How Many Books Has S E Hinton Written
S E Hinton has written four published novels. The exact count is four full-length fiction books, all originally released by Viking Press in the United States. She is best known for starting her career as a teenager and completing her debut novel while still in high school. Her work is widely taught in schools and cited in discussions of young adult literature.
The four novels are The Outsiders, That Was Then, This Is Now, Rumble Fish, and Tex. Each book is set in Oklahoma and focuses on teenage protagonists facing class, identity, and family conflict. Together, these four titles form the core of her published fiction and remain in print through major publishers.
S E Hinton Novels and Publication Timeline
The Outsiders
The Outsiders is Hinton's first novel and the most widely recognized of her four books. It was published in 1967 when she was seventeen years old, and it quickly became a staple of young adult reading lists. The book has sold millions of copies worldwide and inspired a major film adaptation directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
That Was Then, This Is Now followed in 1966, though it was published after The Outsiders gained attention. Rumble Fish appeared in 1975, and Tex was released in 1979, completing her sequence of four novels. All four titles are frequently listed together in library catalogs and educational resources.
S E Hinton Career and Publishing Facts
Major Publisher and Editions
Viking Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House, originally published all four of Hinton's novels. The publisher continues to release updated editions, including paperback and digital versions, keeping the books widely available in the United States and internationally.
Hinton has not published additional novels beyond these four, though her works are frequently reprinted and adapted. Her books are cited by literary organizations and education platforms as key examples of realistic young adult fiction. For more details on her publishing history, you can visit the official Penguin Random House page for S E Hinton here, and for background on her influence, the Library of Congress resources page here provides additional context.