Author guide

Becky Chambers Books in Order

Becky Chambers is an American science-fiction author based in Northern California. With a background in the performing arts and theater management, she self-published her debut novel, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, in 2014. She is best known for the Hugo Award-winning Wayfarers series and the Monk & Robot novellas, whose work explores community, identity, technology, ecology, and hopeful futures.

science fictionspace operasolarpunkhopepunk

Catalog record updated August 25, 2026.

Becky Chambers's Newest Book

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy

novella · First published 2022

After touring the rural areas of Panga, Sibling Dex (a Tea Monk of some renown) and Mosscap (a robot sent on a quest to determine what humanity really needs) turn their attention to the villages and cities of the little moon they call home. They hope to find the answers they seek, while making new friends, learning new concepts, and experiencing the entropic nature of the universe. Becky Chambers's new series continues to ask: in a world where people have what they want, does having more even matter?

Not sure where to begin?

Start with one of these

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

The first Wayfarers novel and the best entry point to Chambers's space-opera work.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built

The first Monk & Robot novella and a concise introduction to Chambers's solarpunk fiction.

Read in order

Books by series

novel series · completed

Wayfarers

A loosely connected space-opera series set in the Galactic Commons.

Series guide →

1
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
Book 1 · novel · 2014

When Rosemary Harper joins the crew of the Wayfarer, she isn't expecting much. The Wayfarer, a patched-up ship that's seen better days, offers her everything she could possibly want: a small, quiet spot to call home for a while, adventure…
2
A Closed and Common Orbit
Book 2 · novel · 2016

A Publishers Weekly "Best Books of 2017" pick! Nominated for the 2017 Hugo Award for Best Novel! Shortlisted for the 2017 Arthur C. Clarke Award! Winner of the Prix Julia-Verlanger! Embark on an exciting, adventurous, and dangerous…
3
Record of a Spaceborn Few
Book 3 · novel · 2018

Centuries after the last humans left Earth, the Exodus Fleet is a living relic, a place many are from but few outsiders have seen. Humanity has finally been accepted into the galactic community, but while this has opened doors for many,…
4
The Galaxy, and the Ground Within
Book 4 · novel · 2021

National Bestseller! Return to the sprawling, Hugo Award-winning universe of the Galactic Commons to explore another corner of the cosmos—one often mentioned, but not yet explored—in this absorbing entry in the Wayfarers series, which…

novella series · completed

Monk & Robot

A solarpunk novella series following a tea monk and a sentient robot in a rewilded world.

Series guide →

1
A Psalm for the Wild-Built
Book 1 · novella · 2021

It’s been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; centuries since they wandered, en masse, into the wilderness, never to be seen again; centuries since they faded into myth and urban legend.…
2
A Prayer for the Crown-Shy
Book 2 · novella · 2022

After touring the rural areas of Panga, Sibling Dex (a Tea Monk of some renown) and Mosscap (a robot sent on a quest to determine what humanity really needs) turn their attention to the villages and cities of the little moon they call…

Outside the series

Bibliography by category

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Novels (1)

To Be Taught, If Fortunate
novella · 2019

A stand-alone science fiction novella from the award-winning, bestselling, critically-acclaimed author of the Wayfarer series. At the turn of the twenty-second century, scientists make a breakthrough in human spaceflight. Through a…

Collaborations (1)

The Vela: The Complete Season 1
co-authored serial novel · 2019

The Vela is a serialized space opera from Serial Box, which co-written by Yoon Ha Lee, Becky Chambers, Rivers Solomon, and S. L. Huang. Concept by Lydia Shamah. Gun-for-hire Asala Sikou is used to looking out for number one, especially in…

Frequently asked questions about Becky Chambers

Who is Becky Chambers?

Becky Chambers is a science-fiction author based in Northern California, known for humane, optimistic, character-driven stories and the Hugo Award-winning Wayfarers series.

Source: lapl.org (opens in a new tab)

What was Becky Chambers’s path to publication?

After studying theater and freelancing in Iceland, Chambers developed a story about queer misfits in space. She self-financed its completion through Kickstarter and initially self-published the resulting novel.

Sources: wired.com (opens in a new tab)womensprize.com (opens in a new tab)

Is Becky Chambers queer?

Yes. Chambers has publicly discussed being gay and queer, and her fiction often treats queer relationships and identities as ordinary parts of life rather than as a problem to be solved.

Source: wired.com (opens in a new tab)

What inspired Becky Chambers to write science fiction?

Chambers has cited Ursula K. Le Guin as the writer who showed her that science fiction could explore intimate questions about people and society. Star Trek, Star Wars, and Farscape also strongly influenced her imagination.

Sources: womensprize.com (opens in a new tab)scifinow.co.uk (opens in a new tab)

What major awards has Becky Chambers won?

Her Wayfarers series won the 2019 Hugo Award for Best Series, and A Psalm for the Wild-Built won the 2022 Hugo Award for Best Novella.

Sources: thehugoawards.org (opens in a new tab)thehugoawards.org (opens in a new tab)