Discover new books on Goodreads

See if your friends have read any of S. Chris Shirley's books

136 ratings | 5 reviews | avg rating:4.45

more photos (1)

S.’s Year In Books

S.’s 2025 Year in Books

Take a look at S.’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

Go to S.’s 2025 Year in Books

S. Chris Shirley’s Followers (34)

S.’s Bookshelves

to-read (0)
currently-reading (0)
read (136)
did-not-finish (0)

S.’s Friends (273)

Michael

1,888 books | 312 friends

Cynthia Dunn

5,319 books | 553 friends

Will Freshwater

52 books | 293 friends

Walter Roper

2,297 books | 215 friends

Debbie

1,985 books | 104 friends

Karen McCarthy

108 books | 378 friends

Olivia Barry

759 books | 595 friends

Hollis Thompson

92 books | 104 friends

More friends…

S. Chris Shirley

Goodreads Author

Born

Greenville, AL, The United States

Website

http://schrisshirley.com

Twitter

SChrisShirley

Genre

Thriller, Contemporary, Gay and Lesbian

Member Since

December 2010

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/schrisshirley

edit data

S. Chris Shirley writes contemporary fiction about ambition, secrecy, and the illusion of control. His work blends high-stakes environments with deeply personal stories, always grounded in emotional truth.

His debut novel, Playing by the Book, was the first LGBTQ coming-out story to win a National IPPY Medal in the religious fiction category. His latest project, Bloody Hell, is a corporate thriller about the price of ambition—and how far we’ll go to protect the people we love.

Chris now lives in New York City with his partner and a collection of questionable art.

Connect with Chris: Instagram | Facebook

...more

Learn more
Ask the Author

S. Chris Shirley is currently not accepting new questions.

Combine Editions
S. Chris Shirley’s books

Average rating: 3.83 · 186 ratings · 46 reviews · 1 distinct work

Playing by the Book

3.83 avg rating — 186 ratings — published 2014 — 2 editions

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

73 posts
S. Chris Shirley's Blog

The Biggest Challenge in Writing Playing by the Book

There are many challenges in writing a novel and getting it published, but the hardest challenge for me in writing PLAYING BY THE BOOK was making it appeal to both the LGBTQ reader AND the Fundamentalist Christian reader. My early drafts were too religious for the gays and too gay for the religious.

Striking the right balance was a Herculean task, but I attempted to accomplish this through a mix o Read more of this blog post »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on June 12, 2014 04:41 • Tags: debut-novel, gossip-girl, playing-by-the-book, young-adult

View all 73 posts »

rss
S.’s Recent Updates

S. Shirley rated a book it was amazing Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself Into Print by Renni Browne	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 28, 2026 02:14PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
S. Shirley rated a book it was amazing Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 24, 2026 05:36AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
S. Shirley rated a book it was amazing Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 02, 2025 03:37PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
S. Shirley rated a book it was amazing The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 01, 2025 12:03PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
S. Shirley rated a book it was amazing Paper Towns by John Green (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 01, 2025 12:03PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Paper Towns by John Green. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Paper Towns by John Green <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
S. Shirley rated a book it was amazing The Plot (The Book Series, #1) by Jean Hanff Korelitz (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 29, 2025 07:14PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
S. Shirley rated a book it was amazing State of Wonder by Ann Patchett	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 03, 2025 07:09PM · like
S. Shirley rated a book it was amazing Buckeye by Patrick Ryan (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Mar 14, 2025 08:20PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Buckeye by Patrick Ryan. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Buckeye by Patrick Ryan <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
S. Shirley rated a book it was amazing Tom Lake by Ann Patchett	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 18, 2024 06:42PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Tom Lake by Ann Patchett. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Tom Lake by Ann Patchett <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">