Maine Author Collection - Books by Maine Writers

The Maine Author Collection contains more than 10,000 volumes. Included is an outstanding representation of works, including those of Madame Sarah Wood (1759-1853), Maine's first woman novelist; the complete works of Jacob Abbott (1803-1879), a pioneer writer of books for children; the historical writings of Jacob's brother John S.C. Abbott (1805-1877), as well as the fiction of two prolific writers of stories for boys, Elijah Kellogg (1813-1901) and James Otis Kaler (1848-1912). Also included are the works of contemporary authors such as Stephen King and Carolyn Chute. Works in the collection may be found in the Maine State Library Catalog .

The idea of a Maine Author Collection originated with Henry Dunnack, a former State Librarian, who in the 1920's began to collect the literary works of Maine authors. For the purpose of this collection, a Maine author is broadly defined to include not only Maine natives, but also those who have become Maine residents, part-time residents, and authors writing about Maine. A unique file of correspondence with many of the authors adds to the value and interest of the collection, as do inscriptions in many of the books. Correspondence related to the collection organized by individual author is in Digital Maine

In addition, the Maine State Library maintains the Maine Writers Database.