Contemporary Authors
{{short description|Biographical reference work published by Gale Cengage}}
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| country = United States
| language = English
| discipline = Reference
| publisher = Gale
| pub_date = 1962 - present
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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.Guide to Reference in Essential General Reference and Library Science Sources edited by Jo Bell Whitlatch and Susan E. Searing, American Library Association, 2014. The work is a standard in libraries and has been honored by the American Library Association as a distinguished reference title.{{cite book|last=Nicholas|first=Margaret Irby|title=Handbook of Reference Sources and Services for Small and Medium-Sized Libraries|publisher=Texas State Library|year=1994|isbn=9780788131431|page=40|id=ERIC ED377845}}
Content
Entries in Contemporary Authors consist of a biography of the writer and bibliographies of their work and secondary sources covering it.{{Cite book|last=Marcuse|first=Michael J.|title=A Reference Guide for English Studies|publisher=University of California Press|year=1990|isbn=0-520-05161-0|page=364|oclc=14241434}} Along with featuring biographies of fiction and nonfiction writers, Contemporary Authors also includes authors who write for newspapers, magazines, motion pictures, TV, and theater.The Research Process Books & Beyond by Myrtle S. Bolner and Gayle A. Poirier, Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, 2004, page 320.
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.{{Cite book|title=Reference and Information Services: An Introduction|publisher=Libraries Unlimited|year=1991|isbn=0-87287-788-4|editor-last=Bopp|editor-first=Richard E.|pages=309–310|oclc=23383904|editor-last2=Smith|editor-first2=Linda C.}} The series focuses on people who have published in English, but sometimes includes writers in other languages whose works have been translated.{{Cite book|last=Harner|first=James L.|title=Literary Research Guide: An Annotated Listing of Reference Sources in English Literary Studies|publisher=Modern Language Association|year=2002|isbn=0-87352-982-0|edition=4th|pages=83–84|oclc=48691433}} Contemporary Authors is not selective about whom it includes.{{Cite book|last=Olevnik|first=Peter P.|title=American Higher Education: A Guide to Reference Sources|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=1993|isbn=0-313-27749-4|page=168|oclc=28181051}} However, according to Gale, authors whose works have been published only by vanity presses are generally excluded.
Most biographical data published in Contemporary Authors comes from questionnaire responses.{{Cite book|last=Jones|first=Joseph|title=Reference Sources for Canadian Literary Studies|publisher=University of Toronto Press|year=2005|isbn=0-8020-8740-X|location=Toronto|pages=230–231|oclc=55146976}} Its staff may also conduct independent research if an entry's subject does not respond to questions.{{Cite book|title=ARBA Guide to Biographical Resources, 1986–1997|publisher=Libraries Unlimited|year=1998|isbn=0-585-13333-6|editor-last1=Wick|editor-first1=Robert L.|page=229|oclc=44959776|editor-last2=Mood|editor-first2=Terry Ann}} Some entries contain a "Sidelights" section where writers can offer personal commentary on their life or work.{{cite journal|title=Recent Books|journal=The Library|date=March 1978|volume=33|issue=1|pages=69–70|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_the-library_1978-03_33_1|url-access=registration|series=5th series|issn=0024-2160}}
Publication
The first edition of Contemporary Authors was released in 1962{{Cite book|last=Katz|first=William A.|title=Introduction to Reference Work|publisher=McGraw-Hill|year=1978|isbn=0-07-033331-9|edition=3d|volume=1|pages=259–260|oclc=3275523}}{{Cite book|last=Gates|first=Jean Key|title=Guide to the Use of Libraries and Information Sources|publisher=McGraw-Hill|year=1989|isbn=0-07-022999-6|edition=6th|page=285|oclc=17841990}} and has since become a standard in libraries. As of 1990, it was published twice per year.
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. Some of its iterations group multiple volumes into a single printed book. As of 2002, it was published both in print and on CD-ROM.
Gale also provides an online version of Contemporary Authors, which includes updates to previously published biographies, expanded entries, award listings, and other information.Reference Sources for Small and Medium-Sized Libraries edited by Jack O'Gorman, American Library Association, 2014, page 209. The online entries are also cross-referenced to other Gale online works, such as the Dictionary of Literary Biography.Librarian's Guide to Online Searching: Cultivating Database Skills for Research and Instruction, 5th Edition by Christopher C. Brown and Suzanne S. Bell, ABC-CLIO, 2018, page 108.
Reception
In 1985, American Library Association named Contemporary Authors one of the "most distinguished reference titles" of the preceding 25 years.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.gale.com/c/literature-contemporary-authors Gale: Contemporary Authors (digital edition)]