Ali Smith Books in Order
Ali Smith has written 23 books, published between 1997 and 2025. The first book is Like (1997) and the newest is Glyph (2025). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 23
- Published
- 1997–2025
- Pages on record
- 3,889 in 14 of 23 books
- Reading time
- 65–97 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 3,889 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 14 of 23 titles with a page count on record.
Ali Smith is a Scottish author, playwright, academic and journalist, born in 1962, holder of a CBE and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Smith's 23 catalogued books open with Like (1997) and reach Glyph (2025), taking in Hotel World (2001), The Accidental (2005), Girl Meets Boy (2007) and several collections of short stories. Two series are catalogued: the Seasonal books and Gliff. Gliff and Glyph are homophone novels published in successive years, both addressing contemporary social and political questions. Sebastian Barry called Smith Scotland's Nobel laureate-in-waiting in 2016.
How many Ali Smith books are there?
Ali Smith has 23 books, released between 1997 and 2025. They include 2 series and 17 titles listed outside any series.
Ali Smith Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 23 Ali Smith books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 1Like1997 · 344 pages · confirmed 2/419973442/4
- 2Other Stories and other stories1999 · 192 pages · confirmed 2/419991922/4
- 3Free Love and Other Stories2001 · 149 pages · confirmed 2/420011492/4
- 4Hotel World2001 · 236 pages · confirmed 2/420012362/4
- 5The Whole Story and Other Stories2003 · confirmed 2/42003–2/4
- 6The Accidental2005 · 306 pages · confirmed 2/420053062/4
- 7Writ2006 · confirmed 2/42006–2/4
- 8Girl Meets Boy2007 · confirmed 2/42007–2/4
- 9The First Person and Other Stories2008 · 206 pages · confirmed 2/420082062/4
- 10The Story of Antigone2011 · confirmed 2/42011–2/4
- 11There but for the2011 · 236 pages · confirmed 2/420112362/4
- 12Artful2012 · 237 pages · confirmed 2/420122372/4
- 13Shire2013 · 125 pages · confirmed 2/420131252/4
- 14How to Be Both2014 · 384 pages · confirmed 2/420143842/4
- 15Public Library and Other Stories2015 · confirmed 2/42015–2/4
- 162016–2/4
- 1720173222/4
- 18In the Spirit of Spark2018 · confirmed 2/42018–2/4
- 1920193522/4
- 2020204002/4
- 21Companion Piece2022 · 400 pages · confirmed 2/420224002/4
- 222025–2/4
- 232025–2/4
Ali Smith books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.
Do you have to read Ali Smith books in order?
You only need to read Ali Smith books in order within each series: the books listed here span 2 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
Where to start with Ali Smith
Start with Like (1997), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Ali Smith book?
Glyph (2025) is the newest Ali Smith book released so far.
Is there a new Ali Smith book coming?
No next Ali Smith book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Awards Ali Smith has won
Wikidata records 6 awards and 4 nominations for Ali Smith. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Austrian State Prize for European Literature2022Won
- Orwell Prize for Political Fiction2021Won
- Europese Literatuurprijs2020Wonfor Lente
- Hawthornden Prize2012Won
- Costa Book Awards2005Won
- Saltire Awards1995Won
- Booker Prize2017Shortlistedfor Autumn
- Booker Prize2014Shortlistedfor How to Be Both
- Booker Prize2005Shortlistedfor The Accidental
- Booker Prize2001Shortlistedfor Hotel World
Ali Smith at a glance
- Still publishing
- Ali Smith published a book as recently as 2025.
- Release pace
- Ali Smith books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 3,889 pages across the 14 of 23 books with a recorded length, a median of 272 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Ali Smith books, 10 of 23, were published in the 2010s.
What the Ali Smith books are about
17 of the 23 Ali Smith books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: short stories is tagged on 5 of 17. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Short stories 5 of 17 books
- English literature 4 of 17 books
- Literary fiction 2 of 17 books
- Seasons 2 of 17 books
- Teenage girls 2 of 17 books