Author resource

This resource returns information about authors. Note that while the term "authors" is used, it really refers to any type of contributor to a book including editors, illustrators and audio book readers.

Specifications

List authors

Return a list of author objects.

/authors

Listings require a domain so typically you will specify this as a subresource of a particular domain (see Domains).

/domains/{domain}/authors

Optional author listing fields

If you list authors in the context of a Work or Title, then the "contribRoleCode" and "contribRoleDesc" elements will be populated in the representation (see Contributor Role concept page).

Sorting authors

If you don't specify a "sort" parameter, it will default to ordering by the author ID. You may prefer using "name" or "authorLast" to order the names in an alpha order.

If you are listing authors in the context of a Work or Title, then you may want to specify "seq" which will return the authors in the sequence that was specified relative to that ISBN(s). For example this request lists the author, John Grisham, before the reader, David Lansbury.

/domains/PRH.US/titles/9780553753578/authors?sort=seq

Primary author of a work

Sometimes people have asked to identify a Title's "primary" author. You may combine the "sort=seq" with "rows=1" to return the primary author of a Title or Work.

/domains/PRH.US/works/72131/authors?sort=seq&rows=1

Get author

Return a single author object.

/authors/{authorId}

Related information

These subresource specifications will return data of different forms related to the specified author.

/authors/{authorId}/content
/authors/{authorId}/events
/authors/{authorId}/properties 
/authors/{authorId}/roles
/authors/{authorId}/series
/authors/{authorId}/subseries 
/authors/{authorId}/titles 
/authors/{authorId}/weblinks
/authors/{authorId}/works

Parameters

The base endpoint produces a list of authors and accepts all of the common work filter parameters with the interpretation "return the distinct authors that are linked to the works matching the supplied criteria".

In addition, there are some parameters specific to the author list request.

category: (list) a concatenation of the CAT_SET_ID dash the CAT_URI e.g. "CN-/fiction"
onTour: (boolean) only return authors that have a confirmed event in the next 180 days
eventDateFrom: (date 'MM/dd/yyyy') return authors that have a confirmed event on or after this date
eventDateTo: (date 'MM/dd/yyyy') return authors that have a confirmed event on or before this date
eventMinPrintScore: (numeric) return authors that have a confirmed event with a title that has a print score greater than this number; print score is a weighted total in print for all ISBNs in a work
hideAuthorsWithNoPhoto: (boolean) return authors that have a photo on file according to the table AC_IMAGE_VW
authorLastInitial: (list) return authors with one of the specified last initials
showBio: (boolean) return authors that have bio content

Note that if any authorId values are passed to the /authors endpoint, then the records are returned in the same order they were supplied and any supplied sort parameter is ignored.

Representation

See the article Author representation for information on the Author objects that are returned by this resource.

Views

Author List Display

Return a list of authors with data sufficient to drive the list display on PRH.com.

/authors/views/list-display

For example

/domains/PRH.US/authors/views/list-display?authorId=9

{
"authorId": 9,
"display": "Verna Aardema",
"ontour": false,
"spotlight": "Verna Aardema grew up in New Era, Michigan as the third in a family of nine children. A cedar swamp in the back of her house served as her inspiration and retreat as a young aspiring writer. At Michigan State College, Verna took many writing courses, but none that were aimed at writing for children. She didn't think about the children's book field until many years later, when she had to make up stories to get her baby daughter to eat.
Verna writes mostly African folktales because of her fascination with that infinitely diverse continent. Out of its jungles, deserts, and great plains have come some of the most unusual and charming folktales in the world. As of today, Verna has published over 25 books and is still working on more. Her books have been translated into French, Spanish, Dutch, Japanese, Chinese and Afrikaans. Verna lives in North Fort Myers, Florida, with her husband, Albert.

Petra Mathers was born and raised in Germany and moved to the United States as a young woman. She now lives in Portland, Oregon. Petra is an illustrator first, and a writer second. While she brews a story of her own on some burner in the back of her mind, she is busy illustrating other people's books. Petra compares illustrating other people's books to \"visiting\". A certain politeness, consideration, and modesty are necessary. She is a self-described \"sucker for love\" and her stories are always about love -- she finds unsung heroes very endearing, as well as the clumsy, balding, fumbling, shy creatures who are quietly heroic, risking everything for love",
"hasAuthorPhoto": false,
"photocredit": null,
"photoDate": null,
"firstInitial": "V",
"lastInitial": "A",
"authorOf": {
"workId": 330603,
"title": "Porque Zumban los Mosquitos en los Oidos de la Gente",
"isbn": 9780803722989,
"seoFriendlyUrl": "\/books\/330603\/porque-zumban-los-mosquitos-en-los-oidos-de-la-gente-by-verna-aardema-illustrated-by-diane-dillon"
},
"events": null,
"seoFriendlyUrl": "\/authors\/9\/verna-aardema"
}

