Short Fiction

Reference Sources (Background)
Locating Books
Locating Articles (Databases & Indexes)
Websites
Evaluating Sources
Citing Sources

For additional sources, see the English & Literary Criticism page.

Reference Sources (Background)

The following list gives some representative reference titles relating to short fiction and criticism and is not exhaustive.

Contemporary Literary Criticism (1973 to present, 102 volumes)
Ref PN 771 .C59 and selected articles in Literature Resource Center
Critical essays excerpted from books and journals on contemporary authors.

Critical Survey of Short Fiction (2001)
Ref PN3321 .C7 2001
Provides author biographies and analysis. Authors are arranged alphabetically.

Encyclopedia of the Novel (1998, 2 volumes)
Ref PN41 .E487 1998
Guide to a wide range of novels, short novels, and literary terms associated with novel explication. Includes bibliographies.

Gale Virtual Reference Library (current, full text)
15 key reference encyclopedias in biology and medicine, literature, and the social sciences. Includes Contemporary Novelists, Contemporary Poets, and Nonfiction Classics for Students.

Literature Resource Center
Provides access to critical analyses and biographical information on more than 120,000 novelists, poets, essayists, and other writers from around the world. Includes full-text of several reference sources.

Reference Guide to Short Fiction (1999)
Ref PN3373 .R36 1999
Short articles on authors' lives and works, with a listing of critical studies.

Short Story Criticism (1988-present, 90 volumes)
Ref PN33730 .S386
Excerpts of criticism with a bibliography at the end of each entry. Use the index to find criticism for specific titles.

Locating Books

The Library of Congress Classification for Languages and Literature is P:

MaconCat
The library's online catalog, providing access to books, journals, music, and movies in the library.

WorldCat
A catalog of books and other materials in libraries worldwide.

Books and articles not owned by our library can be obtained from other libraries through Interlibrary Loan. Allow sufficient time for processing.  Average turnaround time is 3-5 days for articles and 3-14 days for books, excluding holidays and weekends. Submit ILL requests well in advance of deadlines.

Locating Articles (Databases & Indexes)

MLA International Bibliography (1926 to present, citation only)
The premier database for literature research. Provides a comprehensive international listing of scholarly books, articles, and dissertations.

JSTOR (dates vary by journal, full text)
An archive of over 400 journals in many disciplines.

Arts and Humanities Citation Index (1980 to present, citation only)
Articles in the arts and humanities fields.

Project MUSE (late 1990s to present, full text)
Coves over 300 journals in the humanities, arts, and social sciences.

Expanded Academic ASAP/Academic OneFile (1980 to present, some full-text)
Provides citations to articles from selected popular magazines and scholarly journals in all disciplines.

You may also want to browse through the current and bound periodicals in the library. A list of journals relating to language and literature is available at the circulation desk.

Websites 

A Celebration of Women Writers (University of Pennsylvania)
Digital library of works by and about women authors as well as other links.

Contemporary Writers (British Council Arts)
Database of living British and Commonwealth authors. Information for each author includes a biographical sketch, bibliography of works, and list of awards. Some entries also feature a brief signed critical essay.

Introductory Guide to Critical Theory (Purdue University)
Includes sections on Gender & Sex, Marxism, Narratology, New Historicism, Postmodernism, and Psychoanalysis. Each section includes an introduction, modules on major theorists, a glossary of terms, and more.

Literary Criticism (Internet Public Library)
Portal to websites categorized by author and title. Users can also browse by period and language.

Literary Resources on the Net (Rutgers University)
Portal to annotated links in a variety of categories. Emphasis is on British and American literature.

PAL: Perspectives in American Literature (California State University)
Includes author information grouped alphabetically and by time period, as well as "appendices" on various topics and themes relating to American literature. All pages include a bibliography of print sources.

Evaluating Sources

Evaluating Sources (R-MC)

Is it POPULAR or is it SCHOLARLY? (R-MC)

Critical Evaluation of Resources on the Internet (University of Alberta Libraries)

Citing Sources

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (2003)
Ref Desk LB 2369 .G53 2003

Citing in MLA Style (R-MC)

Frequently Asked Questions about MLA Style(MLA)

Citing Full-Text from Library Databases (R-MC)

Citation Styles Online! (Bedford St. Martin's)
Includes examples of citations of various online sources in MLA, APA, Chicago and other styles.

KnightCite (Calvin College)
Automatically formats citation information according to MLA, APA, or Chicago styles.