Delia Owens Non-Fiction Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Cry of the Kalahari |
1984 |
Buy |
| The Eye of the Elephant / Survivor’s Song |
1992 |
Buy |
| Secrets of the Savanna |
2006 |
Buy |
Non-Fiction#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Cry of the Kalahari |
1984 |
Buy |
| The Eye of the Elephant / Survivor’s Song |
1992 |
Buy |
| Secrets of the Savanna |
2006 |
Buy |
Standalone Novels#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Where the Crawdads Sing |
2018 |
Buy |
Delia Owens spent decades as a wildlife researcher in Africa before becoming a bestselling novelist. Her nonfiction books, co-written with her then-husband Mark Owens, document their years studying animals in Botswana and Zambia. Cry of the Kalahari (1984) covers their work in the Kalahari Desert, The Eye of the Elephant (1992) deals with elephant poaching in Zambia, and Secrets of the Savanna (2006) returns to their African research.
Where the Crawdads Sing (2018), her debut novel, became a publishing phenomenon. The book follows Kya Clark, a girl abandoned by her family who grows up alone in the marshes of North Carolina. Part coming-of-age story, part murder mystery, it spent years on bestseller lists and was adapted into a major film in 2022. It is one of the best-selling novels of the 2010s.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many books has Delia Owens written?
Delia Owens has written seven books across three series.
What was Delia Owens's first book?
Delia Owens’s first book is Cry of the Kalahari, published in 1984.
What genre does Delia Owens write?
Delia Owens writes literary fiction and narrative nonfiction about wildlife and nature. Her novel Where the Crawdads Sing blends coming-of-age fiction with a murder mystery set in the North Carolina marshlands. Her nonfiction books are about her years studying wildlife in Africa.