Author Detail

Return the details sufficient to build an author detail page

/authors/{authorId}/views/author-display

For example

/domains/PRH.US/authors/9/views/author-display

"data": {
"authorId": 9,
"display": "Verna Aardema",
"ontour": false,
"spotlight": "Verna Aardema grew up in New Era, Michigan as the third in a family of nine children. A cedar swamp in the back of her house served as her inspiration and retreat as a young aspiring writer. At Michigan State College, Verna took many writing courses, but none that were aimed at writing for children. She didn't think about the children's book field until many years later, when she had to make up stories to get her baby daughter to eat.
Verna writes mostly African folktales because of her fascination with that infinitely diverse continent. Out of its jungles, deserts, and great plains have come some of the most unusual and charming folktales in the world. As of today, Verna has published over 25 books and is still working on more. Her books have been translated into French, Spanish, Dutch, Japanese, Chinese and Afrikaans. Verna lives in North Fort Myers, Florida, with her husband, Albert.

Petra Mathers was born and raised in Germany and moved to the United States as a young woman. She now lives in Portland, Oregon. Petra is an illustrator first, and a writer second. While she brews a story of her own on some burner in the back of her mind, she is busy illustrating other people's books. Petra compares illustrating other people's books to \"visiting\". A certain politeness, consideration, and modesty are necessary. She is a self-described \"sucker for love\" and her stories are always about love -- she finds unsung heroes very endearing, as well as the clumsy, balding, fumbling, shy creatures who are quietly heroic, risking everything for love",
"hasAuthorPhoto": false,
"photoCredit": null,
"photoDate": null,
"firstInitial": "V",
"lastInitial": "A",
"events": [

],
"essays": [

],
"relatedLinks": [

],
"works": [
{
"id": 330603,
"name": "Porque Zumban los Mosquitos en los Oidos de la Gente",
"isbn": 9780803722989,
"subtitle": null,
"format": "Hardcover",
"onsale": "1998-03-01",
"price": 18.99,
"pages": 32,
"trim": "9-7\/8 x 9-7\/8",
"isbnDisplay": "978-0-8037-2298-9",
"series": "DN4",
"imprint": "Dial Books",
"flapCopy": "A mosquito annoyed the iguana, who frightened the python, who scared the rabbit?and now the whole jungle is in an uproar because the sun won?t rise. The animals discuss the situation and decide to punish the mosquito. Even today whenever we hear a mosquito buzz, we smack it hard!Leo and Diane Dillon won the 1976 Caldecott Medal for <i>Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People?s Ears,<\/i> making Leo Dillon the first African-American artist to be so honored. Now this classic, which has delighted millions of children, is at last available in Spanish.",
"authors": [
{
"authorId": 9,
"display": "Verna Aardema",
"firstInitial": "V",
"lastInitial": "A",
"roleCode": "A",
"roleName": "Author",
"ontour": false,
"spotlight": "Verna Aardema grew up in New Era, Michigan as the third in a family of nine children. A cedar swamp in the back of her house served as her inspiration and retreat as a young aspiring writer. At Michigan State College, Verna took many writing courses, but none that were aimed at writing for children. She didn't think about the children's book field until many years later, when she had to make up stories to get her baby daughter to eat.
Verna writes mostly African folktales because of her fascination with that infinitely diverse continent. Out of its jungles, deserts, and great plains have come some of the most unusual and charming folktales in the world. As of today, Verna has published over 25 books and is still working on more. Her books have been translated into French, Spanish, Dutch, Japanese, Chinese and Afrikaans. Verna lives in North Fort Myers, Florida, with her husband, Albert.

Petra Mathers was born and raised in Germany and moved to the United States as a young woman. She now lives in Portland, Oregon. Petra is an illustrator first, and a writer second. While she brews a story of her own on some burner in the back of her mind, she is busy illustrating other people's books. Petra compares illustrating other people's books to \"visiting\". A certain politeness, consideration, and modesty are necessary. She is a self-described \"sucker for love\" and her stories are always about love -- she finds unsung heroes very endearing, as well as the clumsy, balding, fumbling, shy creatures who are quietly heroic, risking everything for love",
"hasAuthorPhoto": null,
"photoCredit": null,
"photoDate": null,
"seoFriendlyUrl": "\/authors\/9\/verna-aardema",
"attr": null
},
{
"authorId": 45163,
"display": "Diane Dillon",
"firstInitial": "D",
"lastInitial": "D",
"roleCode": "I",
"roleName": "Illustrator",
"ontour": false,
"spotlight": "What does an illustrator really do? Once we have the story most of the work is done, right?
Not exactly.

