Katherine Arden books

Katherine Arden is an American author of historical fantasy and children's horror, best known for the Winternight Trilogy and the Small Spaces quartet.

Anthologies

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Unfettered III: New Tales By Masters of Fantasy 2019 Buy
The Secret Romantic’s Book of Magic 2025 Buy

Small Spaces Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Small Spaces 2018 Buy
Zrádné mlhy 2018 N/A
Dead Voices 2019 Buy
Dark Waters 2021 Buy
Empty Smiles 2022 Buy

Standalone Novels

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Warm Hands of Ghosts 2024 Buy
The Unicorn Hunters 2026 Buy

Winternight Trilogy Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Medvěd a slavík 2017 N/A
The Bear and the Nightingale 2017 Buy
Dívka ve věži 2017 N/A
The Girl in the Tower 2017 Buy
The Winter of the Witch 2019 Buy
Veštičina zima 2019 N/A

Katherine Arden writes fiction that draws deeply on folklore and history. Her career began with the Winternight Trilogy, a historical fantasy set in medieval Russia that earned comparisons to Naomi Novik and Susanna Clarke for its rich world-building and literary prose. The trilogy brought Russian fairy tales to a wide English-language audience and established Arden as a distinctive voice in fantasy.

She followed the Winternight books with the Small Spaces quartet, a middle-grade horror series that proved she could scare younger readers as effectively as she could enchant adult ones. Her standalone novels, including The Warm Hands of Ghosts and the forthcoming The Unicorn Hunters, continue to explore the boundaries between the real and the supernatural. Arden’s background in Russian literature and language gives her work a texture and specificity that sets it apart.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books has Katherine Arden written?

Katherine Arden has written fifteen books across four series.

What was Katherine Arden's first book?

Katherine Arden’s first book is Dívka ve věži, published in 2017.

What inspired the Winternight Trilogy?

Katherine Arden drew on Russian fairy tales and medieval Russian history for the Winternight Trilogy. She studied Russian literature and spent time in Russia, and the trilogy weaves together historical detail with the folklore of figures like Morozko, the frost demon, and the domovoi, household spirits.

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