The Dresden Files reading order
By Jim Butcher · Last verified · 12 sources
Quick answer
Read the 18 novels in their official numbered order. The short fiction is where it gets complicated: Jim Butcher's site says exactly where each Side Jobs story falls between novels (for example four stories between Small Favor and Turn Coat), and our chronology view uses those placements. Brief Cases stories have no official placement, so they are listed but not placed.
Numbered urban fantasy novels narrated by a Chicago wizard, supplemented by short stories and novellas, most gathered in two collections.
- The series has 18 novels, 24 short stories, 2 novellas.
- In publication order, the main sequence starts with Storm Front (2000) and the latest listed is Twelve Months (2026).
- Besides publication order, this page offers: Internal chronology (sourced placements only).
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Verification: Every work cites an author or publisher source (44 of 44 works cite an author, publisher or official source). How we verify.
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Ordered by first publication date (original language). Derived automatically from the dates listed for each work.
- Storm Front
- Fool Moon
- Grave Peril
- Summer Knight
- Death Masks
- Blood Rites
- Dead Beat
- Proven Guilty
- Something Borrowed
- White Night
- It's My Birthday, Too
- Heorot
- Small Favor
- Backup
- Day Off
- Turn Coat
- The Warrior
- Last Call
- Changes
- A Restoration of Faith
- Vignette
- Love Hurts
- AAAA Wizardry
- Even Hand
- Aftermath
- Ghost Story
- Curses
- Cold Days
- I Was a Teenage Bigfoot
- Bigfoot on Campus
- B is for Bigfoot
- Bombshells
- Skin Game
- Jury Duty
- Cold Case
- Day One
- A Fistful of Warlocks
- Zoo Day
- Peace Talks
- Battle Ground
- Little Things
- Fugitive
- Twelve Months
Not placed in this order
Our sources do not give a position for these works in this order, so we do not guess one.
- The Law
Why the order isn't simple
- Short fiction appeared in many different anthologies and was later gathered in Side Jobs and Brief Cases.
- Collections are arranged in internal chronological order, which differs from the order the stories were first published.
- Some short works (e.g. Aftermath, The Law, Little Things) are set between or after specific novels and contain spoilers.
Which order should I use?
Publication order follows the novels' first editions, with short fiction dated by first appearance where verified.
The internal chronology contains only placements the author's site states: the Side Jobs stories (from 'before Storm Front' to 'between Turn Coat and Changes') and two post-Battle Ground stories, The Law and Little Things. Stories that share a gap share a position.
Aftermath is described only as post-Changes, so it is not given an exact slot.
Most short fiction first appeared in multi-author anthologies (for example Unbound, Shadowed Souls and Unfettered II for three Brief Cases stories, per library records), which is why it is easy to miss without the collections.
Where each order comes from
- Publication order — Derived from publication dates
- Ordered by first publication date (original language). Derived automatically from the dates listed for each work.
- Internal chronology (sourced placements only) — Story chronology
- Novels in their official numbered order, with short fiction placed only where Jim Butcher’s site states where it falls (Side Jobs stories, The Law, Little Things). Stories that share a gap between two novels share a position. Brief Cases stories and Aftermath (described only as post-Changes) are not placed. Source: Dresden Files books, Side Jobs (book page).
Novellas & short stories
Most Dresden short fiction first appeared in anthologies and was collected in Side Jobs (2010) or Brief Cases (2018). The three Bigfoot stories were also published together in Working for Bigfoot (2015) before Brief Cases reprinted them.
