Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Best Horror of the Year: Volume One | 2009 | Kristi DeMeester | Buy |
| 2 | The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Two | 2010 | Kristi DeMeester | Buy |
| 3 | The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Nine | 2017 | Kristi DeMeester | Buy |
| 4 | The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Four | 2012 | Kristi DeMeester | Buy |
| 5 | The Best Horror of the Year Volume Five | 2013 | Kristi DeMeester | Buy |
| 6 | The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Six | 2014 | Kristi DeMeester | Buy |
| 7 | The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Seven | 2015 | Kristi DeMeester | Buy |
| 8 | The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Twelve | 2020 | Kristi DeMeester | Buy |
| 9 | The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Eight | 2016 | Kristi DeMeester | Buy |
| 10 | The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Ten | 2018 | Kristi DeMeester | Buy |
| 11 | The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Three | 2011 | Kristi DeMeester | Buy |
| 12 | The Best of the Best Horror of the Year: 10 Years of Essential Short Horror Fiction | 2018 | Kristi DeMeester | Buy |
| 13 | The Best Horror of the Year Volume Thirteen | 2021 | Kristi DeMeester | Buy |
| 14 | The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Eleven | 2019 | Kristi DeMeester | Buy |
| 15 | The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Fourteen | 2022 | Kristi DeMeester | Buy |
| 16 | The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Fifteen | 2024 | Kristi DeMeester | Buy |
| 17 | The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Sixteen | 2024 | Kristi DeMeester | Buy |
| 18 | The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Seventeen | 2025 | Kristi DeMeester | Buy |
The Best Horror of the Year is an annual anthology series that has been running since 2009. With eighteen volumes so far, it covers more than fifteen years of horror fiction, from Volume One in 2009 through Volume Seventeen in 2025. Two volumes came out in both 2018 and 2024, and a special compilation, The Best of the Best Horror of the Year: 10 Years of Essential Short Horror Fiction, was published in 2018 alongside Volume Ten.
Because these are anthologies, each volume stands on its own and can be read independently. Readers don’t need to start with Volume One, though going in order gives a sense of how the horror genre has shifted over the years. The series is listed here under Kristi DeMeester’s page, as DeMeester has contributed to multiple volumes in the series.