Order of Book Series
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John Steinbeck Books in Order

44 books are credited to John Steinbeck, published between 1929 and 2012; 13 of them appeared after John Steinbeck's death in 1968. The first book is Cup of Gold (1929) and the newest is Steinbeck in Vietnam (2012). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
44
Published
1929–2012
Pages on record
7,481 in 31 of 44 books
Reading time
125–187 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 7,481 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 31 of 44 titles with a page count on record.

See all 44 books in order Printable John Steinbeck checklist
Photo of John Steinbeck, author of the Cannery Row series

John Steinbeck's catalogue holds 44 titles, from Cup of Gold (1929) through to Steinbeck in Vietnam in 2012. Social conditions and American life supply the subject matter, with travel writing and the Cannery Row grouping among the named sets. Early entries include The Pastures of Heaven (1932), The Red Pony (1933), Tortilla Flat (1935) and In Dubious Battle (1936). The catalogue is listed as complete.

How many John Steinbeck books are there?

John Steinbeck has 44 books, released between 1929 and 2012. 13 of them were published after John Steinbeck's death in 1968. 2 of them belong to the Cannery Row series.

John Steinbeck Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 44 John Steinbeck books in the order they were released, 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 Cup of Gold by John Steinbeck (1929)
  2. Cover of The Pastures of Heaven by John Steinbeck (1932)
  3. Cover of To a God Unknown by John Steinbeck (1933)
  4. Cover of The Red Pony by John Steinbeck (1933)
  5. Cover of Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (1937)
  6. Cover of Flight by John Steinbeck (1938)
  7. Cover of The Long Valley by John Steinbeck (1938)
  8. Cover of The Vigilante by John Steinbeck (1938)
  9. Cover of The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (1939)
  10. Cover of The Forgotten Village by John Steinbeck (1941)
  11. Cover of Bombs Away by John Steinbeck (1942)
  12. Cover of Cannery Row by John Steinbeck, book 1 of the Cannery Row series (1945)
  13. Cover of The Pearl by John Steinbeck (1947)
  14. Cover of Sea of Cortez by John Steinbeck (1951)
  15. Cover of The Log from the 'Sea of Cortez' by John Steinbeck (1951)
  16. Cover of East of Eden by John Steinbeck (1952)
  17. Cover of The Short Novels of John Steinbeck by John Steinbeck (1953)
  18. Cover of Sweet Thursday by John Steinbeck, book 2 of the Cannery Row series (1954)
  19. Cover of The Short Reign of Pippin IV by John Steinbeck (1957)
  20. Cover of The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck (1961)
  21. Cover of Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck (1962)
  22. Cover of America and Americans by John Steinbeck (1966)
  23. Cover of Journal of a Novel by John Steinbeck (1969)
  24. Cover of Zapata by John Steinbeck (1975)
  1. 1
    Cup of Gold1929 · 187 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1929187
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Pastures of Heaven1932 · 240 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1932240
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    To a God Unknown1933 · 233 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1933233
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    The Red Pony1933 · 100 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1933100
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Tortilla Flat1935 · 207 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1935207
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    The Harvest Gypsies1936 · confirmed 2/4
    1936–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    In Dubious Battle1936 · confirmed 2/4
    1936–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Nothing So Monstrous1936 · confirmed 2/4
    1936–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Of Mice and Men1937 · 107 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1937107
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Flight1938 · 50 pages · confirmed 2/4
    193850
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The Long Valley1938 · 272 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1938272
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    The Vigilante1938 · 64 pages · confirmed 2/4
    193864
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    The Grapes of Wrath1939 · confirmed 2/4
    1939–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    The Forgotten Village1941 · 143 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1941143
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    The Moon is Down1942 · confirmed 2/4
    1942–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Bombs Away1942 · 185 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1942185
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Cannery RowCannery Row #11945 · 196 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1945196
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  18. 18
    The Wayward Bus1947 · confirmed 2/4
    1947–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    The Pearl1947 · 87 pages · confirmed 2/4
    194787
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    A Russian Journal1948 · confirmed 2/4
    1948–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Burning Bright1950 · confirmed 2/4
    1950–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    Sea of Cortez1951 · 598 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1951598
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    The Log from the 'Sea of Cortez'1951 · 282 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1951282
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    East of Eden1952 · 601 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1952601
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    The Short Novels of John Steinbeck1953 · 624 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1953624
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    Sweet ThursdayCannery Row #21954 · 249 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1954249
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    The Short Reign of Pippin IV1957 · 192 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1957192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 28
    Once There Was a War1958 · confirmed 2/4
    1958–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 29
    The Winter of Our Discontent1961 · 291 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1961291
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  30. 30
    Travels with Charley1962 · 214 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1962214
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

John Steinbeck 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.

Cannery Row in order

2 books
  1. 1. Cannery Row
  2. 2. Sweet Thursday

Standalone books

42 books

42 John Steinbeck titles here are not listed as part of any series.

John Steinbeck Books in Chronological Order

By publication date, the John Steinbeck books run from Cup of Gold (1929) to Steinbeck in Vietnam (2012), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for John Steinbeck in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.

Do you have to read John Steinbeck books in order?

You only need to read John Steinbeck books in order within the Cannery Row series, which holds 2 of the 44 John Steinbeck books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.

Where to start with John Steinbeck

Start with Cup of Gold (1929), the earliest published title.

What is the newest John Steinbeck book?

Steinbeck in Vietnam (2012) is the newest John Steinbeck book released so far.

Is there a new John Steinbeck book coming?

No next John Steinbeck 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 John Steinbeck has won

Wikidata records 4 awards and 10 nominations for John Steinbeck. The most recent 12 are listed here. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Nobel Prize in Literature1962Won
  • Bancarella Selection Prize1955Wonfor East of Eden
  • Pulitzer Prize for the Novel1940Wonfor The Grapes of Wrath
  • National Book Award for Fiction1939Wonfor The Grapes of Wrath
  • World Fantasy Award for Best Novel1977Shortlistedfor The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights
  • Nobel Prize in Literature1962Shortlisted
  • Nobel Prize in Literature1961Shortlisted
  • Nobel Prize in Literature1960Shortlisted
  • Nobel Prize in Literature1959Shortlisted
  • Nobel Prize in Literature1958Shortlisted
  • Nobel Prize in Literature1949Shortlisted
  • Nobel Prize in Literature1945Shortlisted

John Steinbeck at a glance

Died
John Steinbeck died in 1968, according to Wikidata.
After death
Books credited to John Steinbeck are still being published after John Steinbeck's death in 1968; the newest appeared in 2012.
Release pace
John Steinbeck books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
7,481 pages across the 31 of 44 books with a recorded length, a median of 202 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most John Steinbeck books, 12 of 44, were published in the 1930s.

What the John Steinbeck books are about

39 of the 44 John Steinbeck books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: classic literature is tagged on 7 of 39. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.