Douglas Allen Anderson (born December 30, 1959) is an American writer and editor on the subjects of fantasy and medieval literature, specializing in textual analysis of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien. His 1988 edition of Tolkien's children's book The Hobbit, The Annotated Hobbit, won him a Mythopoeic Award for scholarship.

Douglas A. Anderson
Born
Douglas Allen Anderson

(1959-12-30) December 30, 1959 (age 64)
OccupationAmerican writer

Early life

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Douglas Anderson was born in Valparaiso, Indiana, United States. His first published book was The Annotated Hobbit (1988), which grew out of a study of J. R. R. Tolkien's revisions to the various editions of The Hobbit following the publication of The Lord of the Rings. The book consisted of Anderson's detailed explanations alongside Tolkien's text. A revised and illustrated edition was published in 2002.[1]

Career

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Anderson's textual studies of The Lord of the Rings are the core of the Houghton Mifflin revised American edition of 1987, incorporating various changes made to British editions at Tolkien's direction. He contributed a "Note on the Text" discussing the history of these changes, which was subsequently incorporated into later editions with various minor revisions.

With Verlyn Flieger and Michael D. C. Drout, he is a founding editor of Tolkien Studies: An Annual Scholarly Review; the first volume appeared in 2004.[2]

Anderson has edited modern editions of works by fantasy authors including Leonard Cline, Kenneth Morris, Evangeline Walton and William Hope Hodgson.[3] He is a visiting lecturer at Signum University.[3] Aside from his editing and Tolkien studies, he is a bookseller, having worked first in Ithaca, New York, and then in Indiana.[1] He runs the publishing business Nodens Books, which seeks to revive the work of forgotten authors.[3]

Awards and distinctions

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The Annotated Hobbit won the 1990 Mythopoeic Award for scholarship.[4]

Books

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Written
  • J.R.R. Tolkien: A Descriptive Bibliography (Winchester Bibliographies of 20th Century Writers) (with Wayne G. Hammond), St. Paul's Bibliographies, 1993
  • Tales Before Tolkien: The Roots of Modern Fantasy, Ballantine Books, 2003
  • J.R.R. Tolkien: Interviews, Reminiscences, and Other Essays, Houghton Mifflin, 2007 ISBN 978-0-618-44516-5
  • Tales Before Narnia: The Roots of Modern Fantasy and Science Fiction, Del Ray, 2008, ISBN 978-0-345-49890-8
Edited

References

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  1. ^ a b "Douglas A. Anderson". Houghton Mifflin. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  2. ^ "Volume 1, 2004". Tolkien Studies. Retrieved July 3, 2021. The founding editors are Douglas A. Anderson (The Annotated Hobbit), Michael D. C. Drout (Beowulf and the Critics), and Verlyn Flieger (Splintered Light: Logos and Language in Tolkien's World).
  3. ^ a b c "Douglas A. Anderson Visiting Lecturer". Signum University. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  4. ^ "Mythopoeic Scholarship Award: Inklings Studies". Mythopoeic Society. Retrieved July 3, 2021.

Sources

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  • Anderson, Douglas A (editor): The Annotated Hobbit (revised edition), 2002, ISBN 0-618-13470-0
  • Mythprint, June 1999
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