Click the image or title (in blue) to visit the Dictionary of Literary Biography (DLB):
American Writers
British WritersOther multi-volume sets on authors include:
European Writers by 
Cyclopedia of World Authors
Something About the Author
The most complete source for biographical information on authors is the Dictionary of Literary Biography (DLB), which has 386 volumes (as of April 2020). Lewis Library has the complete set in PDF in the Dictionary of Literary Biography Complete Online database. To access this, use the link above, or go to the library home page and select "Search Databases A-Z" (or click this link).
A list of the 76 DLB volumes we have in print, and their call numbers, is available in the back of volume 244 (REF PS 374 .S5 A398 2001), which also has an index of authors (through vol. 244). There's also a list on this page (lower right). But the DLB database includes all these and many more.
We have many more reference books on authors in the reference section in the P’s (PR for British authors, PS for American authors, etc.). The following is a partial list, indicating the range of nationalities, periods, genres, etc. covered.
· British Writers (REF PR 85 .B688, 18 volumes)
· American Writers (REF PS 129 .A55, 22 volumes)
· American Women Writers (REF PS 147 .A422 2000, 4 vols.)
· African American Writers (REF PS 153 .N500 A344 2001, 2 vols.)
· Southern Writers: A New Biographical Dictionary (REF PS 261 .S595 2006)
· Fifty Southern Writers Before 1900 (REF PS 261 .F543 1987)
· Fifty Southern Writers After 1900 (REF PS 261 .F54 1987)
· Ancient Writers, Greece and Rome (REF PA 3002 .Q5 1982, 2 vols.)
· Latin American Writers (REF PQ 7081 .A1 L37 1989, 3 vols.)
· Notable Latino Writers (REF PS 163 .H566 N68 2006)
· Women Writers of Great Britain and Europe (REF PN 471 .W565 1997)
· African Writers (REF PL 8010 .A453 1997, 2 vols.)
· Contemporary Novelists (REF PR 883 .C64 1986)
· Contemporary Poets (REF PR 603 .C600 2001)
· Contemporary Dramatists (REF PR 737 .C577 1999)
· Contemporary Southern Writers (REF PS 261 .C569 1999)
· Supernatural Fiction Writers (REF PN 3435 .S966 2003, 2 vols.)
· Mystery & Suspense Writers (REF PR 830 .D4 M97 1998, 2 vols.)
· The Beat Generation (REF PS 228 .B600 Z68 2003, 3 vols.)
· Graphic Novelists (REF NC 1305 .P46 2007)
We also have reference books on many individual authors, including Chaucer, Dante, Shakespeare, Milton, Faulkner, Robert Frost, and Flannery O’Connor. See the reference librarian or check the online catalog for call numbers.
In addition, we have many circulating books and e-books on authors. Again, consult the online catalog (do a “Subject” search for your author) or a librarian. You can also consult the reference librarian to identify books on your author held by other libraries, which we can obtain on interlibrary loan.
The following nooks are in Twayne’s Authors series; some are fairly old (so they’re not up to date on current authors), but they provide useful background information on authors, an overview of their work, and comments on their individual works (look in the index for titles of short stories etc.).
American author series (call number beginning PS):
British author series (call numbers beginning PR):
Others:
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