Samuel R. Delany Reading Order
9 series · 199 books · Born 1942
Samuel R. Delany is a prolific American science fiction author and cultural critic whose experimental novels and theoretical writings have shaped conversations about genre, sexuality, and literary form since the 1960s. Known for blending speculative storytelling with sophisticated prose and philosophical inquiry, Delany has published across multiple formats including the Return to Nevèrÿon fantasy cycle and numerous essay collections that examine science fiction's social and artistic dimensions. His career spanning six decades encompasses groundbreaking fiction that challenges genre conventions alongside influential criticism that positions science fiction as a serious medium for exploring identity, desire, and human connection.
Anthologies Series
Likely Complete45 books (1967–2021)
Start with Dangerous Visions, the first of 43 books in the Anthologies series.
Start this series with Dangerous Visions
Buy Book 1 🇺🇸🎧 Listen free on Audible| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 |  Dangerous Visions |
| 2 |  Dangerous Visions 3 |
| 3 | Quark 1 |
| 4 |  Quark 4 |
| 5 |  Shores Beneath |
| 6 |  Those Who Can: A Science Fiction Reader |
| 7 | Alpha 5 |
| 8 |  Wondermakers 2 |
| 9 | Cosmos Science Fiction and Fantasy, November 1977 |
| 10 |  Nebula Awards 13 |
| 11 | TriQuarterly 49: Science Fiction |
| 12 | The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Three: Nebula Winners 1965-1969 |
| 13 |  What If? Volume 3 |
| 14 |  Nebula Award Stories 3 |
| 15 |  Worlds Apart |
| 16 | diacritics: a review of contemporary criticism |
| 17 | Mississippi Review 47 / 48 |
| 18 |  Storming the Reality Studio |
| 19 |  Fiction International 22 |
| 20 |  Avant-Pop: Fiction for a Daydream Nation |
| 21 | The Mammoth Book of Erotica |
| 22 |  Shade |
| 23 |  Swords of the Rainbow |
| 24 |  Boys Like Us: Gay Writers Tell Their Coming Out Stories |
| 25 |  A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora |
| 26 | Supermen |
| 27 |  The Ultimate Cyberpunk |
| 28 |  110 Stories |
| 29 |  Reading the Bones |
| 30 |  The Space Opera Renaissance |
| 31 |  Fiction's Present |
| 32 | The WisCon Chronicles, Volume 1 |
| 33 |  The Wesleyan Anthology of Science Fiction |
| 34 | Ecce Kosti Addenda |
| 35 | Telling Tales: The Clarion West 30th Anniversary Anthology |
| 36 |  The Shadows Took Shape |
| 37 | The Sixth Science Fiction Megapack |
| 38 |  Cross Worlds: Transcultural Poetics: An Anthology |
| 39 | Mermaids and Other Mysteries of the Deep |
| 40 | People of Color Destroy Science Fiction! |
| 41 | Everyone: Worlds Without Walls |
| 42 |  The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy 2018 |
| 43 |  I Transgress |
| 44 | Theater of Terror: Revenge of the Queers! |
| 45 |  Out of the Ruins: The Apocalyptic Anthology |
Collections Series
Ongoing13 books (1967–2026)
Start with Aye, and Gomorrah, the first of 13 books in the Collections series.
Start this series with Aye, and Gomorrah
Buy Book 1 🇺🇸🎧 Listen free on Audible| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 |  Aye, and Gomorrah |
| 2 |  Driftglass |
| 3 |  Distant Stars |
| 4 |  The Complete Nebula Award-Winning Fiction |
| 5 |  Driftglass/Starshards |
| 6 |  Atlantis |
| 7 |  Sensitive Skin #9: post-beat, pre-apocalyptic art, writing and music(With: Bernard Meisler,John Lurie) |
| 8 |  A, B, C |
| 9 | The Novels of Samuel R. Delany Volume One |
| 10 |  Occasional Views, Volume 1 |
| 11 |  Occasional Views, Volume 2 |
| 12 | Roots of Imagination: A Chrestomathy |
| 13 |  Last and First Tales |
Non-Fiction Series
Likely Complete22 books (1977–2021)
Start with The Jewel-Hinged Jaw, the first of 22 books in the Non-Fiction series.
