Richard Wright Books in Order
17 books are credited to Richard Wright, published between 1938 and 2021; 8 of them appeared after Richard Wright's death in 1960. The first book is Uncle Tom's Children (1938) and the newest is The Man Who Lived Underground (2021). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 17
- Published
- 1938–2021
- Pages on record
- 4,041 in 13 of 17 books
- Reading time
- 67–101 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 4,041 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 13 of 17 titles with a page count on record.
Richard Wright (September 4, 1908 to November 28, 1960) was an American writer of novels, short stories, poems and non-fiction. Race runs through the work, particularly the discrimination and violence faced by African Americans from the late 19th to the mid-20th century. Uncle Tom's Children (1938), a collection of novellas, Native Son (1940) and the memoir Black Boy (1945) are Wright's best-known books. Literary critics credit the work with helping to change American race relations in the mid-20th century. The catalogue lists 17 titles, including 12 Million Black Voices (1941), The Outsider (1953), Eight Men (1958), The Long Dream (1958) and The Man Who Lived Underground (2021).
How many Richard Wright books are there?
Richard Wright has 17 books, released between 1938 and 2021. 8 of them were published after Richard Wright's death in 1960.
Richard Wright Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 17 Richard Wright 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.
- 1Uncle Tom's Children1938 · 336 pages · confirmed 2/419383362/4
- 2Native Son1940 · 504 pages · confirmed 2/419405042/4
- 312 Million Black Voices1941 · 152 pages · confirmed 2/419411522/4
- 4Black Boy1945 · 464 pages · confirmed 2/419454642/4
- 519536722/4
- 6Savage Holiday1954 · 235 pages · confirmed 2/419542352/4
- 7The Color Curtain1956 · confirmed 2/41956–2/4
- 8Eight Men1958 · 242 pages · confirmed 2/419582422/4
- 9The Long Dream1958 · 384 pages · confirmed 2/419583842/4
- 10Lawd Today!1963 · 219 pages · confirmed 2/419632192/4
- 11Black Power1974 · confirmed 2/41974–2/4
- 12Rite of Passage1993 · 151 pages · confirmed 2/419931512/4
- 13Haiku1998 · 304 pages · confirmed 2/419983042/4
- 14A Father's Law2008 · confirmed 2/42008–2/4
- 15Injustice2018 · 128 pages · confirmed 2/420181282/4
- 16Seeing into Tomorrow2018 · confirmed 2/42018–2/4
- 17The Man Who Lived Underground2021 · 250 pages · confirmed 2/420212502/4
Richard Wright 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.
Perennial Library in order
1 book- 2. The Outsider
Standalone books
16 books16 Richard Wright titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Richard Wright books in order?
No. No source lists any of the 17 Richard Wright books here as part of a series. The numbered table above gives them by publication date.
Where to start with Richard Wright
Start with Uncle Tom's Children (1938), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Richard Wright book?
The Man Who Lived Underground (2021) is the newest Richard Wright book released so far.
Is there a new Richard Wright book coming?
No next Richard Wright book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Richard Wright at a glance
- Died
- Richard Wright died in 1960, according to Wikidata.
- After death
- Books credited to Richard Wright are still being published after Richard Wright's death in 1960; the newest appeared in 2021.
- Release pace
- Richard Wright books have appeared about one every 5 years on average.
- Length
- 4,041 pages across the 13 of 17 books with a recorded length, a median of 250 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Richard Wright books, 5 of 17, were published in the 1950s.
What the Richard Wright books are about
14 of the 17 Richard Wright books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: african americans is tagged on 11 of 14. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- African Americans 11 of 14 books
- African American men 3 of 14 books
- Blacks 2 of 14 books
- Noirs américains 2 of 14 books
- Psychological fiction 2 of 14 books
- Social life and customs 2 of 14 books