A work in progress …
Who is behind this site?
I’m Christopher Marcus and I am an independent artist and researcher. I originally graduated with a Master’s Thesis in Strategic Communications from Roskilde University in Denmark, but I since pursued writing short story cycles and thus got interested in the form. Read more about my other short story cycle projects here.
What types of materials does this site index?
Articles from peer-reviewed academic journals or by authors with academic credentials as well as theses and dissertations. Monographs about short story cycles are also indexed, but only by title.
Do you only index materials that can be downloaded?
No, there is simply not enough free material out there to keep the index growing. So from 2023 I will also index articles behind paywalls. Usually you can get access to these articles as a researcher from your university library.
Note that some databases offer access to a limited number of articles, so some material may technically be freely available, but with certain limitations.
What definitions of short story cycle do you operate with?
I index articles with all – to my knowledge – available definitions, even if they differ somewhat in substance, like “composite novel” and “story cycle”. See Short Story Cycle Terms.
What materials are not available in the indexes on this site?
Theses or Dissertations that are embargoed are not indexed.
Most materials that are available exclusively in non-English languages. I will not index anything but English materials in the foreseeable future, simply due to the language barrier. I speak Spanish and German fairly well, but that’s about it. I am still considering if there is a way around this if, say, I’d like to do a section with texts available in Chinese only, but it’s difficult for me to say how that will be possible unless this site becomes a collaborative project. If you have ideas or want to help, do contact me.
Why are the entries not structured consistently?
This is a con amore website that I make up as I go a long. I try to be consistent but I don’t have the time or wherewithal to index everything consistently. For the same reason you will sometimes notice differences in the layout.
What is this site’s policy towards AI-generated content?
I use AI to generate summaries of some articles, where the abstract is missing instead of just excerpting the first paragraph. I also use AI to generate the section called “Key Points”. I usually edit down the raw text and error-check it to the best of my ability. Family and bread-work comes first, as always, so for me AI is a big help to make the site’s entries more valuable, and hopefully it will be valuable for you, too.