Katherine Arden is an American fantasy author best known for the Winternight Trilogy, the middle grade Small Spaces Quartet, and standalone historical fantasies including The Warm Hands of Ghosts and The Unicorn Hunters.
Her bibliography is unusually straightforward.
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Two series must be read in order: Winternight and Small Spaces. Her adult novels published after Winternight are separate stories, so readers can choose between them without worrying about continuity.
The Quick Reading Order
For Winternight:
- The Bear and the Nightingale
- The Girl in the Tower
- The Winter of the Witch
For Small Spaces:
- Small Spaces
- Dead Voices
- Dark Waters
- Empty Smiles
For Arden’s later adult novels:
- The Warm Hands of Ghosts
- The Unicorn Hunters
Those final two are not connected. Their order is optional.
Winternight Trilogy Books in Order
The Winternight Trilogy is Arden’s first and best-known series.
Read:
- The Bear and the Nightingale (2017)
- The Girl in the Tower (2017)
- The Winter of the Witch (2019)
This is both publication order and narrative order.
The trilogy follows Vasya Petrovna through one continuous story rooted in medieval Rus, Russian folklore, political conflict, Christianity, and the older supernatural beings that surround her world.
The later novels assume knowledge of Vasya’s family, abilities, relationships, and choices from the previous books.
Do not rearrange the trilogy.
The Bear and the Nightingale
The Bear and the Nightingale introduces Vasya, her family, Morozko, and the household spirits that increasingly come under threat as religious and supernatural forces collide.
It is the required beginning of Winternight.
Included: Book 1.
The Girl in the Tower
The Girl in the Tower continues Vasya’s story rather than opening a new adventure that can safely stand alone.
It expands the setting beyond her childhood home and moves more deeply into political events surrounding Moscow.
Reading it first would reveal important outcomes from The Bear and the Nightingale.
Included: Book 2.
The Winter of the Witch
The Winter of the Witch completes the trilogy.
It brings together the political, familial, magical, and mythological conflicts established in the first two novels.
Included: Book 3 and series finale.
Is the Winternight Trilogy Complete?
Yes.
The complete sequence remains:
- The Bear and the Nightingale
- The Girl in the Tower
- The Winter of the Witch
No fourth Winternight novel with a confirmed publication date has been announced as of August 9, 2026.
Readers can begin knowing that Vasya’s principal three-book story is complete.
Should Winternight Be Read Chronologically?
Publication order already follows the useful chronology.
There is no prequel novel that needs to be moved ahead of The Bear and the Nightingale.
For a first reading and for rereads, the same order works best.
Small Spaces Books in Order
Small Spaces is Arden’s completed middle grade horror quartet.
Read:
- Small Spaces (2018)
- Dead Voices (2019)
- Dark Waters (2021)
- Empty Smiles (2022)
These books follow Ollie, Coco, Brian, and their continuing encounters with the sinister Smiling Man.
Unlike Arden’s standalone adult novels, these four should stay together.
Why the Small Spaces Order Matters
Each book builds on the children’s earlier encounters with the supernatural.
The friendships deepen, earlier bargains have consequences, and the Smiling Man’s larger game becomes clearer as the quartet progresses.
Empty Smiles is explicitly the finale, so starting there would spoil developments from the first three books.
The Seasonal Structure of Small Spaces
The quartet also follows a seasonal pattern.
- Small Spaces, fall
- Dead Voices, winter
- Dark Waters, spring
- Empty Smiles, summer
That pattern reinforces the intended sequence.
It is not simply four unrelated ghost stories using the same children.
Small Spaces
Small Spaces introduces Ollie and the supernatural danger associated with the Smiling Man.
It establishes the central friendships and rules that matter later.
Included: Book 1.
Dead Voices
Dead Voices takes the characters into a haunted winter setting.
The children already know that the supernatural danger they faced in Small Spaces can return, so the first book provides important context.
Included: Book 2.
Dark Waters
Dark Waters moves the quartet into its spring installment and continues the ongoing struggle.
Later character relationships and supernatural threats depend on the previous two books.
