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.
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.
Source: Wikidata
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 November 2026.
- 1Vanitas1988 · 167 pages · confirmed 1/419881671/4
- 219972181/4
- 319992301/4
- 4The Honeyed Knot2001 · confirmed 1/42001–1/4
- 52001–1/4
- 6The Fantasy Writer's Assistant2002 · 247 pages · confirmed 1/420022471/4
- 7Creation2002 · confirmed 1/42002–1/4
- 8The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque2002 · 320 pages · confirmed 1/420023201/4
- 9The Weight of Words2002 · 319 pages · confirmed 1/420023191/4
- 10The Girl in the Glass2005 · 286 pages · confirmed 1/420052861/4
- 11The Cosmology of the Wider World2005 · 140 pages · confirmed 1/420051401/4
- 12The Way He Does It2006 · 290 pages · confirmed 1/420062901/4
- 13The Shadow Year2008 · 304 pages · confirmed 1/420083041/4
- 14Crackpot Palace2012 · 338 pages · confirmed 1/420123381/4
- 15A Natural History of Autumn2012 · 279 pages · confirmed 1/420122791/4
- 16Rocket Ship to Hell2013 · confirmed 1/42013–1/4
- 17A Terror2013 · confirmed 1/42013–1/4
- 18The Thyme Fiend2015 · confirmed 1/42015–1/4
- 19The Twilight Pariah2017 · confirmed 1/42017–1/4
- 20Ahab's Return2018 · 272 pages · confirmed 1/420182721/4
- 21Out of Body2020 · confirmed 1/42020–1/4
- 22Big Dark Hole2021 · 288 pages · confirmed 1/420212881/4
- 23The Golden Hour2022 · confirmed 1/42022–1/4
- 24Pretty Good Neighbor2023 · confirmed 1/42023–1/4
- 25Pandemonium Waltz2026 · confirmed 1/42026–1/4
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. The Physiognomy
- 2. Memoranda
- 3. The Beyond
Standalone books
22 books22 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. Award data is sourced from Wikidata.
- 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.
When Jeffrey Ford books were published
Publication distribution by decade, showing when Jeffrey Ford titles appeared. 2000s was the most productive decade with 10 titles.
25 books total across 5 decades. Decade reflects the year each title was first catalogued.
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.
- Short stories 3 of 12 books
- Fantasy 2 of 12 books
- Below, drachton (fictitious character) 2 of 12 books
- Cley, physiognomist (fictitious character) 2 of 12 books
- Fantasy, collections & anthologies 2 of 12 books
- Fantasy, contemporary 2 of 12 books
- Paranormal fiction 2 of 12 books
- Well-built city (imaginary place) 2 of 12 books