Robin McKinley Anthologies books in order

Q: "How many books are in the Robin McKinley Anthologies series?"

"There are eleven books in the Robin McKinley Anthologies series, published between 1985 and 2014."

Q: "What is the first book in the Robin McKinley Anthologies series?"

"The first book in the Robin McKinley Anthologies series is Imaginary Lands, published in 1985."

Q: "Are these anthologies edited by Robin McKinley or do they just include her stories"

"It varies. Imaginary Lands (1985) was edited by McKinley herself. Most of the others, such as Snow White Blood Red and the related fairy tale anthologies edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, include McKinley as a contributing author alongside other fantasy writers. The collections range from fairy tale retellings to broader fantasy and horror."

Reading order

#	Title	Published	Author	Buy on Amazon
1	Imaginary Lands	1985	Robin McKinley	Buy
2	Snow White, Blood Red	1993	Robin McKinley	N/A
3	Dragons and Warrior Daughters	1989	Robin McKinley	Buy
4	Black Thorn, White Rose	2008	Robin McKinley	N/A
5	Spells of Enchantment	1991	Robin McKinley	Buy
6	Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears	2014	Robin McKinley	N/A
7	Black Swan, White Raven	1997	Robin McKinley	N/A
8	Silver Birch, Blood Moon	1999	Robin McKinley	Buy
9	Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror: Sixteenth Annual Collection	2003	Robin McKinley	Buy
10	Black Heart, Ivory Bones	2000	Robin McKinley	N/A
11	Lightspeed Magazine, February 2014	2014	Robin McKinley	Buy

Robin McKinley’s work has appeared in numerous fantasy anthologies over the years, from fairy tale retellings to broader speculative fiction collections. She edited Imaginary Lands (1985), an anthology of original fantasy stories, and contributed her own fiction to it as well. Several of the anthologies listed here belong to the well-known fairy tale retelling series edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, including Snow White, Blood Red, Black Thorn White Rose, and others in that long-running sequence.

These anthologies place McKinley’s stories alongside work by other notable fantasy authors, offering a way to sample her shorter fiction outside of her novels and solo collections. The range of publication dates, from 1985 to 2014, shows how her work remained a fixture in fantasy anthologies across three decades. Readers who enjoy her novels will find the same careful prose and fairy tale sensibility in these shorter pieces.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books are in the Robin McKinley Anthologies series?

There are eleven books in the Robin McKinley Anthologies series, published between 1985 and 2014.

What is the first book in the Robin McKinley Anthologies series?

The first book in the Robin McKinley Anthologies series is Imaginary Lands, published in 1985.

Are these anthologies edited by Robin McKinley or do they just include her stories

It varies. Imaginary Lands (1985) was edited by McKinley herself. Most of the others, such as Snow White Blood Red and the related fairy tale anthologies edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, include McKinley as a contributing author alongside other fantasy writers. The collections range from fairy tale retellings to broader fantasy and horror.

Reading order#

Frequently Asked Questions

Reading order