Books
Stephen King books in order
Master thriller writer Stephen King has penned over 50 novels, selling 350 million copies in a career that spans over 40 years.
“If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”
Stephen King
Famous for his terrifying prose, King writes horror, supernatural, science fiction, fantasy and, more recently, crime novels. When asked why he writes, King responds: “The answer to that is fairly simple — there was nothing else I was made to do. I was made to write stories and I love to write stories. That’s why I do it. I really can’t imagine doing anything else and I can’t imagine not doing what I do.”
Having penned over 200 short stories – many set in his home town of Maine and the most famous arguably being his novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, the basis for the movie The Shawshank Redemption – it was no surprise when he was awarded a National Medal of Arts from the United States National Endowment for the Arts for his contributions to literature in 2015.
Did you know…
1. King credits The Lurker of the Threshold, a short story collection by HP Lovecraft as the catalyst to him becoming a writer.
2. More Stephen King books have been adapted into films than any other living author.
3. Stephen King also writes under two pen names: Richard Bachman and John Swithen.
4. Carrie was originally planned as a short story but King threw out the first draft. It was rescued by his wife Tabitha.
5. Mr Mercedes, King’s first ‘hard-boiled detective book’, was first published in 2014 and featured retired detective Bill Hodges. It won an Edgar Award and, as the first in a trilogy, was followed by Finders and Keepers and End of Watch.
Read on for a list of Stephen King books in order – or find out how his writing has inspired other writers here.
Stephen King bibliography:
| By date | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. Carrie (1974) | 2. ‘Salem’s Lot (1975) | 3. The Shining (1977) |
| 4. Rage (1977) | 5. The Stand (1978) | 6. The Long Walk (1979) |
| 7. The Dead Zone (1979) | 8. Firestarter (1980) | 9. Roadwork (1981) |
| 10. Cujo (1981) | 11. The Running Man (1982) | 12. The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger (1982) |
| 13. Christine (1983) | 14. Pet Sematary (1983) | 15. Cycle of the Werewolf (1983) |
| 16. The Talisman (1984) | 17. Thinner (1984) | 18. It (1986) |
| 19. The Eyes of the Dragon (1987) | 20. The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three (1987) | 21. Misery (1987) |
| 22. The Tommyknockers (1987) | 23. The Dark Half (1989) | 24. The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands (1991) |
| 25. Needful Things (1991) | 26. Gerald’s Game (1992) | 27. Dolores Claiborne (1992) |
| 28. Insomnia (1994) | 29. Rose Madder (1995) | 30. The Green Mile (1996) |
| 31. Desperation (1996) | 32. The Regulators (1996) | 33. The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass (1997) |
| 34. Bag of Bones (1998) | 35. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (1999) | 36. Dreamcatcher (2001) |
| 37. Black House (2001) | 38. From a Buick 8 (2002) | 39. The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla (2003) |
| 40. The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah (2004) | 41. The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower (2004) | 42. The Colorado Kid (2005) |
| 43. Cell (2006) | 44. Lisey’s Story (2006) | 45. Blaze (2007) |
| 46. Duma Key (2008) | 47. Under the Dome (2009) | 48. 11/22/63 (2011) |
| 49. The Dark Tower: The Wind Through the Keyhole (2012) | 50. Joyland (2013) | 51. Doctor Sleep (2013) |
| 52. Mr. Mercedes (2014) | 53. Revival (2014) | 54. Finders Keepers (2015) |
| 55. End of Watch (2016) | 56. Gwendy’s Button Box (2017) | 57. Sleeping Beauties (2017) |
| 58. The Outsider (2018) | 59. Elevation (2018) | 60. The Institute (2019) |
| 61. Later (2021) | 62. Billy Summers (2021) | 63. Fairy Tale (2022) |
| 64. Holly (2023) |
To whoever said Cell and Bag of Bones are his best I assume you’re making a joke. The Stand is my favorite novel ever, not just SK Of the newer ones: Under the Dome, the Hodges trilogy, and 11/24/63.
I read The shining when I was 13 years old. Been hooked on King ever since. I have read 90 % of his books. Still have it all in my book collection. No other author there although I do read others, but I keep King near to reread it. Can’t say I have a favorite because I love them all.
Cell and Bag of Bones are his best.
I loved his books Carrie, It, Firestarter and the Shining. Not in that particular order; nevertheless, I still loved them. Steven King is a master mind when it comes to horror writing
In his writing Stephen King describes the surrounding world in the same fashion as I perceive it which makes me love reading his books. The small details he pays attention to are similar to what I pay attention to. It is like I am being transported to the time and place the story takes place. Read almost all his books. My two favourites are probably Needful Things and Everything is Eventual.