William S. Burroughs

1914–1997

1 series 8 books in order 5 standalone books

William S. Burroughs was an American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author. Much of his work is highly experimental and semi-autobiographical, often drawing on his experiences with drug addiction, and with Brion Gysin he popularized the cut-up literary technique. Our catalog credits him with the Nova Trilogy: Soft Machine, Nova Express, and The Ticket That Exploded.

Born: 1914
Known for: The Nova Trilogy

Series by William S. Burroughs

The Nova Trilogy

3 books in order · 1961–1964

The Soft Machine

1961 · William S. Burroughs

The Soft Machine is a novel by William S. Burroughs that continues the themes introduced in Naked Lunch. It takes readers deeper into Burroughs’…
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The Ticket That Exploded

1962 · William S. Burroughs

The Ticket That Exploded is a 1962 novel by William S. Burroughs, published by Olympia Press and later by Grove Press in 1967. It is part of The Nova…
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Nova Express

1964 · William S. Burroughs

A novel by William S. Burroughs depicting a future of violence and corruption. The anarchic Nova Mob descends on humankind, while the Nova Police…
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Standalone books

The wild boys

1992
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Queer

1985
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Naked Lunch

1984
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Cities of the Red Night

1981
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Junky

1953
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Frequently asked questions

How many books has William S. Burroughs written?

We list 8 books by William S. Burroughs across 1 series, published between 1953–1992 — each shown in full reading order.

What order should I read William S. Burroughs's books?

Read each series in publication order. A good place to start is “The Soft Machine.” Open any series above for its complete numbered reading order.

Where can I buy William S. Burroughs's books?

Every title links to Amazon from its series page — see our affiliate disclosure in the footer for how that supports the site.

Reading order compiled from author/publisher guidance and verified bibliographic data. Spotted a wrong order, a missing book, or any other mistake? and we'll correct it.

Some summaries adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.