Richard Powers Books in Order
Richard Powers has written 14 books, published between 1985 and 2024. The first book is Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance (1985) and the newest is Playground (2024). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 14
- Published
- 1985–2024
- Confirmed
- 13 of 14 titles
- Pages on record
- 4,114 in 10 of 14 books
- Reading time
- 69–103 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 4,114 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 10 of 14 titles with a page count on record.
Modern science and technology are the material of Richard Powers's fiction. Born in 1957, Powers is an American novelist with 14 catalogued books, opening with Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance (1985) and reaching Playground (2024). The Echo Maker took the 2006 National Book Award for Fiction and The Overstory the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; Powers has also held a MacArthur Fellowship and taught at the University of Illinois and at Stanford. Genetics, composers, computer programmers and research scientists recur across the novels.
Richard Powers is also the author of the novel Bewilderment, in addition to his other listed works.
How many Richard Powers books are there?
Richard Powers has 14 books, released between 1985 and 2024.
Richard Powers Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 14 Richard Powers 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.
- 1Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance1985 · 352 pages · confirmed 2/419853522/4
- 2Prisoner's Dilemma1988 · 348 pages · confirmed 3/419883483/4
- 3The Gold Bug Variations1991 · confirmed 3/41991–3/4
- 4Operation Wandering Soul1993 · 352 pages · confirmed 3/419933523/4
- 5Galatea 2.21995 · 329 pages · confirmed 3/419953293/4
- 6Gain1998 · 355 pages · confirmed 3/419983553/4
- 7Plowing the Dark2000 · 415 pages · confirmed 3/420004153/4
- 8The Time of Our Singing2002 · 631 pages · confirmed 3/420026313/4
- 9The Echo Maker2006 · 451 pages · confirmed 3/420064513/4
- 10Generosity2009 · confirmed 3/42009–3/4
- 11Orfeo2014 · 369 pages · confirmed 3/420143693/4
- 12The Overstory2018 · 512 pages · confirmed 3/420185123/4
- 13Bewilderment2021 · confirmed 3/42021–3/4
- 14Playground2024 · confirmed 3/42024–3/4
Richard Powers 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
14 books14 Richard Powers titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Richard Powers books in order?
No. No source lists any of the 14 Richard Powers books here as part of a series. The numbered table above gives them by publication date.
Where to start with Richard Powers
Start with Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance (1985), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Richard Powers book?
Playground (2024) is the newest Richard Powers book released so far.
Is there a new Richard Powers book coming?
No next Richard Powers 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 Richard Powers has won
Wikidata records 6 awards and 6 nominations for Richard Powers. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- William Dean Howells Medal of the American Academy of Arts and Letters2020Won
- Pulitzer Prize for Fiction2019Wonfor The Overstory
- Grand Prix de Littérature Américaine2018Won
- National Book Award2006Wonfor The Echo Maker
- Dos Passos Prize2003Won
- Society of American Historians Prize for Historical Fiction1999Won
- Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel2022Shortlistedfor Bewilderment
- Booker Prize2021Shortlistedfor Bewilderment
- Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel2019Shortlistedfor The Overstory
- Booker Prize2018Shortlistedfor The Overstory
- Booker Prize2014Shortlistedfor Orfeo
- Arthur C. Clarke Award2011Shortlistedfor Generosity: An Enhancement
Richard Powers at a glance
- Still publishing
- Richard Powers published a book as recently as 2024.
- Release pace
- Richard Powers books have appeared about one every 3 years on average.
- Length
- 4,114 pages across the 10 of 14 books with a recorded length, a median of 362 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Richard Powers books, 4 of 14, were published in the 2000s.
What the Richard Powers books are about
12 of the 14 Richard Powers books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: genetics is tagged on 2 of 12. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Genetics 2 of 12 books
- Research 2 of 12 books
- Scientists 2 of 12 books