Richard began his writing career as a poet, publishing poems in the Independent, the Guardian and many small-press magazines. He was a runner-up in the poetry section of the Bridport Prize in 1999 and had a selection of ten poems included in the anthology Anvil New Poets 3 from Anvil Press in 2001.

Five Amber Beads was Richard Aronowitz's first novel and was published in 2006. It's Just the Beating of My Heart is a novel published in 2010.