Elsewhere Books in Order

Elsewhere is not a fantasy saga in the modern sense, with recurring heroes and a map you are meant to master. It is a trio of anthologies, edited by Terri Windling and Mark Alan Arnold, that gathers short fantasy fiction, poetry, and artwork into three companion volumes: Elsewhere, Elsewhere Vol. II, and Elsewhere Vol. III. The pleasure here comes from movement, from stepping through one strange doorway after another and never knowing exactly what kind of world waits on the far side.

Because of that, there is no single protagonist to follow. One story may lean toward myth, another toward dream, another toward sword and sorcery, ghostliness, or literary fantasy. Some pieces are intimate and melancholy. Others are playful, eerie, or expansive. Read together, the books feel less like a single plot and more like a cabinet of enchanted odds and ends, carefully chosen because they speak to one another in mood, image, or atmosphere.

The connection is curiosity.

That makes the series a good snapshot of the kind of fantasy Windling cared about from the start. These anthologies are interested in the wider field, not just quests and battles. They leave room for mythic retellings, uncanny encounters, poetic interludes, and stories that feel as if they are only half lit. If you like fantasy that drifts a little closer to folklore, art, and strangeness, the Elsewhere books have a lot to offer. They are also early examples of the editorial taste that Windling would become known for later on.

The first volume won a World Fantasy Award, and it is easy to see why readers responded to it. The books invite discovery. You can meet established writers beside names that were newer at the time, then watch the tone shift from lush to sharp to wistful in a handful of pages. That rhythm is part of the point. The series asks you to enjoy fantasy as a set of possibilities, not a single lane.

So what should you expect as a reader? Variety, first of all. Expect stories that open quickly, leave a vivid impression, and then hand you off to something different. Expect poems and art pieces that change the pace. And expect to read these books more like curated journeys than novels. They can be sampled in any order, but starting with Elsewhere gives you the clearest sense of the series' original shape and the editorial imagination behind it.