William Saroyan books in order
Armenian-American novelist, playwright, and short story writer
- Lived
- 1908–1981
- Country
- United States
- Books
- 57
William Saroyan published 7 novels, 2 novellas, 13 short story collections, 7 non-fiction books, 3 plays and 25 other books, beginning with The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze, and Other Stories (1934). The best-known is The Human Comedy (1943).
Updated September 2026
Where to start with William Saroyan
Start here
The Human Comedy
William Saroyan's most-read book.
Standalone novels in order
The Human Comedy (Feb 1943)
The Adventures of Wesley Jackson (1946)
Saroyan Special (1948)
Rock Wagram (1951)
The Laughing Matter (1953)
Boys and Girls Together (1963)
One Day in the Afternoon of the World (1964)
Novellas in order
Tracy's Tiger (1951)
Me (1963)
Short story collections in order
The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze, and Other Stories (1934)
Inhale & Exhale (1936)
Hairenik, 1934-1939 (1939)
Peace, It's Wonderful (1939)
My Name Is Aram (1940)
The Assyrian, and Other Stories (1950)
The William Saroyan Reader (1958)
After 30 Years (1962)
I Used to Believe I Had Forever, Now I'm Not So Sure (1968)
New Saroyan Reader (1984)
Madness in the Family (1988)
The Man with the Heart in the Highlands & Other Early Stories (1989)
Fresno Stories (1994)
Non-fiction in order
Get Away, Old Man (1944)
Here Comes, There Goes, You Know Who (1961)
Not Dying (1963)
Short Drive, Sweet Chariot (1966)
Places Where I've Done Time (1972)
Chance Meetings (1978)
Obituaries (1979)
Plays in order
My Heart's in the Highlands (1939)
The Time of Your Life (1939)
The Cave Dwellers (1958)
Other books in order
Little Children (1937)
The Trouble with Tigers (1938)
Love's Old Sweet Song (1940)
The Ping-pong Game (1940)
Three Plays (1940)
fables (1941)
The Beautiful People (1941)
Razzle Dazzle (1942)
Dear Baby (1944)
Some Day I'll Be a Millionaire (1944)
Jim Dandy (1947)
A Decent Birth, a Happy Funeral (1949)
Don't Go Away Mad, and Two Other Plays (1949)
Hello Out There (1949)
The Bicycle Rider in Beverly Hills (1952)
Mama I Love You (1956)
Papa, You're Crazy! (1957)
The Slaughter of the Innocents (1957)
Look at Us, Let's See, Here We Are (1959)
Sam, the Highest Jumper of Them All (1961)
Don't Go, but If You Must, Say Hello to Everybody (1969)
The Dogs (1969)
Days of Life and Death and Escape to the Moon (1970)
My Name Is Saroyan (1983)
Warsaw Visitor (1990)
Film and TV adaptations
- The Time of Your Life (1948)Film · from The Time of Your Life
About William Saroyan
William Saroyan was an American novelist, playwright, and short story writer of Armenian descent. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940, and in 1943 won the Academy Award for Best Story for the film The Human Comedy. When the studio rejected his original 240-page treatment, he turned it into a novel, The Human Comedy.
Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
William Saroyan FAQ
- How many books has William Saroyan written?
- William Saroyan published 7 novels, 2 novellas, 13 short story collections, 7 non-fiction books, 3 plays and 25 other books that we list, as of September 2026.
- What order should I read William Saroyan's books in?
- Publication order is a safe choice; the full list is above. Most readers start with The Human Comedy.
- What is William Saroyan's last book?
- Obituaries (1979).
- What is William Saroyan's most famous book?
- The Human Comedy (1943) is William Saroyan's most widely read book.
- Which William Saroyan books have been adapted?
- 1 book has been adapted for film or TV, including The Time of Your Life (film, 1948).
Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers. Last updated September 2026.