Below we have list all of the William S. Burroughs books in chronological order of original publication.
Publication Order of Nova Trilogy Books
| The Soft Machine | (1961) |
| The Ticket That Exploded | (1962) |
| Nova Express | (1964) |
Publication Order of Red Night Trilogy Books
| Cities of the Red Night | (1981) |
| The Place of Dead Roads | (1983) |
| The Western Lands | (1987) |
Publication Order of Standalone Novels
| And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks(With: Jack Kerouac) | (1945) |
| Junky / Junkie(As: William Lee) | (1953) |
| Naked Lunch | (1959) |
| Minutes To Go(With: Brion Gysin,Gregory Corso,Sinclair Beiles) | (1960) |
| Dead Fingers Talk | (1963) |
| The Wild Boys | (1969) |
| The Last Words of Dutch Schultz | (1969) |
| Exterminator!(With: Brion Gysin) | (1973) |
| Port of Saints | (1973) |
| The Book of Breeething / Ah Pook is Here | (1975) |
| Queer | (1985) |
| Rules of Duel(With: Graham Masterton) | (2010) |
Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas
| Blade Runner | (1979) |
| The Cat Inside | (1986) |
| Ghost of Chance | (1991) |
| Seven Deadly Sins | (1991) |
| Death Fiend Guerrillas | (1993) |
| The Finger | (2018) |
Publication Order of Collections
| The Yage Letters(With: Allen Ginsberg) | (1963) |
| The Electronic Revolution | (1970) |
| Ali’s Smile & Naked Scientology | (1973) |
| Tornado Alley | (1976) |
| The Third Mind(With: Brion Gysin) | (1978) |
| Roosevelt After Inauguration and Other Atrocities | (1979) |
| A William Burroughs Reader | (1982) |
| The Burroughs File | (1984) |
| The Adding Machine | (1985) |
| Interzone | (1987) |
| Painting and Guns | (1992) |
| My Education | (1995) |
| Word Virus | (1998) |
Publication Order of Plays
| Come in with the Dutchman | (2014) |
Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books
| The Job(With: Daniel Odier) | (1969) |
| Cobble Stone Gardens | (1976) |
| Lasers | (1982) |
Publication Order of Chronicles Abroad Books
| Cairo(With: T.E. Lawrence,Naguib Mahfouz,Michael Palin,Beryl Markham,John Miller,KirstenMiller) | (1994) |
| Venice(By: John Miller,KirstenMiller) | (1994) |
| Prague: Tales of the City(By: John Miller,KristenMiller) | (1994) |
| Hong Kong(By: John Miller,KristenMiller) | (1994) |
| St. Petersburg(By: John Miller,KirstenMiller) | (1995) |
| Istanbul(By: John Miller,KristenMiller) | (1995) |
Publication Order of Anthologies
| The Olympia Reader: An Anthology of Erotic & Literary Classics | (1965) |
| High Risk | (1991) |
| Semiotext SF | (1991) |
| Storming the Reality Studio | (1991) |
| Confederacy of the Dead | (1993) |
| The Starry Wisdom: A Tribute to H.P. Lovecraft | (1994) |
| Rebels & Devils: The Psychology of Liberation | (1995) |
| Rapid Eye | (1996) |
| Writing New York | (1998) |
| The Portable Sixties Reader | (2003) |
| The Harvard Psychedelic Club: How Timothy Leary, Ram Dass, Huston Smith, and Andrew Weil Killed the Fifties and Ushered in a New Age for America | (2010) |
| This is NOT an Anthology | (2014) |
| Gray Barker’s Bigfoot Shootout! Terrifying Tales of Interspecies Conflict | (2014) |
| Lost & Found | (2015) |
More About William S. Burroughs
William S. Burroughs, a titan of American literature and a central figure of the Beat Generation, was born on February 5, 1914, in St. Louis, Missouri. His life and work were as unconventional as they were influential, marked by a relentless pursuit of the avant-garde and a profound questioning of the human experience.
Raised in a wealthy family, Burroughs’ early life was one of comfort and privilege. He attended the Los Alamos Ranch School in New Mexico, which he later credited for sparking his lifelong interest in firearms and subversive literature. Burroughs went on to study at Harvard University, graduating in 1936 with a degree in English literature. Despite this traditional academic foundation, Burroughs’ life soon took a turn towards the bohemian and the unconventional.
His journey into the world of writing was as much a product of his personal experiences as it was of his literary aspirations. After a series of odd jobs and a brief stint in the Army, Burroughs found himself immersed in the burgeoning Beat scene of the 1940s and 1950s. His friendships with Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, fellow pioneers of the Beat Generation, were instrumental in shaping his literary voice.
Burroughs’ first major work, “Junky,” was published in 1953 under the pseudonym William Lee. The book was a candid, semi-autobiographical account of his experiences with drug addiction, a theme that would permeate much of his later work. However, it was with the publication of “Naked Lunch” in 1959 that Burroughs solidified his place as a groundbreaking author. The novel, controversial for its obscene content and disjointed style, was a critical examination of society’s underbelly, challenging conventional narrative forms and mores.
A central theme in Burroughs’ work is his exploration of the human condition, often through the lenses of addiction, sexuality, and societal control. His writing style, characterized by its non-linear narrative, cut-up technique, and dark humor, broke new ground in literature, pushing the boundaries of what was acceptable and expected.
Beyond his literary contributions, Burroughs was a prominent figure in the counterculture movement. His life was marked by personal tragedies, including the accidental shooting of his wife, Joan Vollmer, an event that profoundly affected him and his writing.
In his later years, Burroughs continued to write and also delved into performance art, collaborating with musicians and artists. He remained a defiantly unconventional figure, unapologetically exploring the fringes of society and the human psyche.
William S. Burroughs passed away on August 2, 1997, but his legacy endures. His work not only redefined the possibilities of narrative fiction but also offered a piercing critique of modern life. Burroughs remains a seminal figure in American literature, a writer who fearlessly ventured into uncharted territories of both form and content.
William S. Burroughs Writer Profile
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Influences: Alfred Korzybski, Jean Genet, Samuel Beckett, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Black, Louis-Ferdinand Céline, Arthur Rimbaud, Henry Miller, Wilhelm Reich, Joseph Conrad, Brion Gysin