Stephen Dobyns Books in Order
Stephen Dobyns has written 40 books, published between 1972 and 2017. The first book is Concurring Beasts (1972) and the newest is Saratoga Payback (2017). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 40
- Published
- 1972–2017
- Confirmed
- 1 of 40 titles
- Pages on record
- 5,328 in 27 of 40 books
- Reading time
- 89–133 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 5,328 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 27 of 40 titles with a page count on record.
Stephen Dobyns (February 19, 1941 to June 14, 2026) was an American poet and novelist. The catalogue lists 40 books from Concurring Beasts (1972) to Saratoga Payback (2017). Poetry and American poetry appear among the subjects, as do private investigators, missing persons and Saratoga Springs, New York. Charlie Bradshaw is the series listed and a fictitious character named in the subjects. Titles include A Man Of Little Evils (1973), Saratoga Longshot (1976), Heat Death (1980), The Balthus Poems (1982) and Cold Dog Soup (1985).
How many Stephen Dobyns books are there?
Stephen Dobyns has 40 books, released between 1972 and 2017. 11 of them belong to the Charlie Bradshaw series.
Stephen Dobyns Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 40 Stephen Dobyns 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.
- 1Concurring Beasts1972 · confirmed 1/41972–1/4
- 2A Man Of Little Evils1973 · 239 pages · confirmed 1/419732391/4
- 31976–1/4
- 4Griffon1976 · 85 pages · confirmed 1/41976851/4
- 5Heat Death1980 · 70 pages · confirmed 1/41980701/4
- 619812071/4
- 7The Balthus Poems1982 · 45 pages · confirmed 1/41982451/4
- 8Dancer with One Leg1983 · 229 pages · confirmed 1/419832291/4
- 9Cold Dog Soup1985 · 231 pages · confirmed 1/419852311/4
- 10198511/4
- 111986–1/4
- 12A Boat Off the Coast1987 · 260 pages · confirmed 1/419872601/4
- 13Cemetery Nights1987 · 99 pages · confirmed 1/41987991/4
- 141988–1/4
- 15The Two Deaths of Senora Puccini1988 · confirmed 1/41988–1/4
- 16Body Traffic1990 · 137 pages · confirmed 1/419901371/4
- 1719902561/4
- 18The House on Alexandrine1990 · confirmed 1/41990–1/4
- 19After Shocks/Near Escapes1991 · 277 pages · confirmed 1/419912771/4
- 2019932241/4
- 21The Wrestler's Cruel Study1993 · confirmed 1/41993–1/4
- 22Velocities1994 · 297 pages · confirmed 1/419942971/4
- 2319942211/4
- 2419952241/4
- 25Best Words, Best Order1996 · confirmed 1/41996–1/4
- 26Common Carnage1996 · 127 pages · confirmed 1/419961271/4
- 27Black Dog, Red Dog1997 · 84 pages · confirmed 1/41997841/4
- 28The Church of Dead Girls1997 · 448 pages · confirmed 1/419974481/4
- 2919982141/4
- 30Boy in the Water1999 · confirmed 1/41999–1/4
- 31Pallbearers Envying the One Who Rides1999 · 160 pages · confirmed 1/419991601/4
- 32Eating Naked2000 · 288 pages · confirmed 1/420002881/4
- 33The Porcupine's Kisses2002 · 179 pages · confirmed 1/420021791/4
- 34Mystery, So Long2005 · 95 pages · confirmed 1/42005951/4
- 35Winter's Journey2010 · confirmed 1/42010–1/4
- 36Next Word, Better Word2011 · 280 pages · confirmed 1/420112801/4
- 37The Burn Palace2013 · confirmed 1/42013–1/4
- 38Is Fat Bob Dead Yet?2015 · 351 pages · confirmed 1/420153511/4
- 39The Day's Last Light Reddens the Leaves of the Copper BeechAmerican Poets Continuum #702016 · confirmed 3/42016–3/4
- 402017–1/4
Stephen Dobyns series in order
The series linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Charlie Bradshaw books in order 11 books
Stephen Dobyns 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.
American Poets Continuum in order
1 bookStandalone books
28 books28 Stephen Dobyns titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Stephen Dobyns books in order?
You only need to read Stephen Dobyns books in order within the Charlie Bradshaw series, which holds 11 of the 40 Stephen Dobyns books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.
Where to start with Stephen Dobyns
Start with Saratoga Longshot (1976), the first Charlie Bradshaw book. The earliest catalogued title overall is Concurring Beasts (1972).
What is the newest Stephen Dobyns book?
Saratoga Payback (2017) is the newest Stephen Dobyns book released so far.
Is there a new Stephen Dobyns book coming?
No next Stephen Dobyns book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Award nominations for Stephen Dobyns
Wikidata records 1 nomination for Stephen Dobyns. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Bram Stoker Award for Novel1997Shortlistedfor The Church of Dead Girls
Stephen Dobyns at a glance
- Died
- Stephen Dobyns died in 2026, according to Wikidata.
- Last book
- The newest book credited to Stephen Dobyns on record dates from 2017.
- Release pace
- Stephen Dobyns books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 5,328 pages across the 27 of 40 books with a recorded length, a median of 221 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Stephen Dobyns books, 16 of 40, were published in the 1990s.
What the Stephen Dobyns books are about
28 of the 40 Stephen Dobyns books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: mystery & detective is tagged on 10 of 28. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Mystery & detective 10 of 28 books
- Bradshaw, charlie (fictitious character) 8 of 28 books
- Charlie Bradshaw (Fictitious character) 8 of 28 books
- Poetry 8 of 28 books
- Private investigators 8 of 28 books
- Saratoga springs (n.y.) 7 of 28 books
- Thrillers 2 of 28 books