Order of Book Series
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Jeffrey Ford Books in Order

Jeffrey Ford has written 25 books, published between 1988 and 2026. The first book is Vanitas (1988) and the newest is Pandemonium Waltz (2026). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
25
Published
1988–2026
Pages on record
3,698 in 14 of 25 books
Reading time
62–92 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 3,698 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 14 of 25 titles with a page count on record.

See all 25 books in order Printable Jeffrey Ford checklist
Photo of Jeffrey Ford, author of the Well-Built City Trilogy

Jeffrey Ford, born November 8, 1955, is an American writer of the fantastic whose books cross into science fiction and mystery. Ford studied with the novelist John Gardner at Binghamton University, lives in Ohio and teaches writing part-time at Ohio Wesleyan University. Humour, literary allusion and stories nested within stories mark his fiction. His series is the Well-Built City Trilogy. The 25 catalogued books run from Vanitas (1988) to Pandemonium Waltz (2026) and include The Physiognomy, The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque and several story collections.

How many Jeffrey Ford books are there?

Jeffrey Ford has 25 books, released between 1988 and 2026. 3 of them belong to the Well-Built City Trilogy series.

Jeffrey Ford Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 25 Jeffrey Ford 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.

  1. Cover of The Physiognomy by Jeffrey Ford, book 1 of the Well-Built City Trilogy (1997)
  2. Cover of Memoranda by Jeffrey Ford, book 2 of the Well-Built City Trilogy (1999)
  3. Cover of The Fantasy Writer's Assistant by Jeffrey Ford (2002)
  4. Cover of The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque by Jeffrey Ford (2002)
  5. Cover of The Weight of Words by Jeffrey Ford (2002)
  6. Cover of The Girl in the Glass by Jeffrey Ford (2005)
  7. Cover of The Cosmology of the Wider World by Jeffrey Ford (2005)
  8. Cover of The Way He Does It by Jeffrey Ford (2006)
  9. Cover of The Shadow Year by Jeffrey Ford (2008)
  10. Cover of Crackpot Palace by Jeffrey Ford (2012)
  11. Cover of A Natural History of Autumn by Jeffrey Ford (2012)
  12. Cover of Big Dark Hole by Jeffrey Ford (2021)
  1. 1
    Vanitas1988 · 167 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1988167
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The PhysiognomyWell-Built City Trilogy #11997 · 218 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1997218
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    MemorandaWell-Built City Trilogy #21999 · 230 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1999230
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    The Honeyed Knot2001 · confirmed 1/4
    2001–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The BeyondWell-Built City Trilogy #32001 · confirmed 1/4
    2001–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    The Fantasy Writer's Assistant2002 · 247 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2002247
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Creation2002 · confirmed 1/4
    2002–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque2002 · 320 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2002320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    The Weight of Words2002 · 319 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2002319
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Girl in the Glass2005 · 286 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2005286
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The Cosmology of the Wider World2005 · 140 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2005140
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    The Way He Does It2006 · 290 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2006290
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    The Shadow Year2008 · 304 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2008304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Crackpot Palace2012 · 338 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2012338
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    A Natural History of Autumn2012 · 279 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2012279
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Rocket Ship to Hell2013 · confirmed 1/4
    2013–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    A Terror2013 · confirmed 1/4
    2013–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    The Thyme Fiend2015 · confirmed 1/4
    2015–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    The Twilight Pariah2017 · confirmed 1/4
    2017–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    Ahab's Return2018 · 272 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2018272
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Out of Body2020 · confirmed 1/4
    2020–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    Big Dark Hole2021 · 288 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2021288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    The Golden Hour2022 · confirmed 1/4
    2022–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    Pretty Good Neighbor2023 · confirmed 1/4
    2023–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    Pandemonium Waltz2026 · confirmed 1/4
    2026–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Jeffrey Ford 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.

Well-Built City Trilogy in order

3 books
  1. 1. The Physiognomy
  2. 2. Memoranda
  3. 3. The Beyond

Standalone books

22 books

22 Jeffrey Ford titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Jeffrey Ford books in order?

You only need to read Jeffrey Ford books in order within the Well-Built City Trilogy series, which holds 3 of the 25 Jeffrey Ford books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.

Where to start with Jeffrey Ford

Start with Vanitas (1988), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Jeffrey Ford book?

Pandemonium Waltz (2026) is the newest Jeffrey Ford book released so far.

Is there a new Jeffrey Ford book coming?

No next Jeffrey Ford 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 Jeffrey Ford has won

Wikidata records 14 awards and 61 nominations for Jeffrey Ford. The most recent 12 are listed here. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • World Fantasy Award for Best Collection2017Wonfor A Natural History of Hell
  • Shirley Jackson Award for Single-Author Collection2016Wonfor A Natural History of Hell
  • Shirley Jackson Award for Single-Author Collection2012Wonfor Crackpot Palace
  • World Fantasy Award for Best Collection2009Wonfor The Drowned Life
  • World Fantasy Award for Best Novel2009Wonfor The Shadow Year
  • Shirley Jackson Award for Novel2008Wonfor The Shadow Year
  • Shirley Jackson Award2008Won
  • World Fantasy Award for Best Novella2007Wonfor Botch Town
  • Edgar Awards2006Won
  • Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire for Best Foreign-Language Short Story2006Wonfor Exo-Skeleton Town
  • Nebula Award for Best Novelette2004Wonfor The Empire of Ice Cream
  • World Fantasy Award for Best Collection2003Wonfor The Fantasy Writer's Assistant and Other Stories

Jeffrey Ford at a glance

Still publishing
Jeffrey Ford published a book as recently as 2026.
Release pace
Jeffrey Ford books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
3,698 pages across the 14 of 25 books with a recorded length, a median of 282 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Jeffrey Ford books, 10 of 25, were published in the 2000s.

What the Jeffrey Ford books are about

12 of the 25 Jeffrey Ford 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 3 of 12. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.