Order of Book Series
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William S. Burroughs Books in Order

39 books are credited to William S. Burroughs, published between 1953 and 2018; 3 of them appeared after William S. Burroughs's death in 1997. The first book is Junky / Junkie (As: William Lee) (1953) and the newest is The Finger (2018). Publication order is the reading order below.

William S. Burroughs also publishes as Willy a William Lee.

Books
39
Published
1953–2018
Pages on record
5,891 in 34 of 39 books
Reading time
98–147 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 5,891 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 34 of 39 titles with a page count on record.

See all 39 books in order Printable William S. Burroughs checklist
Photo of William S. Burroughs, author

William S. Burroughs (1914-1997) was an American writer and visual artist and a central figure of the Beat Generation. Drug addiction, unreliable narration and semi-autobiographical material shape the fiction, which begins with Junky in 1953 under the name William Lee and takes in Naked Lunch (1959). Burroughs and Brion Gysin together popularised the cut-up, a chance-based method of composing text. The Nova Trilogy and the Red Night Trilogy group parts of the work, and 39 catalogued titles run as far as The Finger in 2018.

How many William S. Burroughs books are there?

William S. Burroughs has 39 books, released between 1953 and 2018. 3 of them were published after William S. Burroughs's death in 1997. They include 2 series and 33 titles listed outside any series.

William S. Burroughs Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 39 William S. Burroughs 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.

  1. Cover of Junky / Junkie (As: William Lee) by William S. Burroughs (1953)
  2. Cover of The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs, book 1 of the Nova Trilogy (1961)
  3. Cover of The Ticket That Exploded by William S. Burroughs, book 2 of the Nova Trilogy (1962)
  4. Cover of The Yage Letters by William S. Burroughs (1963)
  5. Cover of Nova Express by William S. Burroughs, book 3 of the Nova Trilogy (1964)
  6. Cover of The Job by William S. Burroughs (1969)
  7. Cover of The Wild Boys by William S. Burroughs (1969)
  8. Cover of The Last Words of Dutch Schultz by William S. Burroughs (1969)
  9. Cover of The Electronic Revolution by William S. Burroughs (1970)
  10. Cover of Ali's Smile & Naked Scientology by William S. Burroughs (1973)
  11. Cover of Exterminator! by William S. Burroughs (1973)
  12. Cover of Port of Saints by William S. Burroughs (1973)
  13. Cover of Cobble Stone Gardens by William S. Burroughs (1976)
  14. Cover of Tornado Alley by William S. Burroughs (1976)
  15. Cover of The Third Mind by William S. Burroughs (1978)
  16. Cover of Blade Runner by William S. Burroughs (1979)
  17. Cover of Lasers by William S. Burroughs (1982)
  18. Cover of A William Burroughs Reader by William S. Burroughs (1982)
  19. Cover of The Burroughs File by William S. Burroughs (1984)
  20. Cover of The Adding Machine by William S. Burroughs (1985)
  21. Cover of The Cat Inside by William S. Burroughs (1986)
  22. Cover of The Western Lands by William S. Burroughs, book 3 of the Red Night Trilogy (1987)
  23. Cover of Interzone by William S. Burroughs (1987)
  24. Cover of Ghost of Chance by William S. Burroughs (1991)
  1. 1
    Junky / Junkie (As: William Lee)1953 · 166 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1953166
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Naked Lunch1959 · 289 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1959289
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Minutes To Go1960 · confirmed 1/4
    1960–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    The Soft MachineNova Trilogy #11961 · 178 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1961178
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The Ticket That ExplodedNova Trilogy #21962 · 217 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1962217
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    The Yage Letters1963 · 66 pages · confirmed 1/4
    196366
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Dead Fingers Talk1963 · confirmed 1/4
    1963–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Nova ExpressNova Trilogy #31964 · 179 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1964179
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    The Job1969 · 224 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1969224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Wild Boys1969 · 184 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1969184
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The Last Words of Dutch Schultz1969 · 115 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1969115
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    The Electronic Revolution1970 · 134 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1970134
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Ali's Smile & Naked Scientology1973 · 20 pages · confirmed 1/4
    197320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Exterminator!1973 · 168 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1973168
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Port of Saints1973 · 174 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1973174
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    The Book of Breeething / Ah Pook is Here1975 · 76 pages · confirmed 1/4
    197576
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Cobble Stone Gardens1976 · 53 pages · confirmed 1/4
    197653
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Tornado Alley1976 · 53 pages · confirmed 1/4
    197653
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    The Third Mind1978 · 194 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1978194
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    Blade Runner1979 · 78 pages · confirmed 1/4
    197978
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Roosevelt After Inauguration and Other Atrocities1979 · 54 pages · confirmed 1/4
    197954
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    Cities of the Red NightRed Night Trilogy #11981 · 332 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1981332
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    Lasers1982 · 61 pages · confirmed 1/4
    198261
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    A William Burroughs Reader1982 · 384 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1982384
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    The Place of Dead RoadsRed Night Trilogy #21983 · 306 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1983306
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    The Burroughs File1984 · 227 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1984227
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    The Adding Machine1985 · 201 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1985201
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 28
    Queer1985 · confirmed 1/4
    1985–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 29
    The Cat Inside1986 · 112 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1986112
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  30. 30
    The Western LandsRed Night Trilogy #31987 · 258 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1987258
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  31. 31
    Interzone1987 · 194 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1987194
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  32. 32
    Ghost of Chance1991 · 58 pages · confirmed 1/4
    199158
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  33. 33
    Seven Deadly Sins1991 · confirmed 1/4
    1991–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  34. 34
    Painting and Guns1992 · 111 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1992111
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  35. 35
    Death Fiend Guerrillas1993 · confirmed 1/4
    1993–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  36. 36
    My Education1995 · 193 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1995193
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  37. 37
    Word Virus1998 · 576 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1998576
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  38. 38
    Come in with the Dutchman2014 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2014192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  39. 39
    The Finger2018 · 64 pages · confirmed 1/4
    201864
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