Start this series with The Jewel-Hinged Jaw
Buy Book 1 🇺🇸🎧 Listen free on Audible| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | The Jewel-Hinged Jaw |
| 2 |  The American Shore |
| 3 |  Heavenly Breakfast |
| 4 |  Starboard Wine |
| 5 |  The Motion of Light in Water |
| 6 |  Wagner Artaud |
| 7 |  The Straits of Messina |
| 8 |  Silent Interviews |
| 9 |  Longer Views |
| 10 | Times Square Red, Times Square Blue |
| 11 |  1984 |
| 12 |  Shorter Views |
| 13 |  Black Gay Man |
| 14 |  About Writing |
| 15 |  Conversations with Samuel R. Delany |
| 16 | The Atheist in the Attic(With: Eleanor Arnason) |
| 17 |  Letters from Amherst |
| 18 |  Frederick Weston & Samuel R. Delany in Conversation(With: Frederick Weston) |
| 19 | Occasional Views, Volume 1 |
| 20 | Occasional Views, Volume 2 |
| 21 |  Of Solids and Surds |
| 22 | The Tragedy of Ophelia: Two Essays |
Outspoken Authors Series
Ongoing32 books (1984–2026)
Start with The Presidential Papers(By: John H. Kessel), the first of 32 books in the Outspoken Authors series.
Start this series with The Presidential Papers(By: John H. Kessel)
Buy Book 1 🇺🇸🎧 Listen free on Audible| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | The Presidential Papers(By: John H. Kessel) |
| 2 |  The Human Front(By: Ken MacLeod) |
| 3 | Lucky Strike(By: Kim Stanley Robinson) |
| 4 | The Left Left Behind(By: Terry Bisson,Eleanor Arnason) |
| 5 | Mammoths of the Great Plains(By: Eleanor Arnason) |
| 6 | The Underbelly(By: Gary Phillips,Eleanor Arnason) |
| 7 | Modem Times 2.0(By: Michael Moorcock,Eleanor Arnason) |
| 8 | The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow(By: Cory Doctorow,Eleanor Arnason) |
| 9 | The Wild Girls(By: Ursula K. Le Guin,Eleanor Arnason) |
| 10 | Report from Planet Midnight(By: Nalo Hopkinson,Eleanor Arnason) |
| 11 |  Surfing the Gnarl(By: Rudy Rucker) |
| 12 | New Taboos(By: John Shirley) |
| 13 | Patty Hearst & The Twinkie Murders: A Tale of Two Trials(By: Eleanor Arnason,Paul Krassner) |
| 14 | The Science of Herself(By: Karen Joy Fowler,Eleanor Arnason) |
| 15 | Raising Hell(By: Norman Spinrad,Eleanor Arnason) |
| 16 | Gypsy(By: Carter Scholz,Eleanor Arnason) |
| 17 | My Life, My Body(By: Marge Piercy) |
| 18 | Miracles Ain't What They Used to Be(By: Joe R. Lansdale,Eleanor Arnason) |
| 19 | Fire.(By: Elizabeth Hand,Eleanor Arnason) |
| 20 | Totalitopia(By: John Crowley) |
| 21 | The Atheist in the Attic(With: Eleanor Arnason) |
| 22 | Thoreau's Microscope(By: Michael Blumlein,Eleanor Arnason) |
| 23 | A City Made of Words(By: Paul Park) |
| 24 | Talk Like a Man(By: Nisi Shawl) |
| 25 | The Beatrix Gates(By: Rachel Pollack) |
| 26 |  Big Girl(By: Meg Elison) |
| 27 | Planetbreaker’s Son(By: Nick Mamatas) |
| 28 | Utopias of the Third Kind(By: Vandana Singh) |
| 29 | Night Shift(By: Eileen Gunn) |
| 30 | The Collapsing Frontier(By: Jonathan Lethem) |
| 31 | Not What I Intended(By: Nancy Kress) |
| 32 | She is Here(By: Nicola Griffith) |
Return to Nevèrÿon Series
Complete4 books (1979–1987)
Start with Tales of Nevèrÿon, the first of 4 books in the Return to Nevèrÿon series.
