Contests book series in reading order

by Reki Kawahara

by Kiera Cass

by Stacy Gregg

by Eric Walters

by Megan McDonald

by Jessica Townsend

by Carolyn Keene

by Nancy Krulik

by Helen Perelman

by Eve Bunting

by Lily Small

by Nancy Krulik

by Reki Kawahara

by Kate Pankhurst

Reki Kawahara is a Japanese novelist, born August 18, 1974, who created Sword Art Online and Accel World; both have been adapted as anime series. Kawahara has been called one of the most successful light novel writers of the 2010s. The catalogue lists 96 books from 2009 to 2026, with subject tags for virtual reality, video games, internet games and survival. Kuroyukihime's Return and The Red Storm Princess both date from 2009. Series include Sword Art Online Progressive, Sword Art Online Alternative Clover's Regret and Demons' Crest, and Goddess of the Night (2026) is the latest title.

Nancy Krulik writes for children, and the catalogue lists Grades 1-3 as the reading level. Series credited to Krulik include Katie Kazoo, Switcheroo, How I Survived Middle School, Magic Bone, Princess Pulverizer and Project Droid, and George Brown, Class Clown appears among the characters. Subjects range across magic, schools, friendship, dogs, robots and humorous stories. The most recent listed book is Fangs for Having Us! (2021), and the catalogue marks the output as dormant.

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.

Adam Blade is the name used by a small collective of authors who write Beast Quest, along with Team Hero, Beast Quest: New Blood and Space Wars. Beast Quest has sold more than 11 million copies. The catalogue lists 288 Adam Blade books from 2007 to 2024, opening with titles such as Ferno The Fire Dragon, Sepron The Sea Serpent and Cypher the Mountain Giant (all 2007) and reaching Pirano the Water Dragon (2024). Monsters, quests, heroes and cyborgs appear in the subjects, along with the fictional characters Tom, Elenna and Max.

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.

Judy Moody, a series that has sold more than 30 million copies, is what Megan McDonald is best known for. McDonald, born Megan Jo McDonald on February 28, 1959, is an American children's author and a former librarian, and also wrote the Julie Albright books for American Girl as well as picture books. The catalogue lists 113 McDonald books, from Is This a House for Hermit Crab? (1990) to The Big Bad Badgers (2025). Other series include Stink, Judy Moody & Friends, Beezy and Sisters Club, and the subjects include school, family life and brothers and sisters.

Stacy Gregg is a New Zealand author best known for Pony Club Secrets, children's novels about horses whose titles pair a pony with an event: Mystic and the Midnight Ride (2007), Blaze and the Dark Rider (2007), Comet and the Champion's Cup (2008), Storm and the Silver Bridle (2009). Issie and Blaze are among the recurring characters. At the 2024 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, Gregg's Nine Girls took the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year. The catalogue holds 32 titles, with Spellbound Ponies and Pony Club Rivals beside the main series.

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.

Tracey West, born October 1, 1965, is a children's author who writes for licensed series such as Pokémon and SpongeBob SquarePants. The catalogue lists 356 titles from 1988 to 2027, reaching Heart of the Ruby Dragon (2026), with Claw of the Diamond Dragon due in 2027. Named series include Pokémon chapter books, novelizations and readers, Naruto Chapter Books, LEGO Ninjago Reader, Bakugan Chapter Books, Pixie Tricks, Pet Vet Club and Scream Shop Pick Your Path. Dragon Masters and Heroes in Training appear as recurring lines. Ninja, dragons and plot-your-own stories appear among the subject headings.

Elisabetta Dami

309 books• 22 series

Elisabetta Dami, born 1 January 1958, is an Italian children's author known for the Geronimo Stilton book series. The catalogue credits Dami with 309 books from 1998 to 2026. Titles from 2000 include Lost Treasure of the Emerald Eye, Attack Of The Bandit Cats and Four Mice Deep in the Jungle. Other listings include Geronimo Stilton: Thea Stilton, Mouseford Academy, Kingdom Of Fantasy, Geronimo Stilton Cavemice, Geronimo Stilton Spacemice and Creepella von Cacklefur. Subjects include mice, journalists, time travel and humorous stories. The Legend of Chocolate Hills (2026) is the newest title.

Eve Bunting, born Eve Bolton, was a Northern Irish-born American writer of more than 250 books who lived from December 19, 1928, to October 1, 2023. Bunting wrote fiction and non-fiction, mainly novels for children and young adults, and also wrote the text of picture books. Many of the books are set in Northern Ireland, where Bunting grew up, while others range in subject from Thanksgiving to riots in Los Angeles. The Two Giants (1971) was Bunting's first book. Series in the catalogue include Frog and Friends, Horse Stories, Dinosaur Machines and Pirate Captain's Daughter, and subjects include animals, horses, stories in rhyme and mystery stories.

Eric Walters

207 books• 18 series

Eric Walters, full name Eric Robert Walters, is a Canadian author of young adult fiction and picture books, born March 3, 1957 and the writer of more than 130 books. The catalogue lists 207 books from Stand Your Ground (1994) to Werewolves Don't Keep Diaries (2026). Series include Camp X, Rule of Three, Orca Echoes, Tiger, War Of The Eagles, We All Fall Down, Catboy and Teen Astronauts. Subjects include basketball, survival, orphans, the Second World War and adventure.

Gertrude Chandler Warner (April 16, 1890 to August 30, 1979) was an American author who wrote mostly for children. Warner wrote the original book of The Boxcar Children, published in 1942, and the next 18 books in the series. Earlier catalogued titles include The House of Delight (1916) and The World in a Barn (1927), and Surprise Island (1949) and The Yellow House Mystery (1952) came after The Boxcar Children. Orphans, brothers and sisters, and mystery stories are among the subjects. The catalogue also carries Boxcar Children lines such as Adventures of Benny and Watch and Boxcar Children Great Adventure under Warner's name.

Helen Perelman writes children's fiction, and the catalogue subjects include fairies, candy, magic, princesses, friendship, high schools and musicals. Candy Fairies and Quix are the two series credited to Perelman. The catalogue lists 45 books between 1999 and 2023, with The King and I (1999) the earliest and Friends Forever (2023) the newest. Heart to Heart (2007) and Ciao from Rome! (2009) are among the other titles. The catalogue marks Perelman as dormant.

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.