Salem Press

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	Recommended for all academic and public libraries.
Choice

	A necessary tool for short fiction research in most settings. Highly recommended for all high school and undergraduate library collections.
Library Journal

	A standard reference source for research on the short story and is highly recommended for all high-school and undergraduate library reference collections.
Booklist

	As with most of the Salem Press/Magill works, this seven-volume set is a well-crafted and sturdy resource.
Library Journal

Critical Survey of Short Fiction, 2d Rev. Ed.

The original member of Salem Press' Critical Survey series, the award-winning Critical Survey of Short Fiction has come a long way since its introduction in 1981. The new Second Revised Edition combines a new look (over 350 author portraits) with a new page design that makes all the information faster and easier to absorb. It includes 150 all-new essays along with painstaking updates on existing material, plus new geographical and categorized lists of authors, new awards, updated bibliographies, and more!

By far the most heavily revised edition yet, the Critical Survey of Short Fiction is now over 40% larger and updated to reflect new titles and secondary sources. To the original 347 authors, it adds 133 authors completely new to the Short Fiction series.

Author essays vary in length, with none shorter than 2,000 words and many much longer. Each essay provides ready-reference top matter, including full birth and death data, substantial listings of literary works by genre, and bibliographical sources for further study.

Volume 7 contains 29 overview essays: 11 from the original set and 18 new essays devoted to theory, history, subgenres, and world cultures (including ethnic groups both within and outside of the US). The final volume also includes another new set of features, "Research Tools." This section contains not only the heavily revised versions of the 1993 edition's "Terms and Techniques," "Short Fiction Chronology," and general "Bibliography," it now also cites the winners of major short-fiction awards in sections: "Awards," "The Best American Short Stories," the coveted "O. Henry Awards," and "Other Selected Honors."

480 author essays fill volumes 1-6. Each essay follows the same format for easy access to the information.

· Author's name, with birth and death place and date

· List of "Principal short fiction," in publication order

· Other literary forms: contributions to literature that the author may have
made outside of short fiction

· Achievements: a discussion of honors, awards, and accolades

· Biography

· Analysis: the body of the essays surveys the major themes and techniques
in the writer's work, using specific titles for examples

· Other major works: lists other publications by genre

· Bibliography: annotated