Start this series with Tales of Nevèrÿon
Buy Book 1 🇺🇸🎧 Listen free on Audible| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | Tales of Nevèrÿon |
| 2 |  NeveryĂłna |
| 3 |  Flight from Nevèrÿon |
| 4 |  The Bridge of Lost Desire / Return to Neveryon |
Sexual Cultures Series
Ongoing59 books (1999–2025)
Start with Private Affairs(By: Phillip Brian Harper), the first of 59 books in the Sexual Cultures series.
Start this series with Private Affairs(By: Phillip Brian Harper)
Buy Book 1 🇺🇸🎧 Listen free on Audible| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | Private Affairs(By: Phillip Brian Harper) |
| 2 | Times Square Red, Times Square Blue |
| 3 | In Your Face(By: Mandy Merck) |
| 4 | Murdering Masculinities(By: Greg Forter) |
| 5 | Tropics of Desire(By: José Quiroga) |
| 6 | Black Gay Man(By: Robert F. Reid-Pharr) |
| 7 | Our Monica, Ourselves(By: Lauren Berlant,Lisa A. Duggan) |
| 8 | Passing(By: ) |
| 9 | Queer Globalizations(By: Martin F. Manalansan IV,Arnaldo Cruz-Malave) |
| 10 | The Explanation For Everything(By: Paul Morrison) |
| 11 | Love the Sin(By: Janet R. Jakobsen) |
| 12 | Queer Latinidad(By: Juana MarĂa RodrĂguez) |
| 13 | Boricua Pop(By: Frances NegrĂłn-Muntaner,Frances n-Muntaner) |
| 14 | In a Queer Time and Place(By: J. Jack Halberstam) |
| 15 | Why I Hate Abercrombie & Fitch(By: Dwight A. McBride) |
| 16 | God Hates Fags(By: Michael Cobb) |
| 17 | Arranging Grief(By: Dana Luciano) |
| 18 | Once You Go Black(By: Robert F. Reid-Pharr) |
| 19 | The Latino Body(By: Lazaro Lima) |
| 20 |  Cruising Utopia(By: José Esteban Muñoz) |
| 21 | Another Country(By: ) |
| 22 | Extravagant Abjection(By: Darieck Scott) |
| 23 | Relocations(By: Karen Tongson) |
| 24 | Beyond the Nation(By: Martin Ponce) |
| 25 | Single(By: Michael Cobb) |
| 26 | Brown Boys and Rice Queens(By: Eng-Beng Lim) |
| 27 | Transforming Citizenships(By: Isaac West) |
| 28 | Investigating Young People's Sexual Cultures(By: Clarissa Smith,Feona Attwood) |
| 29 | Sensational Flesh(By: Amber Jamilla Musser) |
| 30 | Sexual Futures, Queer Gestures, and Other Latina Longings(By: Juana MarĂa RodrĂguez) |
| 31 | The Delectable Negro(By: Vincent Woodard) |
| 32 | The Exquisite Corpse of Asian America(By: Rachel C.Lee) |
| 33 | A Taste for Brown Bodies(By: Hiram PĂ©rez) |
| 34 | Embodied Avatars(By: Uri McMillan) |
| 35 | Not Gay(By: Jane Ward) |
| 36 | Wedlocked(By: Katherine Franke) |
| 37 | A Body, Undone(By: Christina Crosby) |
| 38 | Archives of Flesh(By: Robert F. Reid-Pharr) |
| 39 | The Color of Kink(By: Ariane Cruz) |
| 40 | Black Performance on the Outskirts of the Left(By: Malik Gaines) |
| 41 | Afro-Fabulations(By: ) |
| 42 | After the Party(By: ) |
| 43 | Queer Nuns(By: Melissa M. Wilcox) |
| 44 | Sensual Excess(By: Amber Jamilla Musser) |
| 45 | The Life and Death of Latisha King(By: ) |
| 46 | Archiving an Epidemic(By: Robb Hernández) |
| 47 | Frottage(By: Keguro Macharia) |
| 48 | Queer Faith(By: ) |