Included: Book 3.
Empty Smiles
Empty Smiles is the summer book and the conclusion of the quartet.
It directly addresses unresolved events involving Ollie and the Smiling Man.
Included: Book 4 and series finale.
Is Small Spaces Complete?
Yes.
Penguin Random House identifies Empty Smiles as the finale of the four-book series.
There is no required fifth Small Spaces novel.
Are Winternight and Small Spaces Connected?
No.
Both use folklore, supernatural beings, and young protagonists confronting forces that other people do not fully understand, but they occupy separate fictional worlds.
Winternight is historical fantasy set in medieval Rus.
Small Spaces is contemporary middle grade horror set primarily in Vermont.
No crossover reading order is needed.
The Warm Hands of Ghosts
The Warm Hands of Ghosts was published in the United States on February 13, 2024.
It is a standalone historical fantasy set during the First World War.
The novel follows Canadian nurse Laura Iven as she returns to Europe searching for answers about her missing brother Freddie.
The supernatural elements involve ghosts, memory, grief, and an uncanny refuge within the devastation of the war.
Separate continuity.
No Winternight or Small Spaces book is required.
Is The Warm Hands of Ghosts Part of Winternight?
No.
Historical setting and supernatural folklore are recurring elements in Arden’s writing, but The Warm Hands of Ghosts has different characters, a different period, and a separate mythology.
It should not be numbered as a fourth Winternight novel.
The Unicorn Hunters
The Unicorn Hunters was published June 2, 2026.
The novel draws on the history of Anne of Brittany and is set against political conflict in fifteenth-century Brittany.
Its fantasy elements include the legendary forest of Brocéliande, unicorns, enchantment, and older stories surrounding the region.
Separate continuity.
It is not a sequel to The Warm Hands of Ghosts or to the Winternight Trilogy.
Is The Unicorn Hunters a Series?
No sequel with a confirmed title and publication date has been announced as of August 9, 2026.
The book should currently be treated as a standalone novel.
Should The Warm Hands of Ghosts Be Read Before The Unicorn Hunters?
No.
They were published in that order:
- The Warm Hands of Ghosts
- The Unicorn Hunters
But there is no continuing story between them.
Readers interested in World War I can begin with The Warm Hands of Ghosts.
Readers more interested in late medieval politics and folklore can begin directly with The Unicorn Hunters.
Katherine Arden Adult Novels in Publication Order
For readers who want to follow her adult fiction career:
- The Bear and the Nightingale (2017)
- The Girl in the Tower (2017)
- The Winter of the Witch (2019)
- The Warm Hands of Ghosts (2024)
- The Unicorn Hunters (2026)
The first three form Winternight.
The final two are standalones.
The Strangest Fish
The Strangest Fish is Arden’s picture book, illustrated by Zahra Marwan.
It follows a girl named Daisy who wins an unusual goldfish at a fair and cares for it despite what others think of its appearance.
The story includes a touch of magic but has no connection to Winternight or Small Spaces.
Separate continuity.
It can be read independently and is intended for a younger audience than the Small Spaces novels.
Katherine Arden Short Fiction
Arden has also contributed shorter work to anthologies.
Her official bibliography highlights appearances in collections including Twice Cursed and The Secret Romantic’s Book of Magic.
These anthology contributions should not be inserted into Winternight or Small Spaces unless a particular story is explicitly identified as belonging to those continuities.
For a books-in-order reader, they are optional.
Is There a Katherine Arden Chronological Order?
Not across the complete bibliography.
The books cover very different settings and historical periods.
Winternight occupies medieval Rus.
The Unicorn Hunters uses fifteenth-century Brittany.
The Warm Hands of Ghosts is set during World War I.
Small Spaces occurs in contemporary Vermont.
Placing them by historical date would suggest a shared universe that Arden has not established.
Recommended Reading Order for Adults
If you want to explore Arden’s adult novels in a coherent progression, use:
- The Bear and the Nightingale
- The Girl in the Tower
- The Winter of the Witch
- The Warm Hands of Ghosts
- The Unicorn Hunters
This is partly a career reading order rather than a fictional chronology.
