Below is the complete list of Stephen King books in order. For each series, the chronological reading order is the same as the order of publication.
Publication Order of Bill Hodges Trilogy Books
Publication Order of The Button Box Books
Publication Order of The Dark Tower Books
with Robin Furth
Publication Order of The Dark Tower: Beginnings Books
Publication Order of The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three Books
with Robin Furth, Peter David
Publication Order of The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Books
with Robin Furth, Peter David
Publication Order of Green Mile Books
Publication Order of Holly Gibney Books
Publication Order of The Outsider Books
Publication Order of Secretary of Dreams Books
Publication Order of The Shining Books
- Before the Play (1977)
Before the Play was published in 1977 and is listed as book #1 in the The Shining series. 
Publication Order of Talisman Books
with Peter Straub
Publication Order of Standalone Books
Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas Books
- The Blue Air Compressor (1971)
The Blue Air Compressor was published in 1971 and is listed as book #1 in the Short Stories/Novellas series. - One for the Road (1977)
Published in 1977, One for the Road is listed as book #2 in the Short Stories/Novellas series. - The Ledge (1977)
The Ledge is a 1977 release and appears as book #3 in the Short Stories/Novellas series. - I Am the Doorway (1978)
In the Short Stories/Novellas series, I Am the Doorway is book #4 and was published in 1978. 
- The Mangler (1978)
The Mangler was published in 1978 and is listed as book #6 in the Short Stories/Novellas series. - I Know What You Need (1978)
Published in 1978, I Know What You Need is listed as book #7 in the Short Stories/Novellas series. - The Woman in the Room (1978)
The Woman in the Room is a 1978 release and appears as book #8 in the Short Stories/Novellas series. - The Man Who Loved Flowers (1978)
In the Short Stories/Novellas series, The Man Who Loved Flowers is book #9 and was published in 1978. - Night Surf (1978)
Night Surf was first published in 1978; within the Short Stories/Novellas series, it is listed as book #10. - Jerusalem’s Lot (1978)
Jerusalem’s Lot was published in 1978 and is listed as book #11 in the Short Stories/Novellas series. - The Crate (1979)
Published in 1979, The Crate is listed as book #12 in the Short Stories/Novellas series. 
- The Jaunt (1981)
The Jaunt was published in 1981 and is listed as book #16 in the Short Stories/Novellas series. 
- Survivor Type (1982)
Survivor Type was first published in 1982; within the Short Stories/Novellas series, it is listed as book #20. 
- Word Processor of the Gods (1983)
Published in 1983, Word Processor of the Gods is listed as book #22 in the Short Stories/Novellas series. 
- The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet (1984)
Published in 1984, The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet is listed as book #27 in the Short Stories/Novellas series. - The Raft (1985)
The Raft is a 1985 release and appears as book #28 in the Short Stories/Novellas series. - For the Birds (1986)
In the Short Stories/Novellas series, For the Birds is book #29 and was published in 1986. - Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut (1986)
Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut was first published in 1986; within the Short Stories/Novellas series, it is listed as book #30. 
- Trucks (1987)
Published in 1987, Trucks is listed as book #32 in the Short Stories/Novellas series. - The Last Rung on the Ladder (1987)
The Last Rung on the Ladder is a 1987 release and appears as book #33 in the Short Stories/Novellas series. - The Night Flier (1988)
In the Short Stories/Novellas series, The Night Flier is book #34 and was published in 1988. - Home delivery (1989)
Home delivery was first published in 1989; within the Short Stories/Novellas series, it is listed as book #35. 
- Sneakers (1989)
In the Short Stories/Novellas series, Sneakers is book #39 and was published in 1989. 
- Gray Matter (1993)
Gray Matter was published in 1993 and is listed as book #46 in the Short Stories/Novellas series. 
- The Lawnmower Man (1995)
In the Short Stories/Novellas series, The Lawnmower Man is book #49 and was published in 1995. - 1408 (1997)
1408 was published in 1997 and is listed as book #51 in the Short Stories/Novellas series. 
- Zenith Rising / The Plant (2000)
Zenith Rising / The Plant is a 2000 release and appears as book #53 in the Short Stories/Novellas series. - Lisey and the Madman (2004)
Lisey and the Madman was published in 2004 and is listed as book #56 in the Short Stories/Novellas series. - The Things They Left Behind (2005)
Published in 2005, The Things They Left Behind is listed as book #57 in the Short Stories/Novellas series. - Mute (2007)
Mute was first published in 2007; within the Short Stories/Novellas series, it is listed as book #60. - Ayana (2007)
Ayana was published in 2007 and is listed as book #61 in the Short Stories/Novellas series. - N (2008)
N is a 2008 release and appears as book #63 in the Short Stories/Novellas series. 
- The Little Green God of Agony (2011)
The Little Green God of Agony is a 2011 release and appears as book #73 in the Short Stories/Novellas series. - The Dune (2011)
The Dune was published in 2011 and is listed as book #76 in the Short Stories/Novellas series. - Batman and Robin have an Altercation (2012)
Published in 2012, Batman and Robin have an Altercation is listed as book #77 in the Short Stories/Novellas series. - Ghost Brothers of Darkland County (2012)
Ghost Brothers of Darkland County is a 2012 release and appears as book #78 in the Short Stories/Novellas series. 
