University Library > Guides > Fiction: Short Stories

Syllabus for Literary Research: 4. Fiction: Short Stories

Table of Contents:

Indexes to Works of Fiction Indexes to Short Stories Finding Biographies Biographical Dictionaries Dictionaries of Literary Characters

Finding Literary Criticism & Bibliographies Excerpts from Literary Criticism Encyclopedia Summaries of Works of Fiction Summaries of Short Stories

This guide lists selected titles of books and databases about short stories held by the UW-Whitewater Andersen Library. It is not a comprehensive list of available titles. Follow the examples under Finding Biographies and Finding Literary Criticism and Bibliographies below to find additional books held by the UW-Whitewater or other UW-System libraries.

Locations: Call numbers preceded by Main are in the Main Collection (3rd floor) and those preceded by Ref are in the Reference Collection (2nd floor). Items without call numbers are online indexes and databases accessible from the Indexes & Databases Arranged by Subject: Humanities webpage, or by clicking on the linked title.

Indexes to Works of Fiction

• Fiction Catalog vols. 5-9, 11-14 with supplements
  Ref   Z5916 .W62 -

• Olderr's Fiction Index
  Ref   PN3326 .O434x

Indexes to Short Stories

• The Afro-American Short Story
  Ref   Z1229 .N39 Y36 1986p>

• Index to Science Fiction Anthologies and Collections vols. 1-2
  Ref   PS374 .S35 C6x

• The Latin American Short Story: An Annotated Guide to Anthologies and Criticism
  Ref   Z1609.F4 B35 1992

• Short Story Index... (through 1993)
  Ref   Z5917 .S5 S55

• Short Story Index, Collections Indexed 1900-1978
  Ref   Z5917 .S5 S56

• LitFinder (FREE to Wisconsin Residents)
  This database includes StoryFinder for short stories, as well as sections for other types of literature. To access, begin on the Andersen Library homepage, click on Find Articles, Statistics, then on F under Indexes & Databases in Alphabetical Order, and then on the database name.

Finding Biographies in the Library

To find books about authors of short stories, search the library catalog. Using the Basic Search (default option), select Subject Keyword from the menu by clicking on it. Click in the Search box and type in words from a subject, such as the author's name and the word biography. Click on . For example:

hemingway ernest biography

or select Keyword (use and, or not) from the menu and search for combinations of terms used in subject headings for a genre like "short stories American," "short stories English," "American fiction" or "English fiction," or categories like "Afro-American authors" or "women authors," with a chronological period like "19th century," "20th century," or "21st century" and a type of resource, such as "biography," "bio-bibliography" or "dictionaries." Enclose a phrase of two or more words between quotation marks. Combine multiple terms with Boolean operators (and, or, not). Click on . For example:

"short stories english" and "20th century" and biography

Biographical Dictionaries

• American Short-Story Writers Before 1880
  Ref   PS374 .S5 A38 1988

• American Short-Story Writers, 1880-1910
  Ref   PS374 .S5 A39 1988

• American Short-Story Writers, 1910-1945
  First Series Ref   PS374 .S5 A396 1989
  Second Series Ref   S374 .S5 A3962 1991

• American Short-Story Writers Since World War II
  [First Series] Ref   PS374 .S5 A3964 1993
  Second Series Ref   PS374 .S5 A3964 2000
  Third Series Ref   PS374 .S5 A3965 2001
  Fourth Series Ref   PS374 .S5 A3966 2001

• Contemporary Fiction Writers of the South
  Ref   PS261 .C565 1993

• Reference Guide to Short Fiction
  Ref   PN3373 .R36 1994

SEE ALSO: Syllabus for Literary Research: 2. Biography of Authors.

Dictionaries of Literary Characters

• Dictionary of Fictional Characters
  Ref nbsp; PN56 .4 S49 1992

• Historical Figures in Fiction
  Ref   Z5917 .H6 H37 1994

• Larousse Dictionary of Literary Characters
  Ref   PR19 .L37 1994

Finding Literary Criticism & Bibliographies

To find books containing literary criticism or bibliographies citing literary resources, search the library catalog using the Basic Search (default option). Select Subject Keyword from the menu by clicking on it. Click in the textbox and type a subject heading. Click on . For example:

hemingway ernest criticism and interpretation

hemingway ernest bibliography

or select Keyword from the menu and search for combinations of terms used in subject headings for a genre like "short stories," "American fiction" or "English fiction," or categories like "Afro-American authors" or "women authors," with a chronological period like "19th century," "20th century," or "21st century" and either "history and criticism" or "bibliography." Enclose a phrase of two or more words between quotation marks. Combine multiple terms with Boolean operators (and, or, not). Click on . For example:

"short stories" and "19th century" and bibliography

"short stories american" and "history and criticism"

"afro american authors" and "short stories"

"women authors" and "short stories" and "19th century"

Excerpts from Literary Criticism

For excerpts from articles, essays or books containing literary criticism, search Gale's Literature Criticism Online. Perform a search by Named Author or Named Work (title). Most criticism will be available right there. If not available, look up a book series title in the library catalog to find the location and call number.

SEE ALSO: Syllabus for Literary Research: 1a. General Sources: Literary Research Guides, Bibliographies and Indexes of Literary Criticism.

Encyclopedia

• The Stanford Companion to Victorian Fiction
  Ref   PR871 .S87 1989

Summaries of Works of Fiction

• Beacham's Popular Fiction in America vols. 1 - 4 and 1991 update vols. 1 - 2
  Ref   PS374 .P63 B43 1986

• MagillOnLiterature
  This database from the EBSCOhost company contains all of Masterplots and Masterplots II, and several other books.

• Masterplots
  Ref   PN44 .M32
        vol. 2 - American Fiction Series
        vol. 3 - English Fiction Series
        vol. 4 - European Fiction Series

• Masterplots II
  African American Literature Series   vols. 1 - 3   REF   PS153 .N5 M2645 1994
  American Fiction Series   vols. 1 - 6   Ref   PN846 .M37 1986
  British and Commonwealth Fiction Series   vols. 1 -4   Ref   PR881 .M39 1987

Short Stories

• Critical Survey of Short Fiction
  [First ed.] vols. 1 - 7 & Ref   PN3321 .C7
  2nd rev. ed.   vols. 1 - 7 Ref   PN3321 .C7 2001

• Masterplots II. Short Story Series vols. 1 - 10
  Ref. PN3326 .M27 1986

• Reference Guide to Short Fiction
  Ref   PN3373 .R36 1994

• Twentieth-Century Short Story Explication: Interpretations, 1900-1975, of Short Fiction Since 1800 3rd ed.  vols. I - V
  Ref   Z5917 .S5 W33 1977

• Twentieth-Century Short Story Explication: An Index to the Third Edition and its Five Supplements, 1961-1991
  Ref   PN3373 .S5 W332 1992

• Twentieth-Century Short Story Explication: New Series; with Checklists of Books and Journals Used   vols. 1 - 3
  Ref   Z5917.S5 W35 1993

SEE ALSO: Syllabus for Literary Research: 1b. General Sources: Literary Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, Histories, and Summaries.

For assistance, contact a reference librarian at (262) 472-1032, by email or chat or in person at the Library's Reference Desk.

Last Revised: MS - 11/4/2009