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Published by Gale since 1978 the Dictionary of Literary Biography serves "not only to provide reliable information in a convenient format but also to place the figures in the larger perspective of literary history and to offer appraisals of their accomplishments by qualified scholars." -- Plan of the Series.
The DLB cover a wide variety of literary topics, periods, and genres. There are entries, for exapmple, for authors, historians, journalists, screenwriters, publishers, and playwrights. Although international in scope, it tends to concentrate on American and British literature.
Each entry begins with the list of an author's works, followed by fairly detailed biographical information concentrating on the author's career. Some entries are about 2,000 to 5,000 words; some can run more than 10 pages (up to 15,000 words). They all include illustrations, photographs of the authors, their families and places where they lived, manuscripts in facsimile, or dust jackets. The entry ends with listings of letters, bibliographies, biographies and references.