Dictionary of Literary Biography (DLB)
Need help choosing a short story author to research? In Literature Resource Center, perform an Advanced Search. Copy/paste the following into the first blank search box: "short story" OR "short stories". Choose Subject from the drop-down. Click the blue Search button to execute your search. Now click Biographies at the top of your results list.
If desired, FILTER RESULTS by Publication Title. Note DLB volumes including:
- American Short-Story Writ. Since World War II
- British and Irish Short-Fiction Writers, 1945-2000
- British Short-Fiction Writers [1800-1980]
Click here to see a list of printed DLB short story volumes, Reference Stacks, 1st floor (Gitenstein Library).
Humanities Librarian
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5787-2609Room 216
Introduction
Use this guide to find scholarly books, journal articles, and reference works about the American and English short story. Also use this guide for help citing your sources in the MLA Style.
Questions? Use my contact information in the left-hand column (below) to schedule your research consultation.
Selected Titles
These reference works provide biographical essays about short story writers, authors' publishing histories, and/or bibliographies—often annotated—of primary (e.g., author interviews) and secondary sources.
Featured:
Critical Survey of Short Fiction: World Writers by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9781587657993Publication Date: 2012-12-30"This volume examines writers from a wide range of countries, including Argentina’s Jorge Luis Borges, China’s Ha Jin, India’s Salman Rushdie, and Russia’s Alexander Pushkin. New writers include Japan’s Haruki Murakami, Jamaican writer Michelle Cliff, and Peru’s Daniel Alarcon" (Salem Press). The back half of this book includes a chapter on Terms and Techniques; a lengthy bibliography with sections dedicated to world regions from African Short Fiction through South Korean Short Fiction; a Guide to Online Resources; a Time Line and Chronological List of world short fiction writers; and a list of Major Award winners.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography by Call Number: DA28 .095 2004ISBN: 019861411XPublication Date: 2004-09-23The ODNB is the standard reference work for British biography. Extensive bibliographic essays accompany many entries. Obtain profiles of over 40 short story writers.
Most up-to-date:
African American Short Story Writers (College Support Series) by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9781429840170Publication Date: 2017
Colonial [Postcolonial] Short Story Writers (College Support Series) by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9781429839785Publication Date: 2017
Minimalist Short Story Writers (College Support Series) by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9781429840026Publication Date: 2017
Short Story Writers on Gay and Lesbian Issues (College Support Series) by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9781429840057Publication Date: 2017
Also great:
The American Indian in Short Fiction: An Annotated Bibliography by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKISBN: 0810812568Publication Date: 1979-10-01
Asian American Short Story Writers: An A-to-Z Guide by Call Number: PS153.A84 A828 2003ISBN: 0313322295Publication Date: 2003-06-30
Critical Survey of Short Fiction (2nd rev. ed. in 7 vols.) by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKSISBN: 0893560065Publication Date: 2001-01-01Vols. are arranged alphabetically by author.
Twentieth-Century Short Story Explication: Interpretations, 1900-1975, of Short Fiction Since 1800 by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKISBN: 0208015701Publication Date: 1977-07-01Identify criticism published during the first three-quarters of the 20th century.
Companions:
A companion is a "a handbook intended to be used in connection with the study of a particular subject or field" (ODLIS). Companions provide introductory essays and topic overviews. I especially recommend titles in the Cambridge Companions to Literature series, several of which I have listed below.
The Cambridge Companion to the English Short Story by Call Number: PR829 .C18 2016ISBN: 9781107084179Publication Date: 2016-06-06
The Columbia Companion to the Twentieth-Century American Short Story by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 0231110987Publication Date: 2001-03-08also available in print, Reference Collection (1st floor), call # PS374.S5 C57 2000
The Edinburgh Companion to the Short Story in English by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 1474400655Publication Date: 2018-12-05
The Facts on File Companion to the American Short Story by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKISBN: 0816044376Publication Date: 2000-09-01also available in print, Reference Collection (1st floor), call # PS374.S5 F33 2000
The Facts on File Companion to the British Short Story by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKISBN: 0816074968Publication Date: 2007-01-01
Encyclopedia:
An encyclopedia is "a book or numbered set of books containing authoritative summary information about a variety of topics in the form of short essays, usually arranged alphabetically by headword or classified in some manner. An entry may be signed or unsigned, with or without illustration or a list of references for further reading" (ibid.).
Encyclopedia of the British Short Story by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 1438140703Publication Date: 2013
Handbooks:
A handbook is a "single-volume reference book of compact size that provides concise factual information on a specific subject, organized systematically for quick and easy access" (ibid.).
The American Short Story Handbook by Call Number: PS374.S5 N336 2015ISBN: 9780470655429Publication Date: 2015-03-02
The British and Irish Short Story Handbook by Call Number: PR829 .M35 2012ISBN: 9781444330465Publication Date: 2012-03-12
Wilson's Short Story Index, a classic reference work, allows researchers to quickly find short stories by author, title, and subject (e.g., adoption, mothers and daughters, New Jersey) in one alphabet. Work faster and smarter!
Find short stories published between 1984 and 2019:
- Short Story IndexCall Number: PN3373 .S56Publication Date: 1984-2019Our library holds 15 vols, print only, in the General Stacks. These vols. index short stories (published between 1984-2019) by author, title, and subject .
Find short stories published before 1979:
- Short Story Index, Collections Indexed 1900-1978 by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKISBN: 0824206436Publication Date: 1979-01-01"This vol. is a complete listing of the 8,355 collections indexed in the cumulated vols. of Short Story Index for the years 1900-1978." Access by author/editor or title but not subject.
- Short Story Index: Supplement, 1950-1954 by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKISBN: 0824203852Publication Date: 1956-01-01Find short stories published during this 5-year period by author, title, and subject.
- Short Story Index: Supplement, 1955-1958 by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKPublication Date: 1960Find short stories published during this 4-year period by author, title, and subject.
- Short Story Index: Supplement, 1959-1963 by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKISBN: 0824203879Publication Date: 1965-01-01Find short stories published during this 5-year period by author, title, and subject.
- Short Story Index: Supplement, 1964-1968 by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKISBN: 824203992Publication Date: 1969Find short stories published during this 5-year period by author, title, and subject.
- Short Story Index: Supplement, 1969-1973 by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKISBN: 0824204972Publication Date: 1974-01-01Find short stories published during this 5-year period by author, title, and subject.
- Short Story Index: Supplement, 1974-1978 by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKPublication Date: 1979Find short stories published during this 5-year period by author, title, and subject.
Masterplots (4th ed. in 12 vols.) by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9781587655685Publication Date: 2011-01-30"Masterplots... retains the original purpose of the Masterplots concept: providing fundamental reference data, plot synopses where applicable, and critical evaluations of a comprehensive selection of English-language and world literature that has been translated into English. The [synopsis and analytical] essays are in alphabetical order by title, and each includes an annotated bibliography to aid readers in further study" (Salem Press). This set covers drama, long fiction, short fiction, poetry, and nonfiction.
Masterplots, 2010-2018 Supplement (4th ed. in 2 vols.) by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9781642650327Publication Date: 2019-05-30"The Supplement critically evaluates 187 major examples of serious fiction, published in English from 2010 to 2018, from writers in the United States and around the world" (Salem Press).