| 49 | Queer Times, Black Futures(By: ) |
| 50 | Becoming Human(By: Zakiyyah Iman Jackson) |
| 51 | The Sex Obsession(By: Janet R. Jakobsen) |
| 52 | The Tragedy of Heterosexuality(By: Jane Ward) |
| 53 | Keeping It Unreal(By: Darieck Scott) |
| 54 | Sexuality Beyond Consent(By: ) |
| 55 | Bottoms Up(By: Xiomara Verenice Cervantes-Gomez) |
| 56 | Deviant Matter(By: Kyla Wazana Tompkins) |
| 57 | Queer Childhoods(By: Mary Zaborskis) |
| 58 | Extravagant Camp(By: Chris A. Eng) |
| 59 | Queer Lasting(By: Sarah Ensor) |
Short Stories/Novellas Series
Complete5 books (1962–2004)
Start with The Jewels of Aptor, the first of 5 books in the Short Stories/Novellas series.
Start this series with The Jewels of Aptor
Buy Book 1 🇺🇸🎧 Listen free on Audible| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 |  The Jewels of Aptor |
| 2 |  Empire Star |
| 3 |  Home Is the Hangman/We, in Some Strange Power's Employ, Move on a Rigorous Line |
| 4 |  Bread and Wine |
| 5 |  Phallos |
Standalone Novels Series
Complete16 books (1965–2020)
Start with The Ballad of Beta-2, the first of 16 books in the Standalone Novels series.
Start this series with The Ballad of Beta-2
Buy Book 1 🇺🇸🎧 Listen free on Audible| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 |  The Ballad of Beta-2 |
| 2 |  Babel-17 |
| 3 | The Einstein Intersection |
| 4 |  Nova |
| 5 |  The Tides of Lust |
| 6 |  Dhalgren |
| 7 |  TritĂłn / Trouble on Triton |
| 8 |  Empire |
| 9 |  Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand |
| 10 |  They Fly At Çiron |
| 11 |  Hogg |
| 12 |  The Mad Man |
| 13 |  Dark Reflections |
| 14 |  Through the Valley of the Nest of Spiders |
| 15 |  Voyage, Orestes! |
| 16 | Shoat Rumblin: His Sensations and Ideas |
The Fall of the Towers Series
Complete3 books (1963–1965)
Start with Captives of the Flame / Out of the Dead City and read in order.
Start this series with Captives of the Flame / Out of the Dead City
Buy Book 1 🇺🇸🎧 Listen free on Audible| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | Captives of the Flame / Out of the Dead City |
| 2 |  The Towers of Toron |
| 3 |  City of a Thousand Suns |
Frequently Asked Questions
- How many books has Samuel R. Delany written?
- Samuel R. Delany has written 199 books across 9 series. Their published works span from 1962 to 2026.
- What is the first book in each Samuel R. Delany series?
- Here are the first books in Samuel R. Delany's series: Anthologies: Dangerous Visions; Collections: Aye, and Gomorrah; Non-Fiction: The Jewel-Hinged Jaw; Outspoken Authors: The Presidential Papers(By: John H. Kessel); Return to Nevèrÿon: Tales of Nevèrÿon.
- What order should I read Samuel R. Delany's books?
- We recommend reading Samuel R. Delany's series in publication order. Each series can be read independently.
- Is Samuel R. Delany still writing new books?
- Yes, Samuel R. Delany has 3 ongoing series: Collections, Outspoken Authors, Sexual Cultures.