Contests book series in reading order

by Kiera Cass

by Stacy Gregg

by Megan McDonald

by Jessica Townsend

by Carolyn Keene

by Nancy Krulik

by Helen Perelman

Kiera Cass

19 books• 3 series

Kiera Cass, born May 19, 1981, is an American writer of young adult fiction, best known for The Selection series. The Selection grew into a trilogy told from the main character's point of view, two sequels about that character's daughter, and several novellas. Cass also reworked The Siren, a novel first posted online in 2008. The catalogue counts 19 titles between The Siren (2009) and A Thousand Heartbeats (2022), with Betrothed as a second series. Princesses, contests and dystopian fiction appear among the subject headings.

Chris Grabenstein

54 books• 14 series

Chris Grabenstein is an American author who writes for adults and for children, the children's books often with collaborator James Patterson. Grabenstein's first novel, Tilt-a-Whirl, appeared in 2005; the John Ceepak mysteries are the police-procedural strand, set in New Jersey. On the children's side sit Mr. Lemoncello's Library, Welcome to Wonderland, the Haunted Mystery books, Dog Squad and The Smartest Kid In The Universe. Fifty-seven books are catalogued through 2026, the newest being Mr. Lemoncello's Wondermous Christmas Gift.

Gordon Korman

119 books• 22 series

Gordon Korman is a Canadian writer of children's and young adult fiction whose books have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide and reached number one on the New York Times bestseller list. The catalogue holds 119 titles, from This Can't Be Happening at MacDonald Hall! (1977) to Sleepless (2026). Subject tags cover schools, friendship, humorous stories, adventure, mystery and detective stories, and shipwrecks. Series headings include Swindle Mysteries, Masterminds, Everest, Dive, Titanic, Ungifted and the Monday Night Football Club. Gordon Korman remains actively publishing.

R.L. Stine

589 books• 64 series

Robert Lawrence Stine, born October 8, 1943, is an American novelist who writes horror fiction for children. Goosebumps, the series Stine created, sold more than 400 million copies in 35 languages and grew into a franchise of two television series, video games, comics and two feature films. Fear Street, Stine's horror sequence for teenagers, passed 80 million copies and was adapted for film. Stine has been called the Stephen King of children's literature. The listing runs to 590 titles, from How to Be Funny (1978), published as Jovial Bob Stine, to How to Train Your Dummy, scheduled for 2027.

Carolyn Keene is a Stratemeyer Syndicate pen name, the credit on the Nancy Drew mysteries. Mildred Wirt Benson, one of the writers behind the name, used it from 1929 to 1953 and contributed to 23 of the first 30 Nancy Drew books. The catalogue lists 647 Carolyn Keene books, beginning with The Secret of the Old Clock, The Hidden Staircase and The Bungalow Mystery (all 1930) and reaching Vans & Villains (2026). Series include Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, Nancy Drew Files, Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, Nancy Drew Diaries, Nancy Drew: Girl Detective and Dana Girls Mystery Stories.

Jessica Townsend, born in Queensland in 1985, is an Australian author of children's fantasy. Nevermoor is her series, and it accounts for all five catalogued books: The Trials of Morrigan Crow (2017), Wundersmith (2018), Hollowpox (2020), Silverborn (2024) and Silverborn: The Mystery of Morrigan Crow (2025). Magic, contests, curses and loyalty are the recurring subjects. The first book took Book of the Year at the Australian Book Industry Awards and the 2018 Waterstones Children's Book Prize for Younger Fiction, and film rights went to 20th Century Fox in 2016.

Katherine Applegate

228 books• 20 series

Katherine Applegate, born October 9, 1956, and sometimes published as K. A. Applegate, is an American author of children's and young adult fiction. Animorphs, Remnants and Everworld are the series most tied to Applegate, and The One and Only Ivan (2012) won the 2013 Newbery Medal. Applegate received the Publishers Weekly Best New Children's Book Series Award in 1997. The catalogue lists 228 books, from Welcome to Junior High! (1990) to The Littlest Elephant (2026), including Girl Talk, Making Out and Roscoe Riley Rules.

Marc Brown

47 books• 1 series

Marc Brown, born 25 November 1946, is an American children's author and illustrator who writes and draws the Arthur books. The Arthur series became an animated television show broadcast on PBS Kids. The catalogue lists 47 books by Marc Brown between 1996 and 2009, starting with Arthur's Reading Race (1996) and ending with Arthur's Reading Trick (2009). Arthur, a fictitious aardvark, heads the subject records, alongside schools, friendship, brothers and sisters, and Spanish language editions.

James Patterson

510 books• 73 series

James Patterson, born on March 22, 1947, is an American writer whose catalogue here holds 514 books published from 1976 to 2027. The run opens with The Thomas Berryman Number (1976), and Along Came a Spider (1992) and Kiss the Girls (1995) follow later. Alex Cross, Michael Bennett, Maximum Ride, Daniel X, Witch & Wizard, NYPD Red, Private, Middle School and the Women's Murder Club are among the Patterson series, alongside standalone thrillers, non-fiction and romance. Marshall Karp shares the credit on 5 of the books. Patterson's sales exceed 425 million copies, and Patterson was the first person to sell one million e-books. Forbes ranked Patterson the highest-paid author in 2016, for a third year running, and the National Book Foundation gave Patterson the Literarian Award in November 2015. 27 Stars is scheduled for 2027.

Nora Roberts

279 books• 37 series

Nora Roberts, born Eleanor Marie Robertson on October 10, 1950, is an American writer of romance under that name. As J. D. Robb, Roberts writes police procedurals with science-fiction elements, and has also published as Jill March and, in the UK, as Sarah Hardesty. This listing carries 280 Roberts books, opening with Irish Thoroughbred (1981); The Missing is scheduled for 2027. Series on the page include the In Death Universe, the MacGregors, Night Tales, the Calhoun Women, the Chesapeake Bay Saga, Irish Hearts and the O'Hurleys.

Karen Kingsbury is an American Christian novelist, born in Fairfax, Virginia, on June 8, 1963. Kingsbury worked as a sports writer for the Los Angeles Times and later wrote for the Los Angeles Daily News. Missy's Murder (1991), Kingsbury's first book, grew out of a murder story covered as a reporter in Los Angeles. Kingsbury is a #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelist. The catalogue holds 115 titles, running to The Christmas Ring (2025), and the series include Firstborn, Sunrise, Above the Line, Bailey Flanigan, Red Gloves and Forever Faithful. Christian fiction and family life recur among the subjects.

Alexander McCall Smith

165 books• 25 series

Sir Alexander McCall Smith, born 24 August 1948, is a Scottish legal scholar and novelist who created The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. Born and raised in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), McCall Smith was Professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh and worked on medical law and bioethics committees. English-language sales passed 40 million by 2010, with translations into 46 languages. The catalogue lists 165 books from White Hippo (1980) to 2026, including 44 Scotland Street, Isabel Dalhousie, Detective Varg and children's titles.

Dan Gutman

198 books• 23 series

Dan Gutman is an American writer of mainly children's fiction, born in 1955. The best-known lines are the My Weird School books, The Genius Files and the Baseball Card Adventures, which began with Honus & Me. The catalogue holds 198 books from It Ain't Cheating If You Don't Get Caught (1990) to Mrs. Towne Is a Clown! (2026), including early baseball titles such as Baseball Babylon (1992). Subjects include schools, teachers, baseball, time travel and humorous stories.

Jennifer Estep writes fantasy across 76 catalogued books published between 2007 and 2027. Magic, assassins, psychic ability and boarding schools recur through the subject headings, in urban and paranormal registers. Estep's series include Elemental Assassin, Mythos Academy and Mythos Academy: Colorado, Crown of Shards, Gargoyle Queen, Black Blade, Bigtime, Galactic Bonds and Section 47, beside standalone novels, short fiction and non-fiction. The list runs from Karma Girl (2007) to Queen of Foxes (2026), and Only Bright Destinies is announced for 2027.

Kate Elliott is the pen name of Alis A. Rasmussen, an American fantasy and science fiction writer born in 1958. The catalogue lists 39 books, beginning with The Labyrinth Gate (1988), published as Alis Rasmussen, and reaching Barnacle (2025). A Passage of Stars, Revolution's Shore and The Price of Ransom appeared in 1990, followed by Jaran (1992) and King's Dragon (1997). Series include Crown of Stars, Jaran, Spiritwalker, Court of Fives, Black Wolves, Sun Chronicles and Witch Roads. Epic fantasy, revolutions and social classes feature in the subjects.

James Frey

21 books• 4 series

James Christopher Frey, born 12 September 1969, is an American writer. A Million Little Pieces (2003) and My Friend Leonard (2005) sold as memoirs before large parts of both were shown to be exaggerated or invented, which set off a public controversy. Bright Shiny Morning (2008) followed as a novel. Frey founded and runs the transmedia company Full Fathom Five, the outfit behind the seven-book Lorien Legacies written by Frey and others under the shared pen name Pittacus Lore. The catalogue holds 21 books through to Next To Heaven (2025), with three Endgame headings: The Training Diaries, The Zero Line Chronicles and The Fugitive Archives.

Francine Pascal (née Rubin, 1932–2024) was an American author whose name is tied to the Sweet Valley books for young adults. Sweet Valley High anchored that collection, was adapted for television, and branched into spin-offs such as The Unicorn Club and Sweet Valley University. The catalogue opens with Hangin' Out with Cici (1977) and also carries the Fearless series. Subjects include twins, sisters, high schools, friendship and dating. Most Sweet Valley books came out in the 1980s and 1990s, and several titles were re-released decades later.

Lincoln Peirce

77 books• 6 series

Lincoln Peirce created the Big Nate comic strip and writes and illustrates the Big Nate novels for young readers. Born in 1963, Peirce is an American cartoonist and animator who has written animated shorts for Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon, and created the animated Big Nate series that premiered on Paramount+. Eighty-two titles are catalogued from 2001 to Code Red! (2026), covering the graphic novels, activity books and the Max and the Midknights series. Middle school, friendship and humour are the recurring subjects.

Robert Muchamore

51 books• 7 series

Robert Muchamore, born 26 December 1971, is an English author of young adult fiction known for the CHERUB, Henderson's Boys and Rock War series. The catalogue holds 51 Muchamore books from 2004 to 2026. The Recruit, Kerry's First Mission and CHERUB at Christmas are among the 2004 entries, and Maximum Security followed in 2005. Subjects include spies, teenagers, undercover operations, orphans and World War II, and CHERUB is tagged as an imaginary organization. Robin Hood and CHERUB 2 are also listed, and War and Peas (2026) is the newest title.