William S. Burroughs 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.

Nova Trilogy in order

3 books
  1. 1. The Soft Machine
  2. 2. The Ticket That Exploded
  3. 3. Nova Express

Red Night Trilogy in order

3 books
  1. 1. Cities of the Red Night
  2. 2. The Place of Dead Roads
  3. 3. The Western Lands

Standalone books

33 books

33 William S. Burroughs titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read William S. Burroughs books in order?

You only need to read William S. Burroughs books in order within each series: the books listed here span 2 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with William S. Burroughs

Start with Junky / Junkie (As: William Lee) (1953), the earliest published title.

What is the newest William S. Burroughs book?

The Finger (2018) is the newest William S. Burroughs book released so far.

Is there a new William S. Burroughs book coming?

No next William S. Burroughs 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 William S. Burroughs

Wikidata records 2 nominations for William S. Burroughs. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Locus Award for Best Short Story1988Shortlistedfor The Ghost Lemurs of Madagascar
  • Nebula Award for Best Novel1966Shortlistedfor Nova Express

William S. Burroughs at a glance

Died
William S. Burroughs died in 1997, according to Wikidata.
After death
Books credited to William S. Burroughs are still being published after William S. Burroughs's death in 1997; the newest appeared in 2018.
Release pace
William S. Burroughs books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
5,891 pages across the 34 of 39 books with a recorded length, a median of 176 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most William S. Burroughs books, 10 of 39, were published in the 1980s.

What the William S. Burroughs books are about

29 of the 39 William S. Burroughs books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: beat generation is tagged on 4 of 29. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

  • Beat generation 4 of 29 books
  • Burroughs, william s., 1914-1997 4 of 29 books
  • Drug addicts 4 of 29 books
  • Fiction in English 4 of 29 books
  • Science fiction 4 of 29 books
  • American literature 3 of 29 books
  • Drug abuse 3 of 29 books
  • Gay men 3 of 29 books
  • Biography 2 of 29 books
  • Drama 2 of 29 books
  • Drug use 2 of 29 books