James Madison University Libraries & Educational Technologies http://www.lib.jmu.edu

Short Story

This bibliography is designed to assist researches in locating critical information on short stories and short story writers.  Consult a reference librarian for assistance in locating and using these resources.

Table of Contents:

Handbooks 
Biographical Information 
Criticism 
Finding Short Stories 


Handbooks 
Use these sources to find definitions of terms, brief biographical information, and summaries.

Gelfant, Blanche H., ed. The Columbia Companion to the Twentieth-Century American Short Story. New York: Columbia UP, 2000.

[Carrier Library - Reference - PS374 .S5 C57 2000]

Contains thematic essays and entries on individual writers and their works.  Entries include select bibliographies of works and critical studies.

Werlock, Abby H.P., ed. The Facts on File Companion to the American Short Story. New York: Facts on File, 2000.

[Carrier Library - Reference - PS374 .S5 F33 2000]

Focuses on American short story authors from the early 19th Century to the 1990s.  Includes entries on authors, characters, and specific stories. 

Hart, James D., ed. Oxford Companion to American Literature. 6th ed. New York: Oxford UP, 1995. 

[Carrier Library - Reference - PS21 .H3 1995] 

Includes brief discussions of American short story writers and their works.

Drabble, Margaret, ed. Oxford Companion to English Literature. 6th ed. New York: Oxford UP, 2006. 

[Carrier Library - Reference - PR19 .O94 2006]  

Includes brief discussions of short stories, authors, and characters.

Watson, Noelle, ed. Reference Guide to Short Fiction.  Detroit: St. James Press, 1994.

[Carrier Library - Reference - PN3373 .R36 1994]

Provides useful discussions of specific short stories and biographical information on international short story writers.

Biographical Information

Biography and Genealogy Master Index.  Detroit: Gale, 1995- 

[Online Resource]

This database is an excellent place to begin a search for biographical information. Indexes over 500 biographical sources, making it easy to know which sources to consult.  Check LEO for local holdings.  

Contemporary Authors. Detroit: Gale, 1962-.

[Carrier Library - Reference - PN451 Cl6; Online Resource]

International in scope, this tool gives biographical information about contemporary authors and lists their works.  In the print version, consult the separate index volume to locate entries on specific writers. 

Dictionary of Literary Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1978-. 

[Carrier Library - Reference - PN451 D28; Online Resource] 

This multi-volume work provides chapter length biographical essays.  The most recent volume includes a comprehensive index to the set.  A well known, reliable source. 

Magill, Frank, ed. Short Story Writers. 3 vols. Pasadena, CA: Salem Press, 1997.  

[Carrier Library - Reference - PN3373. S398 1997]

Provides biographical essays on 102 major short story writers.  Each entry includes an annotated critical bibliography.

LEO Library Catalog

[Online Resource]

Books about a particular author can be found by doing a subject search using the author's name as a subject heading.  Enter the author's name in reverse order.  Example:  Paley, Grace.

Literary Criticism

Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Detroit: Gale, 1981-.

[Carrier Library - Reference - PN761 N5 1981] 

Presents significant passages from published criticism on authors who lived between 1800 and 1900. Use the last volume as an index to the whole set. 

Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Detroit: Gale, 1978-. 

[Carrier Library - Reference - PN771 .G27]

Excerpts from criticism of the works of writers, 1900-1999. Use the last volume as an index to the whole set. 

Contemporary Literary Criticism. Detroit: Gale, 1973-.

[Carrier Library - Reference - PN771 .C59]

Contains excerpts from criticism of the works of authors active from 1960 to the present. Use the last volume as an index to the whole set. 

Black Literature Criticism. Detroit: Gale, 1992-. 

[Carrier Library - Reference - PS153 N5 B556] 

A selection of criticism of major black writers over the past two hundred years.

Walcutt, Charles Child, and J. Edwin Whitsell, eds. The Explicator Cyclopedia. 3 vols. Chicago: Quadrangle, 1966-.

[Carrier Library - Reference - PR401 .E9]

A quick reference to explication and interpretation of selected difficult works. Volume III covers prose. 

LEO Library Catalog

[Online Resource]

The following subject headings may be useful for literary criticism about individual authors.

(Author's Name) - CRITICISM AND INTERPRETATION

(Author's Name) - STYLE 

Example:  Chopin, Kate, 1851-1904 -- Criticism and interpretation 

Bibliographies of Criticism

The following bibliographies will lead you to literary criticism in books, articles, and essays. These sources are useful for locating criticism of a specific short story.

Weiner, Alan, and Spencer Means. Literary Criticism Index.  London: Scarecrow Press, 1994.

[Carrier Library - Reference - PN523 .W455 1994]

An excellent source for locating criticism on a specific short story.  Consult the annotated pages in the front for the call numbers of cited bibliographies. 

Walker, Warren S., comp. Twentieth-Century Short Story Explication. Hamden, CT: Shoe String, 1977-.

[Carrier Library - Reference - PN3373 W3] 

A very good source for locating short story criticism. Indexes books and periodicals. Arranged alphabetically by author, then by individual work. 

Weixlmann, Joe. American Short Fiction Criticism and Scholarship, 1959-1977: A Checklist.  Chicago: Swallow Press, 1982. 

[Carrier Library - Reference - PS374 .S5 W35 1982] 

This source will lead you to criticism in books and periodicals. Lists criticism of specific short stories. 

LEO Library Catalog

[Online Resource]

An entire bibliography may have been done on one author. To find an author bibliography, do a subject search as follows: Subject: Chopin, Kate, 1851-1904 -- Bibliography 

Finding Short Stories

The following sources will help you locate a short story.

Short Story Index. New York: Wilson, 1953- 

[Carrier Library - Reference - PN3373 .S5]

Indexes anthologies and collections of short stories.

LEO Library Catalog

[Online Resource]

You may find a short story in a collection in LEO by doing a word search on keywords in the title. The computer will search through the listing of Contents of anthologies. This will only work if the contents of the book are listed in LEO. For example:

Word Search: Ripe Figs

You may also find a short story in LEO by looking at the Complete Works, Collected Works, or Selected Works of the author. Choose Author in LEO and type the author's last name in reverse order. 

Created by Lynn Cameron and Rebecca Feind. 

Updated & maintained by Melissa S. Van Vuuren.