1997 Buy
Men in Black: The Grazer Conspiracy 2000 Buy
Men in Black II 2002 Buy

New York Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
New York by Knight 1986 Buy
A Table for Three 2010 N/A
Elf Defense 1988 Buy
Sphynxes Wild 1989 Buy
Sphynxes Wild (New York, #3) 1989 N/A

Nobody’s Princess Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Nobody’s Princess 2007 Buy
Nobody’s Prize 2008 Buy

Psalms of Herod Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Psalms of Herod 1991 Buy
The Sword of Mary 1991 Buy

Short Stories/Novellas

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Ecce Hominid 1991 Buy
A Birthday (in F&SF) 1995 Buy

Sphinx’s Princess Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Sphinx’s Princess 2009 Buy
Sphinx’s Queen 2010 Buy

Spirit’s Princess Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Spirit’s Princess 2012 Buy
Spirit’s Chosen 2013 Buy

Standalone Novels

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Harlot’s Ruse 1986 Buy
The Silver Mountain 1986 Buy
Druid’s Blood 1988 Buy
Yesterday We Saw Mermaids 1992 Buy
The Sherwood Game 1995 Buy
Child of the Eagle 1996 Buy
Temping Fate 2006 Buy
Threads and Flames 2010 Buy

Tim Desmond Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Gnome Man’s Land 1991 Buy
Harpy High 1991 Buy
Unicorn U. 1992 Buy

Twelve Kingdoms Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Mustapha and His Wise Dog 1985 Buy
Spells of Mortal Weaving 1986 Buy
The Witchwood Cradle 1987 Buy
The Water King’s Laughter 1989 Buy

Esther M. Friesner is an American science fiction and fantasy author born in Brooklyn in 1951. She studied at Vassar College and earned her master’s and doctoral degrees at Yale University in classical Spanish literature, specializing in the works of Lope de Vega. After teaching Spanish at Yale for several years, she turned to writing full-time and quickly became one of the genre’s most prolific voices.

Friesner is best known for her humorous approach to fantasy and science fiction. Her Chicks in Chainmail anthology series, which she edited, became a fan favorite for its comedic take on warrior women in fantasy. Her own fiction ranges from the lighthearted Majyk trilogy to the more serious young adult novels Nobody’s Princess and Sphinx’s Princess, which reimagine the lives of figures from Greek and Egyptian mythology.

Her work has earned wide recognition, including two consecutive Nebula Awards for Best Short Story. She has also been nominated multiple times for the Hugo Award. Beyond her own novels, she is a respected anthology editor whose collections blend humor, fantasy, and fairy tale retellings across titles like Snow White, Blood Red and Black Swan, White Raven.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books has Esther M. Friesner written?

Esther M. Friesner has written 121 books across nineteen series.

What was Esther M. Friesner's first book?

Esther M. Friesner’s first book is Mustapha and His Wise Dog, published in 1985.

Has Esther M. Friesner won any literary awards?

Yes, Esther M. Friesner won the Nebula Award for Best Short Story two years in a row, in 1995 for ‘Death and the Librarian’ and in 1996 for ‘A Birthday.’ She was also named Outstanding New Fantasy Writer by Romantic Times in 1986.

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