Our work begins when we choose a manuscript. We chose Patricia McKissick’s beautiful story <i>Never Forgotten<\/i> because of the message: the love of a father for his son, of family, and remembering “lost ones.”

After that, our first step is to mark up the manuscript to fit the number of pages the book will be, and identify the parts we feel are most important to illustrate. Then we decide what style and technique would best fit the story, as well as the time in which it takes place. For <i>Never Forgotten<\/i>, the African woodblock printing of fabric was our inspiration.

Next is research. Africans are known for their amazing ironwork. What did their kilns and tools look like? Examples were difficult to find. While the author needs written information for research, the artist needs images. <i>Never Forgotten<\/i> combines realism with fantasy. The art had to be believable, but the elements—air, water, fire, and earth—were left to our imaginations. It is our job to fill in between the lines, to show details the author didn’t have the space to tell. We must build that visual world. What are the characters wearing? What are their emotions? We pace the action and avoid repetition. If the main character is in the foreground, on the next page he might be farther back. What time of day is it? We can show that with color. Did the story take place in one day or over many days? These are some of the things we must think about.

The challenges and decisions we must make keep our job interesting and different with every book.

We hope we help the reader imagine the world between the first and last page and inspire them to love reading.",
"hasAuthorPhoto": null,
"photoCredit": null,
"photoDate": null,
"seoFriendlyUrl": "\/authors\/7084\/leo-dillon",
"attr": null
},
{
"authorId": 250693,
"display": "Osvaldo Blanco",
"firstInitial": "O",
"lastInitial": "B",
"roleCode": "T",
"roleName": "Translator",
"ontour": false,
"spotlight": null,
"hasAuthorPhoto": null,
"photoCredit": null,
"photoDate": null,
"seoFriendlyUrl": "\/authors\/250693\/osvaldo-blanco",
"attr": null
}
],
"formats": [
{
"format": "Hardcover",
"count": 4
}
],
"seoFriendlyUrl": "\/books\/330603\/porque-zumban-los-mosquitos-en-los-oidos-de-la-gente-by-aardema-verna"
},
{
"id": 28,
"name": "Borreguita and the Coyote",
"isbn": 9780679889366,
"subtitle": null,
"format": "Paperback",
"onsale": "1998-01-20",
"price": 7.99,
"pages": 32,
"trim": "10 x 8",
"isbnDisplay": "978-0-679-88936-6",
"series": null,
"imprint": "Dragonfly Books",
"flapCopy": "What's a little lamb to do about a fierce coyote that wants to eat her? Why, trick him, of course...and and trick him again...and trick him one more time! Here's a lively retelling of a Mexican folk tale by master story teller Verna Aardema, illustrated in bold, winning colors by Petra Mathers.",
"authors": [
{
"authorId": 9,
"display": "Verna Aardema",
"firstInitial": "V",
"lastInitial": "A",
"roleCode": "A",
"roleName": "Author",
"ontour": false,
"spotlight": "Verna Aardema grew up in New Era, Michigan as the third in a family of nine children. A cedar swamp in the back of her house served as her inspiration and retreat as a young aspiring writer. At Michigan State College, Verna took many writing courses, but none that were aimed at writing for children. She didn't think about the children's book field until many years later, when she had to make up stories to get her baby daughter to eat.
Verna writes mostly African folktales because of her fascination with that infinitely diverse continent. Out of its jungles, deserts, and great plains have come some of the most unusual and charming folktales in the world. As of today, Verna has published over 25 books and is still working on more. Her books have been translated into French, Spanish, Dutch, Japanese, Chinese and Afrikaans. Verna lives in North Fort Myers, Florida, with her husband, Albert.

Petra Mathers was born and raised in Germany and moved to the United States as a young woman. She now lives in Portland, Oregon. Petra is an illustrator first, and a writer second. While she brews a story of her own on some burner in the back of her mind, she is busy illustrating other people's books. Petra compares illustrating other people's books to \"visiting\". A certain politeness, consideration, and modesty are necessary. She is a self-described \"sucker for love\" and her stories are always about love -- she finds unsung heroes very endearing, as well as the clumsy, balding, fumbling, shy creatures who are quietly heroic, risking everything for love",
"hasAuthorPhoto": null,
"photoCredit": null,
"photoDate": null,
"seoFriendlyUrl": "\/authors\/9\/verna-aardema",
"attr": null
},
{
"authorId": 19394,
"display": "Petra Mathers",
"firstInitial": "P",
"lastInitial": "M",
"roleCode": "I",
"roleName": "Illustrator",
"ontour": false,
"spotlight": "
* Petra Mathers was born and raised in Germany and moved to the United States as a young woman. She now lives in Portland, Oregon.