| Title | Type | First published | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Restoration of Faith | Short story | 2010 in Jim Butcher's website | |
| Vignette | Short story | 2010 in Jim Butcher's website | Also known as Publicity and Advertising. |
| Something Borrowed | Short story | 3 October 2006 in My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding | |
| It's My Birthday, Too | Short story | 4 September 2007 in Many Bloody Returns | |
| Heorot | Short story | 26 December 2007 in My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon | |
| Day Off | Short story | 21 October 2008 in Blood Lite | Also known as Harry's Day Off. |
| Backup | Novella | 2008 in Subterranean Press (standalone edition) | Told from Thomas's point of view; published as a standalone book before being collected. Length category per common description, not verified on ISFDB. |
| The Warrior | Short story | 6 January 2009 in Mean Streets | |
| Last Call | Short story | 7 July 2009 in Strange Brew | |
| Love Hurts | Short story | 2010 in Songs of Love and Death | |
| Aftermath | Short story | 26 October 2010 in Side Jobs | Set shortly after Changes (secondary source). The author site describes it only as post-Changes, so it is not given an exact position. |
| A Fistful of Warlocks | Short story | 2017 in Straight Outta Tombstone | |
| B is for Bigfoot | Short story | 28 August 2012 in Under My Hat: Tales From the Cauldron | |
| I Was a Teenage Bigfoot | Short story | 29 May 2012 in Blood Lite 3: Aftertaste | |
| Curses | Short story | 5 July 2011 in Naked City | |
| AAAA Wizardry | Short story | 15 June 2010 in The Dresden Files Roleplaying Game, Vol. Two: Our World | |
| Bigfoot on Campus | Short story | 5 June 2012 in Hex Appeal | |
| Even Hand | Short story | 20 July 2010 in Dark and Stormy Knights | |
| Bombshells | Short story | 3 December 2013 in Dangerous Women | |
| Cold Case | Short story | 2016 in Shadowed Souls | Year is that of the first-appearance anthology per Open Library. |
| Jury Duty | Short story | 2015 in Unbound | Year is that of the first-appearance anthology per Open Library. |
| Day One | Short story | 2016 in Unfettered II | Year is that of the first-appearance anthology per Open Library. |
| Zoo Day | Short story | 5 June 2018 in Brief Cases | |
| The Law | Novella | Unknown | Official site says it is set after Battle Ground and contains major spoilers for it. Publication date not verified. |
| Little Things | Short story | 2022 in Heroic Hearts | Official site says it is set after Battle Ground. Year is that of the first-appearance anthology per Open Library. |
| Fugitive | Short story | March 2023 in Instinct: An Animal Rescuers Anthology | Features Mouse, per the official site. |
Collections & omnibus editions: what's inside
Brief Cases and Working for Bigfoot overlap on all three Bigfoot stories: if you own Brief Cases, Working for Bigfoot adds nothing new. The ownership checker flags this.
Side Jobs (2010) and Brief Cases (2018) do not share any story. Side Jobs ends with Aftermath, which was new to that book; Brief Cases ends with the novella Zoo Day, also new.
Contents below are works from this series only. Tick the editions you own to check for duplicates and gaps.
Side Jobs
Story collection · 2010 · Roc
- A Restoration of Faith
- Vignette
- Something Borrowed
- It's My Birthday, Too
- Heorot
- Day Off
- Backup
- The Warrior
- Last Call
- Love Hurts
- Aftermath
Source: Side Jobs (book page), Side Jobs
Brief Cases
Story collection · 2018 · Ace
- A Fistful of Warlocks
- B is for Bigfoot
- I Was a Teenage Bigfoot
- Curses
- AAAA Wizardry
- Bigfoot on Campus
- Even Hand
- Bombshells
- Cold Case
- Jury Duty
- Day One
- Zoo Day
Overlaps with: Working for Bigfoot (3 shared)
Publisher listing confirms the 12 stories (including the three Bigfoot stories also collected in Working for Bigfoot). Publisher page lists ebook/audio on sale 2018-06-05.
Source: Brief Cases (book page), Brief Cases, Brief Cases by Jim Butcher
Working for Bigfoot
Story collection · 2015 · Subterranean Press
- B is for Bigfoot
- I Was a Teenage Bigfoot
- Bigfoot on Campus
Overlaps with: Brief Cases (3 shared)
Collects the three Bigfoot stories; all three were later reprinted in Brief Cases (2018).
