Wole Soyinka books in order
Nigerian writer
- Born
- 1934
- Country
- Nigeria
- Books
- 59
Wole Soyinka has published 12 novels, 1 novella, 13 non-fiction books, 4 poetry collections, 19 plays and 10 other books, beginning with The Swamp-dwellers (1963). The best-known is The Lion and the Jewel (1967). The latest is Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth (2021).
Updated September 2026
Where to start with Wole Soyinka
Start here
The Lion and the Jewel
Wole Soyinka's most-read book.
Newest
Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth
Published September 2021.
Standalone novels in order
The Interpreters (1965)
Poems of Prison (1969)
Madmen and Specialists: A Play (1972)
Season of Anomy (1973)
The Bacchae of Euripides: A Communion Rite (1973)
Six Plays (1984)
Art, Dialogue, and Outrage: Essays on Literature and Culture (1988)
Ibadan: The Penkelemes Years (1994)
The Open Sore of Continent: A Personal Narrative of the Nigerian Crisis (1996)
Ogboju Ode Ninu Igbo Irunmole (2013)
Africa39: New Writing from Africa South of the Sahara (Oct 2014)
Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth (Sep 2021)
Novellas in order
The Forest of a Thousand Daemons (1982)
Non-fiction in order
The Man Died (1972)
Critical Perspectives on Wole Soyinka (1980)
Ake (1982)
Before Our Very Eyes (1987)
Isara: A Voyage Around Essay (1989)
Isara (1990)
Art, Dialogue, and Outrage (1993)
The Blackman and the Veil (1993)
Ibadan (1994)
The Open Sore of a Continent (1996)
The Burden of Memory, the Muse of Forgiveness (1999)
Climate of Fear (2005)
You Must Set Forth at Dawn (2006)
Poetry in order
Idanre (1967)
Shuttle in the Crypt (1972)
Poems of Black Africa (1975)
Mandela's Earth and Other Poems (1988)
Plays in order
The Swamp-dwellers (1963)
The Strong Breed (Jan 1963)
Five Plays (1964)
Trial of Brother Jero (1964)
Jero's Metamorphosis (1966)
Kongi's Harvest (1967)
The Lion and the Jewel (1967)
Madmen and Specialists (1970)
Collected Plays (1973)
The Bacchae of Euripides (1974)
Myth, Literature and the African World (1978)
Opera Wonyosi (1981)
From Zia with Love (1992)
Death and the King's Horseman (1993)
The Beautification of Area Boys (1995)
The Beatification of the Area Boy (Jan 1995)
King Baabu (2002)
African Theatre (2004)
Alápatà Àpáta (2011)
Other books in order
Three Plays (1963)
The Road (1965)
A Dance of the Forests (Three Crowns) (1966)
Three Short Plays (1969)
The Jero Plays (1973)
Myth Literature African World (1978)
Childe Internationale (1987)
To My First White Hairs (1987)
Wole Soyinka (1999)
Samarkand and Other Markets I Have Known (2002)
Film and TV adaptations
- Elesin Oba, The King's Horseman (2022)Film · from Death and the King's Horseman
About Wole Soyinka
Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka is a Nigerian writer, playwright, and poet. He has written three novels, ten collections of short stories, seven poetry collections, twenty-five plays and five memoirs. He has also written two translated works and many articles and short stories for newspapers and periodicals. He was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature for his "wide cultural perspective and poetic overtones fashioning the drama of existence".
Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Wole Soyinka FAQ
- How many books has Wole Soyinka written?
- Wole Soyinka has published 12 novels, 1 novella, 13 non-fiction books, 4 poetry collections, 19 plays and 10 other books that we list, as of September 2026.
- What order should I read Wole Soyinka's books in?
- Publication order is a safe choice; the full list is above. Most readers start with The Lion and the Jewel.
- What is Wole Soyinka's latest book?
- Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth (2021).
- What is Wole Soyinka's most famous book?
- The Lion and the Jewel (1967) is Wole Soyinka's most widely read book.
- Which Wole Soyinka books have been adapted?
- 1 book has been adapted for film or TV, including Death and the King's Horseman (as Elesin Oba, The King's Horseman, film, 2022).
Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers. Last updated September 2026.