Dorothy Allison Reading Order

16 books (1990–2022)

Dorothy Allison edited or contributed to this fifteen-book anthology series spanning from 1990 to 2019, exploring themes of identity, working-class experience, sexuality, and regional voices. The complete series should be read in publication order, beginning with Women on Women and concluding with LGBTQ Fiction and Poetry from Appalachia. These collections feature diverse voices and perspectives across genres including creative nonfiction, short fiction, poetry, and essays, with particular emphasis on LGBTQ narratives, women's writing, and Appalachian literature.

Start with Women on Women, the first of 15 books in the Anthologies series.

#	Title
1	Women on Women 1990Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	High Risk 1991Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Leatherfolk 1991Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Growing Up Gay/Growing Up Lesbian: A Literary Anthology 1993Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Writing Women's Lives 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Downhome 1995Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Swords of the Rainbow 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	The Best American Short Stories 2003 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Without a Net: The Female Experience of Growing Up Working Class 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	Rhetorical Women: Roles and Representations 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	The Writer's Notebook 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	My Favorite Lesbian Stories from Best American Erotica 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	Gay City: Volume 5 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	Walk Till the Dogs Get Mean:Meditations on the Forbidden from Contemporary Appalachia 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	LGBTQ Fiction and Poetry from Appalachia 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	OutWrite 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

2 books (1983–1988)

Dorothy Allison's Collections is a two-book series of non-fiction essay collections published between 1983 and 1988. The series is complete and should be read in publication order, beginning with The Women Who Hate Me followed by Trash. These works reflect the author's exploration of identity, class, and social issues through personal narrative and cultural commentary.

Start with The Women Who Hate Me and read in order.

#	Title
1	The Women Who Hate Me 1983Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Trash 1988Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

5 books (1998–2025)

The Live Girls series comprises five books published between 1998 and 2025, with the collection still ongoing. These works should be read in publication order and cover diverse perspectives on feminism, class, sexuality, and identity through essays, memoir, and creative writing. The series features contributions from multiple authors exploring lived experiences of women, particularly those navigating intersections of gender, economics, and desire.

Start with C*nt: A Declaration of Independence(By: Inga Muscio), the first of 5 books in the Live Girls series.

3 books (1994–2012)

Dorothy Allison's three-book non-fiction collection spans nearly two decades of her essays, memoir, and interviews. Begin with Skin, published in 1994, then continue to Two or Three Things I Know for Sure in 2002, and conclude with Conversations with Dorothy Allison in 2012. These works should be read in publication order to follow the arc of Allison's reflections and public dialogue across her career. The series is now complete.

Start with Skin and read in order.

#	Title
1	Skin 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Two or Three Things I Know for Sure 1995Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Conversations with Dorothy Allison 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

2 books (1992–1998)

Dorothy Allison's two standalone novels were published between 1992 and 1998 and should be read in publication order, beginning with Bastard Out of Carolina. Though these works are independent stories rather than a connected series, reading them chronologically reveals the evolution of Allison's literary voice. The collection is now complete with no additional volumes planned.

Start with Bastard Out of Carolina and read in order.

#	Title
1	Bastard Out of Carolina 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Cavedweller 1998Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible