Contemporary Literary Criticism assembles critical responses to the writings of the world's most renowned novelists, poets, playwrights, short story writers, scriptwriters, and other creative writers and provides supplementary biographical context and bibliographic material to guide the reader to a greater understanding of the genres and creators. Each entry includes a set of previously published reviews, essays and other critical responses from sources that include scholarly books and journals, literary magazines, interviews, websites, and other sources, carefully selected to create a representative history and cross-section of critical responses.
CONTEMPORARY LITERARY CRITICISM covers authors who are currently active or who died after December 31, 1959. Each print volume in this long-standing series profiles approximately 6-8 novelists, poets, playwrights and other creative and nonfiction writers by providing full-text or excerpted criticism taken from books, magazines, literary reviews, newspapers and scholarly journals. Approximately 90-95% of critical essays are full text. Each of the approximately 200 essays per volume is prefaced by a full citation and annotation and most entries in the print series include an author portrait. Each volume includes cumulative author name, topic, and nationality indexes, as well as a volume-specific title index. A cumulative title index to the entire series is available separately.
NoViolet Bulawayo (Zimbabwean novelist and short-story writer. Entry devoted to "We Need New Names", 2013).
Elliott Holt (American novelist and short-story writer. Entry devoted to "You Are One of Them", 2013).
Anthony Marra (American novelist and short-story writer. Entry devoted to "A Constellation of Vital Phenomena", 2013).
Lottie Moggach (English novelist and journalist. Entry devoted to "Kiss Me First:, 2013).
Donal Ryan (Irish novelist. Entry devoted to "The Spinning Heart", 2012-13).
Helene Wecker (American novelist. Entry devoted to "The Golem and the Jinni", 2013).
Lydia Davis 1947- (American short-story writer, novelist, and translator).
James McBride (American novelist, journalist, autobiographer, and screenwriter. Entry devoted to "The Good Lord Bird:, 2013).
Alice Munro 1931- (Canadian short-story writer and essayist).
Chinua Achebe 1930-2013 (Nigerian novelist, essayist, poet, short-story writer, children’s writer, and memoirist).
Seamus Heaney 1939-2013 (Irish poet, essayist, critic, playwright, and translator).
Elmore Leonard 1925-2013 (American novelist, short-story writer, and screenwriter).
Doris Lessing 1919-2013 (Persian-born English novelist, short-story writer, nonfiction writer, autobiographer, essayist, poet, and playwright).
