100 Most Popular Genre Fiction Authors: Biographical Sketches and Bibliographies

by Bernard A. Drew

Overview

Genre authors, like genre fiction, often get no respect. Traditional biographical dictionaries tend to focus on established authors with literary credentials, and if genre writers are included, they are certainly not the focus of the book. Yet genre fans hunger for information about their favorite writers. This compilation focuses exclusively on genre fiction authors, more specifically today's most popular genre authors. It profiles representatives from all major genres (mystery/detective, crime, adventure/suspense, thriller, horror, fantasy, science fiction, western, historical, women's, and romance). Most are contemporary authors, but a few classics who are still in print and widely read (e.g., J.R.R. Tolkien), are included. Featured authors include Julia Alvarez, Maeve Binchy, Lawrence Block, Clive Cussler, Tony Hillerman, Jan Karon, Faye Kellerman, Dean Koontz, Charles de Lint, Robert Ludlum, Terry McMillan, Anne Rice, Nora Roberts, Scott Turow, and Stuart Woods. A wonderful reference, particularly for readers' advisors and adult and teen readers seeking information about their favorite writers, this book can also be used as a source for student reports and research papers. It is an affordable alternative to multivolume sets. Young adult and adult. Grades 10 and up.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781591581260
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	04/30/2005
Series:	Popular Authors Series
Pages:	728
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 1.31(d)

About the Author

Bernard A. Drew is a freelance writer/editor and book author of numerous articles and books, including 100 Most Popular Young Adult Authors and 100 More Popular Young Adult Authors.

Table of Contents

ContentsContentsContentsIntroduction ixAlers, Rochelle 1Alvarez, Julia 5Anthony, Piers 10Auel, Jean M. 18Barker, Clive 22Barr, Nevada 28Benchley, Peter 33Berg, Elizabeth 38Binchy, Maeve 43Block, Lawrence 48Bradbury, Ray 58Bradley, Marion Zimmer 69Brooks, Terry 77Brown, Dan 81Brown, Sandra 86Bujold, Lois McMaster 91Burke, James Lee 96Butler, Octavia E. 100Campbell, Bebe Moore 104Card, Orson Scott 108Cherryh, C. J. 114Clancy, Tom 121Clark, Mary Higgins 127Clarke, Arthur C. 133Collins, Jackie 140Cornwell, Bernard 144Cornwell, Patricia 149Coulter, Catherine 153Crais, Robert 158Crichton, Michael 162Cussler, Clive 166Dailey, Janet 170Delany, Samuel R. 177Delinsky, Barbara 182de Lint, Charles 189Deveraux, Jude 194Due, Tananarive 198Estleman, Loren D. 202Evanovich, Janet 209Follett, Ken 214Forsyth, Frederick 219Francis, Dick 223Gabaldon, Diana 228Garwood, Julie 233Grafton, Sue 237Griffin, W.E.B. 242Grisham, John 249Hiaasen, Carl 254Hibbert, Eleanor 258Hillerman, Tony 267Jakes, John 273James, P. D. 280Jance, J. A. 286Jenkins, Jerry B. and Tim LaHaye 291Jordan, Robert 301Karon, Jan 306Kellerman, Faye 310Kelton, Elmer 314King, Stephen 320Kitt, Sandra 333Koontz, Dean 337Krentz, Jayne Ann 345L'Amour, Louis 354le Carré, John 363Le Guin, Ursula K. 368Leonard, Elmore 376Ludlum, Robert 382McBain, Ed 386McCaffrey, Ann 397McCullough, Colleen 406McMillan, Terry 410McMurtry, Larry 414Michener, James A. 420Mosley, Walter 426Naylor, Gloria 431O'Brian, Patrick 435Oke, Janette 442Palmer, Diana 447Paretsky, Sara 454Parker, Robert B. 459Patterson, James 465Penman, Sharon Kay 470Perry, Anne 473Peters, Elizabeth 479Phillips, Susan Elizabeth 485Pratchett, Terry 488Putney, Mary Jo 494Ray, Francis 498Rendell, Ruth 502Rice, Anne 510Roberts, Nora 515Robinson, Peter 527Saul, John 532Siddons, Anne Rivers 536Steel, Danielle 540Straub, Peter 546Thoene, Bodie and Brock Thoene 551Tolkien, J.R.R. 557Turow, Scott 563Woods, Stuart 567Author/Title Index 571Genre Index 589

Editorial Reviews

[A]n interesting approach, clear organization, and well-written author biographies make this an useful and enjoyable book for both librarians and casual readers….a valuable publication, one that is certain to spawn another such volume. With its colorful coverage of contemporary authors, and a very reasonable price, this would be a good purchase for most public libraries.” —Collection Management

“[A] well organized, useful, and interestign work … an excellent resource for finding information about popular genre fiction authors, and for readers advisory service librarians. As such, it is highly recommended for public libraries.” —Reference Reviews

“This is a great resource for patrons who want to know more about their favorite authors. It can serve as a good readers' advisory tool. Recommended for all public libraries.” —Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin

“100 Most Popular Genre Fiction Authors: Biographical Sketches and Bibliographies is a straightforward reference for librarians, researchers, and teen readers….An easy-to-use quick-reference guide, ideal for surveying the creators of some of the most widely beloved authors as well as the nature of their creations.” —MBR Reviewer's Bookwatch

From the Publisher