The advantage is that it keeps Winternight intact before moving to the standalones.
Recommended Reading Order for Younger Readers
Use:
- Small Spaces
- Dead Voices
- Dark Waters
- Empty Smiles
For younger children, The Strangest Fish stands separately and requires none of those novels.
Where Should a New Reader Start?
For Arden’s adult fantasy, the most useful starting point is The Bear and the Nightingale.
It opens a complete trilogy and introduces the folklore-rich historical fantasy for which she first became widely known.
Readers who would rather avoid committing to three books can begin with The Warm Hands of Ghosts or The Unicorn Hunters. Both stand alone.
For middle grade horror, begin with Small Spaces.
Which Series Should You Choose?
For Historical Fantasy With Russian Folklore
Read Winternight:
- The Bear and the Nightingale
- The Girl in the Tower
- The Winter of the Witch
For Middle Grade Horror
Read Small Spaces:
- Small Spaces
- Dead Voices
- Dark Waters
- Empty Smiles
For World War I Historical Fantasy
Read:
- The Warm Hands of Ghosts
For Fifteenth-Century Historical Fantasy
Read:
- The Unicorn Hunters
No crossover reading is required among those choices.
Katherine Arden’s Latest Book
As of August 9, 2026, Arden’s newest novel is The Unicorn Hunters.
It was published June 2, 2026.
The novel is a standalone historical fantasy inspired by Anne of Brittany rather than a continuation of Winternight.
Is Katherine Arden Writing Another Book?
Arden’s current official site presents The Unicorn Hunters as her latest novel.
No later novel with a confirmed title and publication date was identified for this August 2026 update.
Unconfirmed listings or speculative future titles should not yet be added to a definitive reading order.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Katherine Arden book should I read first?
For adults, begin with The Bear and the Nightingale if you want a series.
For a standalone, choose The Warm Hands of Ghosts or The Unicorn Hunters.
For younger readers, begin with Small Spaces.
What order are the Winternight books?
Read:
- The Bear and the Nightingale
- The Girl in the Tower
- The Winter of the Witch
Is Winternight complete?
Yes.
The Winter of the Witch concludes the trilogy.
Is The Warm Hands of Ghosts a Winternight book?
No.
It is a standalone World War I historical fantasy.
Is The Unicorn Hunters connected to Winternight?
No.
It is a separate historical fantasy inspired by Anne of Brittany and the folklore of Brittany.
What order are the Small Spaces books?
Read:
- Small Spaces
- Dead Voices
- Dark Waters
- Empty Smiles
Is Empty Smiles the last Small Spaces book?
Yes.
It is the fourth book and the finale of the quartet.
Can I read Dead Voices first?
It is better not to.
The characters and supernatural conflict begin in Small Spaces.
Are Small Spaces and Winternight in the same universe?
No confirmed continuity connects them.
They should be treated as separate series.
Is The Strangest Fish part of Small Spaces?
No.
It is an independent illustrated picture book.
What is Katherine Arden’s latest novel?
The Unicorn Hunters, published June 2, 2026.
Is there another Katherine Arden novel announced?
No later novel with a firmly confirmed title and publication date was identified as of August 9, 2026.
Best Katherine Arden Reading Order
Katherine Arden does not need a complicated universal reading plan.
Keep Winternight together: The Bear and the Nightingale, The Girl in the Tower, and The Winter of the Witch.
Keep Small Spaces together: Small Spaces, Dead Voices, Dark Waters, and Empty Smiles.
After that, the choice becomes flexible. The Warm Hands of Ghosts and The Unicorn Hunters are standalone historical fantasies, and neither requires knowledge of Arden’s earlier series.
For most adult readers, The Bear and the Nightingale remains the safest first book. For readers who want only one self-contained novel, start with whichever historical setting appeals more: World War I in The Warm Hands of Ghosts, or fifteenth-century Brittany in The Unicorn Hunters.
Frank is the editor of BookSeries.blog, focusing on publication order, chronological timelines, and spoiler-free reading guides for book series and fictional universes.