A Handbook to Literature by 
A Glossary of Contemporary Literary Theory, 4th ed. by 
The Oxford Companion to English Literature, 7th ed.
The Oxford Companion to American Literature, 6th ed.
Literary Research Guide by 
A Companion to World Literature
Encyclopedia of Literary and Cultural Theory by You can find reference books on many subject, including literary authors, by searching WorldCat. Use the Advanced Search page, change search type to Subject, type in a keyword related to your topic, EX: joseph conrad and add keyword(s) that will limit your search to reference sources, such as encyclopedias, bibliography, dictionaries, handbooks, etc. If you use the OR operator to include more than one type of reference source be sure to type the OR in upper case letters and put parentheses ( ) around the terms you are combining. FOR EXAMPLE:
