- *The Best We Could Do* (2009)
- *Little Nothings* (2016)
- *The Disappeared* (2020)
- *Carter House* (2022)
Short Story Collections
- *No Travel Without a Goat* (2005)
- *Questions of Travel* (2010)
- *Someone Knows* (2015)
- *Campfire* (2018)
Nonfiction
- *The Art of Memoir* (co-edited with Alexander Chee, 2017)
Essays and articles
J.D. Cole's essays and articles have appeared in a number of publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Atlantic, Harper's Magazine, The New Republic, and The Paris Review.