James Sallis Books in Order
James Sallis has written 38 books, published between 1982 and 2026. The first book is The Guitar Players: One Instrument and Its Masters in American Music (1982) and the newest is Backwater (2026). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 38
- Published
- 1982–2026
- Pages on record
- 4,650 in 24 of 38 books
- Reading time
- 78–116 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 4,650 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 24 of 38 titles with a page count on record.
James Sallis, who lived from 1944 to 2026, was an American crime writer, poet, science fiction writer and biographer. The Lew Griffin novels, set in New Orleans, follow a detective through a series that opens with The Long-Legged Fly (1992); Drive, published in 2005, became a film of the same name in 2011. Sallis also wrote about music, starting the catalogue with The Guitar Players: One Instrument and Its Masters in American Music (1982). Thirty-eight titles are catalogued in all.
How many James Sallis books are there?
James Sallis has 38 books, released between 1982 and 2026. They include 2 series and 27 titles listed outside any series.
James Sallis Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 38 James Sallis 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 Guitar Players: One Instrument and Its Masters in American Music1982 · 288 pages · confirmed 2/419822882/4
- 21992–2/4
- 319932052/4
- 419941602/4
- 5Renderings1995 · 107 pages · confirmed 2/419951072/4
- 6The Guitar in Jazz: An Anthology1996 · 220 pages · confirmed 2/419962202/4
- 7Ash of Stars1996 · 224 pages · confirmed 2/419962242/4
- 8Death Will Have Your Eyes1997 · 208 pages · confirmed 2/419972082/4
- 919971962/4
- 10More Light1998 · confirmed 2/41998–2/4
- 1119991612/4
- 12Sorrow's Kitchen Poems2000 · 114 pages · confirmed 2/420001142/4
- 13Time's Hammers: The Collected Short Fiction of James Sallis2000 · 398 pages · confirmed 2/420003982/4
- 14A City Equal to My Desire2000 · 165 pages · confirmed 2/420001652/4
- 15Difficult Lives2000 · confirmed 2/42000–2/4
- 16Gently into the Land of the Meateaters2000 · 160 pages · confirmed 2/420001602/4
- 17Chester Himes: A Life2000 · 350 pages · confirmed 2/420003502/4
- 1820012282/4
- 1920032562/4
- 20Limits of the Sensible World2003 · 84 pages · confirmed 2/42003842/4
- 212005–2/4
- 2220061922/4
- 23Potato Tree2006 · 200 pages · confirmed 2/420062002/4
- 2420071602/4
- 25The Killer Is Dying2011 · confirmed 2/42011–2/4
- 2620121472/4
- 27Others of My Kind2013 · 116 pages · confirmed 2/420131162/4
- 28Rain's Eagerness2013 · confirmed 2/42013–2/4
- 29Black Night's Gonna Catch Me Here2015 · 104 pages · confirmed 2/420151042/4
- 30What You Were Fighting For2016 · confirmed 2/42016–2/4
- 31Willnot2016 · confirmed 2/42016–2/4
- 32Night's Pardons2016 · confirmed 2/42016–2/4
- 33Difficult Lives Hitching Rides2018 · confirmed 2/42018–2/4
- 34Sarah Jane2019 · 207 pages · confirmed 2/420192072/4
- 35Dayenu and Other Stories2021 · confirmed 2/42021–2/4
- 36Bright Segments: The Complete Short Fiction2024 · confirmed 2/42024–2/4
- 37World's Edge2026 · confirmed 2/42026–2/4
- 38Backwater2026 · confirmed 2/42026–2/4
James Sallis 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.
Lew Griffin in order
6 booksTurner in order
3 books- 1. Cypress Grove
- 2. Cripple Creek
- 3. Salt River
Drive in order
2 booksStandalone books
27 books27 James Sallis titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read James Sallis books in order?
You only need to read James Sallis 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 James Sallis
Start with The Guitar Players: One Instrument and Its Masters in American Music (1982), the earliest published title.
What is the newest James Sallis book?
Backwater (2026) is the newest James Sallis book released so far.
Is there a new James Sallis book coming?
No next James Sallis 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 James Sallis has won
Wikidata records 1 award and 1 nomination for James Sallis. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Grand Prix de Littérature Policière2013Wonfor The Killer is Dying
- Nebula Award for Best Short Story1971Shortlistedfor The Creation of Bennie Good
James Sallis at a glance
- Died
- James Sallis died in 2026, according to Wikidata.
- Last book
- The newest book credited to James Sallis on record dates from 2026.
- Release pace
- James Sallis books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 4,650 pages across the 24 of 38 books with a recorded length, a median of 194 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most James Sallis books, 13 of 38, were published in the 2000s.
What the James Sallis books are about
29 of the 38 James Sallis books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: crime is tagged on 8 of 29. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Crime 8 of 29 books
- Lew Griffin (Fictitious character) 8 of 29 books
- Mystery & detective 8 of 29 books
- Mystery & detective, police procedural 7 of 29 books
- Griffin, lew (fictitious character) 6 of 29 books
- African American detectives 4 of 29 books
- History and criticism 4 of 29 books
- Private investigators 4 of 29 books
- African Americans 3 of 29 books
- John Turner (Fictitious character) 3 of 29 books
- Police 3 of 29 books
- Sheriffs 3 of 29 books