Author guide
Samuel R. Delany Books in Order
Samuel R. Delany (born 1942) is an American writer and scholar whose career spans science fiction, fantasy, literary fiction, erotic fiction, memoir, criticism, essays, letters, plays, and graphic narrative. His major works include Babel-17, The Einstein Intersection, Nova, Dhalgren, the Return to Nevèrÿon sequence, The Motion of Light in Water, Dark Reflections, and Through the Valley of the Nest of Spiders. He has received multiple Nebula and Hugo Awards, the Stonewall Book Award, and lifetime-achievement honors for science-fiction scholarship and LGBTQ writing.
Samuel R. Delany's Newest Book
Not sure where to begin?
Start with one of these
Babel-17
A compact, award-winning science-fiction novel that foregrounds Delany's interest in language, cognition, and power.
Driftglass: Ten Tales of Speculative Fiction
The best entry point to his early short fiction and speculative range.
The Motion of Light in Water: Sex and Science Fiction Writing in the East Village, 1957-1965
A major memoir that introduces his autobiographical, historical, and critical voice.
Times Square Red, Times Square Blue
A concise, influential work of social criticism and creative nonfiction.
Read in order
Books by series
series · complete
Return to Nevèrÿon
A four-volume sequence of stories, novellas, and novels set in the imagined land of Nevèrÿon.
trilogy · complete
Rome-Hawley Trilogy
A trilogy of connected erotic philosophical novels centered on the Rome-Hawley milieu.
Outside the series
Bibliography by category
Novels (25)
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The Jewels of AptorAmazon ↗novel · 1962
- Captives of the FlameAmazon ↗
novel · 1963
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The Towers of ToronAmazon ↗novel · 1964
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City of a Thousand SunsAmazon ↗novel · 1965
- The Ballad of Beta-2Amazon ↗
novella · 1965
- Babel-17Amazon ↗
novel · 1966
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Empire StarAmazon ↗novella · 1966
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The Einstein IntersectionAmazon ↗novel · 1967
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NovaAmazon ↗novel · 1968
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The Tides of LustAmazon ↗novel · 1973
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DhalgrenAmazon ↗novel · 1975
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TritonAmazon ↗novel · 1976
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Empire: A Visual NovelAmazon ↗graphic-novel · 1978
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Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of SandAmazon ↗novel · 1984
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They Fly at ÇironAmazon ↗novel · 1993
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The Mad ManAmazon ↗novel · 1994
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Atlantis: Three TalesAmazon ↗novella-collection · 1995
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HoggAmazon ↗novel · 1995
- Bread and Wine: An Erotic Tale of New YorkAmazon ↗
graphic-novel · 1999
- Times Square Red, Times Square BlueAmazon ↗
creative-nonfiction · 1999
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Dark ReflectionsAmazon ↗novel · 2007
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Through the Valley of the Nest of SpidersAmazon ↗novel · 2012
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The Atheist in the AtticAmazon ↗novella-collection · 2018
- Voyage, Orestes!Amazon ↗
novel-fragment · 2019
- Of Solids and Surds: Notes for Noël Sturgeon, Marilyn Hacker, Josh Lukin, Mia Wolff, Bill Stribling, and Bob WhiteAmazon ↗
creative-nonfiction · 2021
Nonfiction (3)
Short fiction (2)
Essays and speeches (7)
- The Straits of MessinaAmazon ↗
essay-collection · 1989
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Longer Views: Extended EssaysAmazon ↗essay-collection · 1996
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Shorter Views: Queer Thoughts and the Politics of the ParaliteraryAmazon ↗essay-collection · 1999
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About Writing: Seven Essays, Four Letters, and Five InterviewsAmazon ↗essay-collection · 2005
- Occasional Views, Volume One: More About Writing and Other EssaysAmazon ↗
essay-collection · 2021
- Occasional Views, Volume Two: The Gamble and Other EssaysAmazon ↗
essay-collection · 2021
- The Tragedy of Ophelia: Two EssaysAmazon ↗
essay-collection · 2021
Plays (1)
- Wagner/Artaud: A Play of Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Critical FictionsAmazon ↗
play · 1988