Your editions
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Where sources disagree
We don't pick a winner silently. When sources conflict we show each view and cite it.
Novel first-publication dates
Wikipedia gave day-level dates for books 10-15 that appear to be later paperback dates; only years (from Open Library) are recorded here. ISFDB returned 403 during research.
Sources: The Dresden Files, Open Library search: Jim Butcher novels
How this page was verified
Novel order, the short fiction placements and both collections' contents come from jim-butcher.com and the publishers (Penguin Random House, Subterranean Press). First-edition years come from library catalogue records; three earlier dates that turned out to be later paperback releases were corrected.
Last verified . Every work cites an author or publisher source.
Sources
Every date, order and edition listed on this page cites at least one of these. See our data methodology for how source types are ranked.
- Dresden Files books — Jim Butcher · Author (official) · accessed 7 October 2026 Novel list 1-17, Twelve Months release date, short fiction list with placement notes for The Law and Little Things.
- The Dresden Files — Wikipedia · Secondary reference · accessed 7 October 2026 Novel release dates.
- Side Jobs — Wikipedia · Secondary reference · accessed 7 October 2026 Collection contents and original appearances.
- Brief Cases — Wikipedia · Secondary reference · accessed 7 October 2026 Collection contents and original appearances.
- Brief Cases by Jim Butcher — Penguin Random House · Publisher · accessed 7 October 2026 Imprint (Ace), contents list of 12 stories, edition dates.
- Working for Bigfoot — Subterranean Press · Publisher · accessed 7 October 2026 Publisher, 2015, contents (three Bigfoot stories).
- Open Library search: Jim Butcher novels — Open Library · Library catalog · accessed 7 October 2026 first_publish_year for Small Favor (2008), Turn Coat (2009), Changes (2010), Ghost Story (2011), Cold Days (2012), Skin Game (2014).
- Open Library search: anthologies — Open Library · Library catalog · accessed 7 October 2026 first_publish_year for Unbound (2015), Shadowed Souls (2016), Unfettered II (2016), Heroic Hearts (2022).
- Side Jobs (book page) — Jim Butcher (official site) · Author (official) · accessed 7 October 2026 Lists the 11 stories with official timeline notes, e.g. “Takes place between Small Favor and Turn Coat”. Aftermath is described only as post-Changes.
- Brief Cases (book page) — Jim Butcher (official site) · Author (official) · accessed 7 October 2026 Lists the 12 stories and their original venues. Gives no timeline placements for these stories.
- Open Library / Library of Congress records for Dresden Files first editions — Open Library (Internet Archive) · Library catalog · accessed 7 October 2026 Roc first editions: Dead Beat 2005 (LCCN 2004027399, /books/OL3299415M); Proven Guilty 2006 (LCCN 2005030130, /books/OL3413979M); White Night 2007 (LCCN 2006030574, /books/OL17889732M). The earlier data used 2006-05-02, 2007-02-06 and 2008-02-05, which match later paperback releases, not first editions. Also confirms Storm Front 2000, Fool Moon 2001, Grave Peril 2001, Summer Knight 2002, Death Masks 2003, Blood Rites 2004 (Roc, with LCCNs).
- Open Library edition records (first-publication year cross-check) — Open Library (Internet Archive) · Library catalog · accessed 7 October 2026 Year of first publication matched the earliest year with two or more catalogued editions for: Storm Front (/works/OL5685119W); Fool Moon (/works/OL5961788W); Grave Peril (/works/OL5961784W); Summer Knight (/works/OL5961786W); White Night (/works/OL11967337W); Small Favor (/works/OL11967339W); Turn Coat (/works/OL11967338W); Changes (/works/OL14973267W); Ghost Story (/works/OL15673516W); Cold Days (/works/OL17383102W); Skin Game (/works/OL17457356W); Peace Talks (/works/OL20863938W); Battle Ground (/works/OL20854695W). Generated by scripts/audit-dates.mjs; see audit/date-crosscheck.json.
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