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horror

(Encyclopedia)horror or horror story, literary genre in which an eerie, tense, often suspenseful atmosphere typically builds to the discovery of something repugnant, such as cannibalism, incest, or the killing of c...

Djerassi, Carl

(Encyclopedia)Djerassi, Carl jərăsˈē [key], 1929–2015, American organic chemist and educator, b. Vienna, Austria. He received his Ph.D. from the Univ. of Wisconsin (1945) and taught at Stanford Univ. from 195...

Connell, Evan Shelby, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Connell, Evan Shelby, Jr., 1924–2013, American writer, b. Kansas City, Mo., grad. Univ. of Kansas (B.A., 1947). His first published work, the well-regarded The Anatomy Lesson and Other Stories (1957...

Göncz, Árpád

(Encyclopedia)Göncz, Árpád ärpäd gŭnts [key], 1922–2015, Hungarian writer, translator, and political leader, first democratically elected president of Hungary (1990–2000). A lawyer, he was conscripted (19...

Lustig, Arnošt

(Encyclopedia)Lustig, Arnošt, 1926–2011, Czech writer, b. Prague. The more than 20 works of fiction that Lustig wrote often mirror his Holocaust experiences. From a Jewish family, he was sent to the first of sev...

White, Patrick

(Encyclopedia)White, Patrick, 1912–90, Australian novelist, b. London. Raised in England and educated at Cambridge, he returned to Australia after World War II, earning his living by farming and writing. His nove...

Brace, Charles Loring

(Encyclopedia)Brace, Charles Loring, 1826–90, American clergyman and social reformer, b. Litchfield, Conn. America's pioneer children's advocate, he founded (1853) the Children's Aid Society of New York, an organ...

Soderbergh, Steven

(Encyclopedia)Soderbergh, Steven (Steven Andrew Soderbergh), 1963–, American film director, b. Atlanta, Ga. After making short films and documentaries, he scored a commercial success with sex, lies, and videotape...

Tolstaya, Tatyana

(Encyclopedia)Tolstaya, Tatyana tōlstīˈyä [key], 1951–, Russian short-story writer and essayist. Increasingly recognized as one of the major European writers of the postwar generation, Tolstaya is part of a R...

Pohl, Frederik

(Encyclopedia)Pohl, Frederik (Frederik George Pohl, Jr.) pōl [key], 1919–2013, American science-fiction writer, b. New York City. Early in his career he often collaborated with other writers, particularly Cyril ...