Gemma Malley books

Anthologies

Standalone Novels

The Declaration Reading Order

The Killables Reading Order

Gemma Malley is a British author who writes dystopian fiction for young adult readers. Before turning to novels, she studied Philosophy at Reading University and worked as a journalist, editing business magazines and writing for Company magazine and the Sunday Telegraph. She later held a senior communications role at Ofsted before focusing on her fiction career.

Her debut YA novel, The Declaration (2007), is set in a future where humanity has conquered aging and illness but at a steep social cost. The book and its sequel, The Resistance, were published to strong critical reception. She followed that trilogy with The Killables (2012), another dystopian series set in a walled city where citizens are sorted and controlled by a system called the Brother. Her standalone novel, The Returners (2010), takes a different approach, exploring reincarnation and the idea that certain people are destined to witness history’s worst atrocities across multiple lifetimes.

Malley’s books tend to ask big philosophical questions about free will, conformity, and what people will accept in exchange for safety. Her writing is accessible enough for teen readers but deals with ideas weighty enough to hold adult interest. She lives in South London.