* Petra is an illustrator first, and a writer second. While she brews a story of her own on some burner in the back of her mind, she is busy illustrating other people's books.

* Petra compares illustrating other people's books to \"visiting\". A certain politeness, consideration, and modesty are necessary.

* She is a self-described \"sucker for love\" and her stories are always about love -- she finds unsung heroes very endearing, as well as the clumsy, balding, fumbling, shy creatures who are quietly heroic, risking everything for love.",
"hasAuthorPhoto": null,
"photoCredit": null,
"photoDate": null,
"seoFriendlyUrl": "\/authors\/19394\/petra-mathers",
"attr": null
}
],
"formats": [
{
"format": "Paperback",
"count": 2
}
],
"seoFriendlyUrl": "\/books\/28\/borreguita-and-the-coyote-by-aardema-verna"
},
...
],
"series": [
{
"code": "DN4",
"title": "Ediciones Dial",
"description": null,
"seriesCount": 1,
"seoFriendlyUrl": "\/series\/DN4\/ediciones-dial"
}
],
"seoFriendlyUrl": "\/authors\/9\/verna-aardema",
"_embeds": null,
"_links": [
...
]
},

Author display parameters

In version 1.1.19, the author display view got a new parameter, preferExport, which can be used to change how ISBNs are selected for each item in the works array. Normally the isbn field contains the frontlistiest ISBN but if preferExport=true, then the display will try to find an ISBN that has the "EXPORT" flag set (derived from the value ISBN_BLOK='EXPT').

Featured Authors

Return the authors with events in the next six weeks where the ISBNs associated with that event have a printing score of >= 50K (total in print excluding MM) ordered by print score descending, event date ascending

/authors/views/featured

For example

/domains/PRH.US/authors/views/featured?rows=2&sort=eventdate

{ "status": "ok", "recordCount": 2, "startTimestamp": "2014-12-03T14:58Z", "endTimestamp": "2014-12-03T14:58Z", "timeTaken": 431, "data": { "authors": [ { "authorId": 32427, "display": "Geoffrey C. Ward", "ontour": true, "spotlight": "

Geoffrey C. Ward is the author of seventeen books, including three focused on FDR: Before the Trumpet: Young Franklin Roosevelt, 1882–1905; A First-Class Temperament: The Emergence of Franklin Roosevelt (which won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Biography, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Francis Parkman Prize of the Society of American Historians, and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize); and Closest Companion: The Unknown Story of the Intimate Friendship Between Franklin Roosevelt and Margaret Suckley. A longtime collaborator with Ken Burns, he has also won seven Emmys and written twenty-seven historical documentaries for PBS, either on his own or in collaboration with others, including The Roosevelts: An Intimate History.

", "hasAuthorPhoto": true, "photocredit": "Goverdhan Singh Rathore", "photoDate": "2012", "firstInitial": "G", "lastInitial": "W", "authorOf": { "workId": 241153, "title": "Before the Trumpet", "seoFriendlyUrl": "/books/241153/before-the-trumpet-by-geoffrey-c-ward" }, "seoFriendlyUrl": "/authors/32427/geoffrey-c-ward" }, { "authorId": 44856, "display": "Ken Burns", "ontour": true, "spotlight": "

Ken Burns, director and producer of The Roosevelts: An Intimate History, has been making documentary films for more than thirty-five years. Since the Academy Award–nominatedBrooklyn Bridge in 1981, Burns has gone on to direct and produce some of the most acclaimed historical documentaries ever made, including The Civil War, Baseball, Jazz, The War, and The National Parks: America’s Best Idea. Burns’s films have been honored with dozens of major awards, including thirteen Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards, and two Oscar nominations; and in September 2008, at the News & Documentary Emmy Awards, Burns was honored by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Ken Burns is represented by Random House Speakers Bureau (http://www.rhspeakers.com).

", "hasAuthorPhoto": true, "photocredit": "Craig Mellish", "photoDate": "2009", "firstInitial": "K", "lastInitial": "B", "authorOf": { "workId": 249935, "title": "The Roosevelts", "seoFriendlyUrl": "/books/249935/the-roosevelts-by-geoffrey-c-ward-and-ken-burns" }, "seoFriendlyUrl": "/authors/44856/ken-burns" } ], "_links": [ ... ], "_embeds": null }, "error": null, "params": { "category": "", "eventId": "", "isbn": "", "domain": "PRH.US", "catId": "", "rows": 2, "authorId": "" } }

version 10 as of 8 years ago by Chris

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Author resource

Specifications

List authors

Optional author listing fields

Sorting authors

Primary author of a work

Get author

Related information

Parameters

Representation

Views

Author List Display

Author Detail

Author display parameters

Featured Authors

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