How does a novelist cite research material? Should I include a bibliography?
Or use footnotes? The rules of citation that apply to academic and research papers dont apply to novels. You dont need to include a bibliography, and footnotes arent necessary unless youre using them for some literary purpose, la David Foster Wallace. However, it is important to acknowledge the sources you relied on for research. Novel writers do that in their acknowledgements, a notation that appears in many novels, either in the front matter or at the end of the book. The acknowledgements section is an opportunity to thank those people and organizations that helped make the book possible, like agents, editors, granting institutions, and family members. Great sources of research fall in this category, too. You dont have to name each and every source, though. For The Shipping News, Annie Proulx consulted hundreds of sources and singled out only the ones she found most instrumental. In her acknowledgements, she cites books like Clifford W. Ashleys The Ashley Book of Knots, which provide
