Order of Book Series
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Shining Books in Order

Shining by Stephen King contains 3 books, published between 1977 and 2013. The first book is Before the Play (1977) and the newest is Doctor Sleep (2013). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
3
Published
1977–2013
Confirmed
2 of 3 titles
Pages on record
1,046 in 2 of 3 books
See all 3 books in order Printable Shining checklist

Shining collects Stephen King's Overlook Hotel books. The Shining (1977) was King's third published novel and first hardback bestseller, and it established King as a leading name in horror; Jack Torrance, a struggling writer and recovering alcoholic, takes the off-season caretaker's job at the Overlook Hotel in the Colorado Rockies. King drew on a 1974 stay at The Stanley Hotel and on his own alcoholism in writing it. Doctor Sleep followed as a sequel in 2013, and a short piece, Before the Play, shares the 1977 date, making three catalogued titles.

How many Shining books are there?

Shining has 3 books, released between 1977 and 2013.

Shining Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 3 Shining 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 The Shining by Stephen King, book 2 of the Shining series (1977)
  2. Cover of Doctor Sleep by Stephen King, book 3 of the Shining series (2013)
  1. 1
    Before the Play1977 · confirmed 2/4
    1977–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Shining1977 · 512 pages · confirmed 4/4
    1977512
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Doctor Sleep2013 · 534 pages · confirmed 4/4
    2013534
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Is there a chronological order for Shining?

No separate chronological order is on record for Shining, because none of the book listings this catalogue draws on publishes one; the publication order above is the only order given.

Do you have to read Shining books in order?

You should read the Shining books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Shining book also stands alone.

Where to start with Shining

Start with Before the Play (1977), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Shining book?

Doctor Sleep (2013) is the newest Shining book released so far.

Is there a new Shining book coming?

No next Shining 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 Shining has won

Wikidata records 1 award and 1 nomination for Shining. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

Shining at a glance

No recent titles
The newest Shining title on record dates from 2013, 13 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
Shining books have appeared about one every 18 years on average.
Length
1,046 pages across the 2 of 3 books with a recorded length, a median of 523 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Shining books, 2 of 3, were published in the 1970s.
Corroboration
2 of the 3 titles appear in all four independent book listings.

What the Shining books are about

2 of the 3 Shining books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: horror is tagged on 2 of 2. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

More books by Stephen King

The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.

Other series by Stephen King

Each series linked below has its own reading-order page.