diff --git a/core/lib/annotation_exporter.js b/core/lib/annotation_exporter.js
index e51ff1106..dc13698dd 100644
--- a/core/lib/annotation_exporter.js
+++ b/core/lib/annotation_exporter.js
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 "use strict";
 
 var path = require('path'),
+  glob = require('glob'),
   fs = require('fs-extra'),
   JSON5 = require('json5'),
   _ = require('lodash'),
@@ -36,38 +37,42 @@ var annotations_exporter = function (pl) {
     return oldAnnotationsJSON.comments;
   }
 
-  /*
-   Converts the annotations.md file yaml list into an array of annotations
-   */
-  function parseAnnotationsMD() {
-    var markdown_parser = new mp();
-    var annotations = [];
+  function buildAnnotationMD(annotationsYAML, markdown_parser) {
+    var annotation = {};
+    var markdownObj = markdown_parser.parse(annotationsYAML);
 
-    //attempt to read the file
-    var annotationsMD = '';
-    try {
-      annotationsMD = fs.readFileSync(path.resolve(paths.source.annotations, 'annotations.md'), 'utf8');
-    } catch (ex) {
-      if (pl.config.debug) {
-        console.log('annotations.md file missing from ' + paths.source.annotations + '. This may be expected.');
-      }
-      return [];
-    }
+    annotation.el = markdownObj.el || markdownObj.selector;
+    annotation.title = markdownObj.title;
+    annotation.comment = markdownObj.markdown;
+    return annotation;
+  }
 
-    //take the annotation snippets and split them on our custom delimiter
-    var annotationsYAML = annotationsMD.split('~*~');
+  function parseMDFile(annotations, parser) {
+    var annotations = annotations;
+    var markdown_parser = parser;
 
-    for (var i = 0; i < annotationsYAML.length; i++) {
-      var annotation = {};
+    return function (filePath) {
+      var annotationsMD = fs.readFileSync(path.resolve(filePath), 'utf8');
 
-      var markdownObj = markdown_parser.parse(annotationsYAML[i]);
+    //take the annotation snippets and split them on our custom delimiter
+      var annotationsYAML = annotationsMD.split('~*~');
+      for (var i = 0; i < annotationsYAML.length; i++) {
+        var annotation = buildAnnotationMD(annotationsYAML[i], markdown_parser)
+        annotations.push(annotation);
+      }
+      return false;
+    }
+  }
 
-      annotation.el = markdownObj.el || markdownObj.selector;
-      annotation.title = markdownObj.title;
-      annotation.comment = markdownObj.markdown;
+  /*
+   Converts the *.md file yaml list into an array of annotations
+   */
+  function parseAnnotationsMD() {
+    var markdown_parser = new mp();
+    var annotations = [];
+    var mdFiles = glob.sync(paths.source.annotations + '/*.md')
 
-      annotations.push(annotation);
-    }
+    mdFiles.forEach(parseMDFile(annotations, markdown_parser));
     return annotations;
   }
 
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 53992f55d..8148364b7 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@
   },
   "contributors": [
     {
-      "name" : "Geoff Pursell"
+      "name": "Geoff Pursell"
     }
   ],
   "license": "MIT",
diff --git a/test/annotation_exporter_tests.js b/test/annotation_exporter_tests.js
index 70bbfec06..49ae049c8 100644
--- a/test/annotation_exporter_tests.js
+++ b/test/annotation_exporter_tests.js
@@ -3,13 +3,14 @@
 var eol = require('os').EOL;
 var Pattern = require('../core/lib/object_factory').Pattern;
 var extend = require('util')._extend;
+var anPath = './test/files/';
 
-function createFakePatternLab(customProps) {
+function createFakePatternLab(anPath, customProps) {
   var pl = {
     "config": {
       "paths": {
         "source": {
-          "annotations": './test/files/'
+          "annotations": anPath
         }
       }
     }
@@ -18,7 +19,7 @@ function createFakePatternLab(customProps) {
   return extend(pl, customProps);
 }
 
-var patternlab = createFakePatternLab();
+var patternlab = createFakePatternLab(anPath);
 var ae = require('../core/lib/annotation_exporter')(patternlab);
 
 exports['annotaton_exporter'] = {
@@ -65,5 +66,15 @@ exports['annotaton_exporter'] = {
 
     test.done();
 
+  },
+
+  'when there are 0 annotation files' : function (test) {
+    var emptyAnPath = './test/files/empty/';
+    var patternlab2 = createFakePatternLab(emptyAnPath);
+    var ae2 = require('../core/lib/annotation_exporter')(patternlab2);
+
+    var annotations = ae2.gather();
+    test.equals(annotations.length, 0);
+    test.done();
   }
 };
diff --git a/test/files/annotations.md b/test/files/annotations.md
index 7e2ad972a..cf895f081 100644
--- a/test/files/annotations.md
+++ b/test/files/annotations.md
@@ -10,9 +10,3 @@ selector: .logo
 title: Logo
 ---
 The _logo image_ is an SVG file.
-~*~
----
-el: #nav
-title : Navigation
----
-Navigation for adaptive web experiences can be tricky. Refer to [these repsonsive patterns](https://bradfrost.github.io/this-is-responsive/patterns.html#navigation) when evaluating solutions.
diff --git a/test/files/empty/.gitkeep b/test/files/empty/.gitkeep
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e69de29bb
diff --git a/test/files/nav.md b/test/files/nav.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..00de05203
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/files/nav.md
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+el: #nav
+title : Navigation
+---
+Navigation for adaptive web experiences can be tricky. Refer to [these repsonsive patterns](https://bradfrost.github.io/this-is-responsive/patterns.html#navigation) when evaluating solutions.
+