Contemporary Authors
Contemporary Authors is an annually updated reference work published by Gale Cengage. It provides biographical details on over 120,000 writers in all genres whose works have been published in the English language. Contemporary Authors was originally released as a series of books, but is now available in an online version as part of Gale's Literature Resource Center.
Authors can submit information about themselves, but they must meet certain inclusion criteria to receive a profile in Contemporary Authors. Authors whose works have been published only by vanity presses are generally excluded.
The first edition of Contemporary Authors was released in 1962. The series is held in many libraries, and was honored by the American Library Association in 1985 as one of the "most distinguished reference titles" of the preceding 25 years.