Country | United States |
---|---|
Language | English |
Discipline | Reference |
Publisher | Gale |
Published | 1962 - present |
Contemporary Authors is a reference work that has been published by Gale since 1962. The work provides short biographies and bibliographies of contemporary and near-contemporary writers and is a major source of information on over 116,000 living and deceased authors from around the world. [1] The work is a standard in libraries and has been honored by the American Library Association as a distinguished reference title. [2]
Entries in Contemporary Authors consist of a biography of the writer and bibliographies of their work and secondary sources covering it. [3] Along with featuring biographies of fiction and nonfiction writers, Contemporary Authors also includes authors who write for newspapers, magazines, motion pictures, TV, and theater. [4]
Writing need not be a person's primary occupation for them to be covered in Contemporary Authors; Martin Luther King Jr. and Bear Bryant have entries even though they are not mainly known as writers. [5] The series focuses on people who have published in English, but sometimes includes writers in other languages whose works have been translated. [6] Contemporary Authors is not selective about whom it includes. [7] However, according to Gale, authors whose works have been published only by vanity presses are generally excluded. [7]
Most biographical data published in Contemporary Authors comes from questionnaire responses. [8] Its staff may also conduct independent research if an entry's subject does not respond to questions. [9] Some entries contain a "Sidelights" section where writers can offer personal commentary on their life or work. [10]
The first edition of Contemporary Authors was released in 1962 [11] [12] and has since become a standard in libraries. [2] As of 1990, it was published twice per year. [3]
Contemporary Authors has been published in five different series, each assigned its own entry in the International Standard Serial Number database: the original series, not otherwise named; first revision; new revision; permanent; and autobiography series. [8] Some of its iterations group multiple volumes into a single printed book. [12] As of 2002, it was published both in print and on CD-ROM. [6]
Gale also provides an online version of Contemporary Authors, which includes updates to previously published biographies, expanded entries, award listings, and other information. [13] The online entries are also cross-referenced to other Gale online works, such as the Dictionary of Literary Biography. [14]
In 1985, American Library Association named Contemporary Authors one of the "most distinguished reference titles" of the preceding 25 years. [2]
Country | United States |
---|---|
Language | English |
Discipline | Reference |
Publisher | Gale |
Published | 1962 - present |
Contemporary Authors is a reference work that has been published by Gale since 1962. The work provides short biographies and bibliographies of contemporary and near-contemporary writers and is a major source of information on over 116,000 living and deceased authors from around the world. [1] The work is a standard in libraries and has been honored by the American Library Association as a distinguished reference title. [2]
Entries in Contemporary Authors consist of a biography of the writer and bibliographies of their work and secondary sources covering it. [3] Along with featuring biographies of fiction and nonfiction writers, Contemporary Authors also includes authors who write for newspapers, magazines, motion pictures, TV, and theater. [4]
Writing need not be a person's primary occupation for them to be covered in Contemporary Authors; Martin Luther King Jr. and Bear Bryant have entries even though they are not mainly known as writers. [5] The series focuses on people who have published in English, but sometimes includes writers in other languages whose works have been translated. [6] Contemporary Authors is not selective about whom it includes. [7] However, according to Gale, authors whose works have been published only by vanity presses are generally excluded. [7]
Most biographical data published in Contemporary Authors comes from questionnaire responses. [8] Its staff may also conduct independent research if an entry's subject does not respond to questions. [9] Some entries contain a "Sidelights" section where writers can offer personal commentary on their life or work. [10]
The first edition of Contemporary Authors was released in 1962 [11] [12] and has since become a standard in libraries. [2] As of 1990, it was published twice per year. [3]
Contemporary Authors has been published in five different series, each assigned its own entry in the International Standard Serial Number database: the original series, not otherwise named; first revision; new revision; permanent; and autobiography series. [8] Some of its iterations group multiple volumes into a single printed book. [12] As of 2002, it was published both in print and on CD-ROM. [6]
Gale also provides an online version of Contemporary Authors, which includes updates to previously published biographies, expanded entries, award listings, and other information. [13] The online entries are also cross-referenced to other Gale online works, such as the Dictionary of Literary Biography. [14]
In 1985, American Library Association named Contemporary Authors one of the "most distinguished reference titles" of the preceding 25 years. [2]