- Afterlife (2013)
In the Short Stories/Novellas series, Afterlife is book #84 and was published in 2013. - Summer Thunder (2013)
Summer Thunder was first published in 2013; within the Short Stories/Novellas series, it is listed as book #85. - A Death (2015)
In the Short Stories/Novellas series, A Death is book #89 and was published in 2015. - Bad Little Kid (2015)
Bad Little Kid was published in 2015 and is listed as book #91 in the Short Stories/Novellas series. - Cookie Jar (2016)
Published in 2016, Cookie Jar is listed as book #92 in the Short Stories/Novellas series. 
- Squad D (2019)
Squad D is a 2019 release and appears as book #98 in the Short Stories/Novellas series. - The Fifth Step (2020)
In the Short Stories/Novellas series, The Fifth Step is book #99 and was published in 2020. 
- Red Screen (2021)
Published in 2021, Red Screen is listed as book #102 in the Short Stories/Novellas series. - Finn (2022)
In the Short Stories/Novellas series, Finn is book #104 and was published in 2022. - Rattlesnakes (2023)
Rattlesnakes was first published in 2023; within the Short Stories/Novellas series, it is listed as book #105.
Publication Order of Short Story Collections Books
- Six Stories (1997)
Six Stories is a 1997 release and appears as book #8 in the Short Story Collections series. - Secret Windows: Essays and Fiction on the Craft of Writing (2000)
Published in 2000, Secret Windows: Essays and Fiction on the Craft of Writing is listed as book #12 in the Short Story Collections series. 
Publication Order of Graphic Novels Books
Publication Order of Children’s Books
Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books
Publication Order of Transgressions Books
Publication Order of Plays Books
Publication Order of The Stand: Graphic Novels Books
Publication Order of American Vampire Books
Publication Order of Beryl Evans Picture Books
as Beryl Evans
Publication Order of Legends Books
Publication Order of Dark Screams Anthology Books
with Kelley Armstrong, Richard T. Chizmar, Ramsey Campbell, Bill Pronzini, Simon Clark, Brian James Freeman, Frank Darabont, Shawntelle Madison
Publication Order of The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror Books
Publication Order of Best Horror of the Year Books
Publication Order of The Dark Descent Books
About Stephen King
Stephen King is an American novelist and short-story writer whose career transformed modern horror while extending far beyond the genre label most closely attached to his name. Born in Portland, Maine, in 1947, he grew up largely in Maine and studied English at the University of Maine, graduating in 1970. He sold his first professional short story in 1967 and spent part of his early working life teaching high school English while writing during evenings and weekends. That combination of ordinary employment, precarious finances, and persistent fiction writing became part of the background to one of the most prolific careers in contemporary American literature.
King’s breakthrough came with Carrie, published in 1974. The novel’s combination of adolescent cruelty, religious extremism, telekinesis, and social isolation announced several concerns that would recur throughout his fiction: the vulnerability of outsiders, violence inside apparently ordinary communities, the instability of family life, and the frightening consequences of power. He followed it with major novels including ’Salem’s Lot, The Shining, The Stand, The Dead Zone, Pet Sematary, It, and Misery, establishing an extraordinary run of popular fiction across the 1970s and 1980s.
Although King became synonymous with horror, his bibliography resists a single classification. He has written supernatural horror, psychological suspense, crime, fantasy, science fiction, dystopian fiction, and stories with little or no supernatural content. Different Seasons contains the novellas that became the basis for The Shawshank Redemption and Stand by Me, while The Green Mile combines a prison narrative with the supernatural. Later works such as the Bill Hodges trilogy and The Outsider show his movement between crime investigation and uncanny threat. This range helps explain why the connections across his bibliography are often thematic rather than strictly generic.
The Dark Tower is the largest sustained structure within King’s fiction. Beginning with The Gunslinger, the sequence follows Roland Deschain’s pursuit of the Dark Tower through a world that blends western, fantasy, horror, and post-apocalyptic elements. The series also occupies a special position because characters, places, ideas, and alternate realities from numerous other King works intersect with its mythology. His fictional Maine towns, particularly Castle Rock and Derry, create another kind of continuity: stories may be independent while sharing locations, histories, or echoes of earlier events.
King also published a significant group of novels as Richard Bachman. The pseudonym initially allowed him to release work separately from the Stephen King name and included books such as The Long Walk, Roadwork, The Running Man, and Thinner. After Bachman’s identity became public, King continued to treat the alter ego as a distinct part of his publishing history. The Bachman books often emphasize social pressure, desperation, institutional cruelty, and protagonists pushed toward physical or psychological extremes.
Collaboration forms another strand of his career. With Peter Straub, King wrote The Talisman and Black House, creating a fantasy-horror narrative connected to the Territories. He has also worked with writers including Richard Chizmar, Stewart O’Nan, his son Owen King, and his son Joe Hill. Outside fiction, Danse Macabre examines horror across popular culture, while On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft combines autobiography with practical reflections on writing and remains one of his most influential nonfiction works.
King’s style is distinguished less by monsters alone than by accumulation: communities, family tensions, childhood loyalties, private fears, jokes, memories, and everyday routines are established before or alongside catastrophe. His characters often speak in strongly individualized voices, and even expansive supernatural plots remain grounded in recognizable human weaknesses. His career has received honors including the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters and the National Medal of Arts. Across novels, novellas, collections, nonfiction, pseudonymous work, and interconnected fictional worlds, his bibliography is best understood as a vast but unusually coherent body of storytelling about fear, moral choice, memory, and the pressures hidden inside ordinary life.