Research Guides: English Studies: Biographical Information

I need some information about my author.

Literature Resource Center This link opens in a new window
Find biographical information and excerpts of criticism in this online reference tool covering more than 130,000 novelists, poets, essayists, journalists, and other writers.
Library Catalog This link opens in a new window
Search your person as a subject--search their surname (last name), followed by a comma and their first name. For example: Hemingway, Ernest.

Google Search
Search the person's name for their official website, which will often include a résumé . Most authors link to recent interviews and reviews from their website as well. Recent reviews from reputable sources (e.g., New York Times and websites by literary organizations) are often available for free online. If you hit a pay wall, use the library's databases. Also try YouTube interviews with the author.

Literary Sources This link opens in a new window
Access to Literature Resource Center and other high-quality reference works. Look for entries from Contemporary Authors to find reviews and biographies of lesser-known writers. Often includes interviews.
US Newsstream (formerly ProQuest Newstand) This link opens in a new window

TIP: Find out where your author is from. Local newspapers follow authors from their region very closely.

American National Biography This link opens in a new window
Find biographies of more than 17,400 Americans-- from all eras and walks of life--whose lives have shaped the nation.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography This link opens in a new window
Find biographies of the men and women who have shaped British history and culture, worldwide, from the Romans to the 21st century. The dictionary offers authoritative, up-to-date biographies written by named, specialist authors.
Literary Sources This link opens in a new window
Gale Literary Sources provides access to Literature Resource Center and to Literature Criticism Online, which includes Children's Literature Review, Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism, Contemporary Literary Criticism, Drama Criticism, Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800, Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism, Poetry Criticism, Shakespearean Criticism, Short Story Criticism, and Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism.