Franz Kafka Books in Order
26 books are credited to Franz Kafka, published between 1912 and 2020; 16 of them appeared after Franz Kafka's death in 1924. The first book is The Judgement (1912) and the newest is The Lost Writings (2020). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 26
- Published
- 1912–2020
- Pages on record
- 2,808 in 14 of 26 books
- Reading time
- 47–70 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 2,808 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 14 of 26 titles with a page count on record.
Franz Kafka's catalogue is built from short fiction: The Judgement (1912), Meditation, The Stoker, The Metamorphosis (1915), A Country Doctor, In the Penal Colony and A Hunger Artist. Twenty-six entries are listed, counting later translations, correspondence and collections such as The Lost Writings. The 1920s are the densest period, and volumes are short at a median of 191 pages.
How many Franz Kafka books are there?
Franz Kafka has 26 books, released between 1912 and 2020. 16 of them were published after Franz Kafka's death in 1924.
Franz Kafka Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 26 Franz Kafka 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.
- 1The Judgement1912 · confirmed 1/41912–1/4
- 2Meditation1913 · 79 pages · confirmed 1/41913791/4
- 3The Stoker1913 · confirmed 1/41913–1/4
- 4The Metamorphosis1915 · 44 pages · confirmed 1/41915441/4
- 5A Country Doctor1919 · 50 pages · confirmed 1/41919501/4
- 6In the Penal Colony1919 · 29 pages · confirmed 1/41919291/4
- 7Unhappiness1920 · confirmed 1/41920–1/4
- 8A Hunger Artist1920 · confirmed 1/41920–1/4
- 9Investigations of a Dog1922 · confirmed 1/41922–1/4
- 10The Burrow1923 · 240 pages · confirmed 1/419232401/4
- 11The Trial1925 · confirmed 1/41925–1/4
- 12The Castle1926 · confirmed 1/41926–1/4
- 13Amerika1927 · 299 pages · confirmed 1/419272991/4
- 14The Zürau Aphorisms1931 · 160 pages · confirmed 1/419311601/4
- 15The Metamorphosis and Other Stories1949 · confirmed 1/41949–1/4
- 16Diaries, 1910-19231949 · confirmed 1/41949–1/4
- 17Letter to His Father1952 · confirmed 1/41952–1/4
- 18Letters to Milena1952 · 320 pages · confirmed 1/419523201/4
- 19Selected Short Stories1952 · confirmed 1/41952–1/4
- 20Parables and Paradoxes1961 · 190 pages · confirmed 1/419611901/4
- 21The Complete Stories1976 · 486 pages · confirmed 1/419764861/4
- 22Stories 1904-19241981 · 271 pages · confirmed 1/419812711/4
- 23Best Short Stories1997 · confirmed 1/41997–1/4
- 24The Unhappiness of Being a Single Man2018 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/420181921/4
- 25He, the Shorter Writings of Franz Kafka2020 · 320 pages · confirmed 1/420203201/4
- 26The Lost Writings2020 · 128 pages · confirmed 1/420201281/4
Franz Kafka 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.
Standalone books
26 books26 Franz Kafka titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Franz Kafka books in order?
No. No source lists any of the 26 Franz Kafka books here as part of a series. The numbered table above gives them by publication date.
Where to start with Franz Kafka
Start with The Judgement (1912), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Franz Kafka book?
The Lost Writings (2020) is the newest Franz Kafka book released so far.
Is there a new Franz Kafka book coming?
No next Franz Kafka book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Franz Kafka at a glance
- Died
- Franz Kafka died in 1924, according to Wikidata.
- After death
- Books credited to Franz Kafka are still being published after Franz Kafka's death in 1924; the newest appeared in 2020.
- Release pace
- Franz Kafka books have appeared about one every 4 years on average.
- Length
- 2,808 pages across the 14 of 26 books with a recorded length, a median of 191 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Franz Kafka books, 7 of 26, were published in the 1920s.
What the Franz Kafka books are about
12 of the 26 Franz Kafka books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: germanic literature is tagged on 4 of 12. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Germanic literature 4 of 12 books
- Austrian Short stories 3 of 12 books
- Short stories 3 of 12 books
- Austrian Authors 2 of 12 books
- Biography 2 of 12 books
- Correspondence 2 of 12 books
- Facsimiles 2 of 12 books
- Nouvelles 2 of 12 books