🎯 Where Should I Start?
ⓘ About James Runcie
James Runcie is a British author born in 1959 in Cambridge. He has also made quite a name for himself as a television producer and film-maker. +Biography James Runcie’s father, Robert Runcie, is the former Archbishop of Canterbury. Runcie went to Dragon School in Oxford. He also attended Marlborough College as well as Trinity Hall, Cambridge, eventually attaining a first class degree in English from Cambridge University. With works like Canvey Island and East Fortune under his belt, James has written novels in a variety of genres, this including the popular Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death, a collection of six short stand-alone mysteries.
All Book Series by James Runcie
Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death
Series opener · book 1 of 7 · published 2012
The BBC National Short Story Award 2010
Series opener · book 1 of 15 · published 2010 Anthology · Helen Oyeyemi,David Constantine,Sarah Hall,Aminatta Forna,Jon McGregor
The BBC National Short Story Award 2011
Book 2 of 15 · published 2011 Anthology · Alison MacLeod,M.J. Hyland,Jon McGregor,K.J. Orr,Sue MacGregor
The BBC International Short Story Award 2012
Book 3 of 15 · published 2012 Anthology · Miroslav Penkov,Carrie Tiffany,Deborah Levy,M.J. Hyland,Clive Anderson,Lucy Caldwell,Henrietta Rose-Innes,Julian Gough,Chris Womersley,Krys Lee,Adam Ross
The BBC National Short Story Award 2013
Book 4 of 15 · published 2013 Anthology · Lionel Shriver,Sarah Hall,Lavinia Greenlaw,Lucy Wood
The BBC National Short Story Award 2014
Book 5 of 15 · published 2014 Anthology · Tessa Hadley,Lionel Shriver,Zadie Smith,Rose Tremain,Francesca Rhydderch,Alan Yentob
The BBC National Short Story Award 2015
Book 6 of 15 · published 2015 Anthology · Jeremy Page
BBC National Short Story Award 2016
Book 7 of 15 · published 2016 Anthology · Hilary Mantel,Claire-Louise Bennett,Lavinia Greenlaw,Tahmima Anam,Jenni Murray,K.J. Orr
The BBC National Short Story Award 2017
Book 8 of 15 · published 2017 Anthology · Joanna Trollope,Helen Oyeyemi,Jenni Fagan,Benjamin Markovits,Will Eaves,Cynan Jones
The BBC National Short Story Award 2018
Book 9 of 15 · published 2018 Anthology · Kerry Andrew,Sarah Hall,Ingrid Persaud,Nell Stevens,Kiare Ladner,Stig Abell
The BBC National Short Story Award 2019
Book 10 of 15 · published 2019 Anthology · Lucy Caldwell,Jo Lloyd,Lynda Clark,Jacqueline Crooks,Nikki Bedi
The BBC National Short Story Award 2020
Book 11 of 15 · published 2020 Anthology · Eley Williams,Sarah Hall,Caleb Azumah Nelson,Jan Carson,Jack Houston
The BBC National Short Story Award 2021
Book 12 of 15 · published 2021 Co-authored · Danny Rhodes,Richard Smyth,Lucy Caldwell,Rory Gleeson,Georgina Harding
The BBC National Short Story Award 2022
Book 13 of 15 · published 2022 Anthology · Kerry Andrew,Elizabeth Day,Jenn Ashworth,Anna Bailey,Vanessa Onwuemezi,Saba Sams
The BBC National Short Story Award 2023
Book 14 of 15 · published 2023 Anthology · Kamila Shamsie,NickMulgrew,NaomiWood,CheriseSaywell,KPatrick,Reeta Chakrabarti
The BBC National Short Story Award 2024
Latest in the series · book 15 of 15 · published 2024 Anthology · Lucy Caldwell,Ross Raisin,Will Boast,Manish Chauhan,Paddy O’Connell,Vee Walker
Tell Me Good Things: On Love, Death and Marriage
Single-title series · published 2022
? Frequently Asked Questions
Who is James Runcie?
James Runcie is a British author born in 1959 in Cambridge. He has also made quite a name for himself as a television producer and film-maker. +Biography James Runcie’s father, Robert Runcie, is the former Archbishop of Canterbury. Runcie went to Dragon School in Oxford.
Which James Runcie series should I start with?
The best place to start is The Grantchester Mysteries series, the earliest of James Runcie's multi-book series: it opens with Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death (2012) and runs to 7 books across 2012–2019, ending with The Road to Grantchester (2019).
How many books has James Runcie written?
James Runcie has 30 books catalogued in this guide, published between 2000 and 2024. 22 of them belong to 2 named series — the largest being The Grantchester Mysteries series with 7 books — and 8 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.
In what order should James Runcie's series be read?
Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. James Runcie's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are The Grantchester Mysteries (2012–2019, 7 books).
How are James Runcie's books organised into series?
This guide splits James Runcie's 30 books into 2 named series and 8 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: The Grantchester Mysteries (7 books, 2012–2019); The BBC National Short Story Award (15 books, 2010–2024).