On February 7th, the Professional and Scholarly Publishing Division of the Association of American Publishers named The Columbia Encyclopedia of Modern Drama, edited by Gabrielle H. Cody and Evert Sprinchorn, as Best of Reference for 2007 as part of the 2007 PSP Awards for Excellence.

The judges cited the volume’s truly global perspective on the literary production of playwrights and plays within their appropriate cultural and historical frameworks. The book was further praised for its substantial, well-indexed, and deeply cross-referenced individual articles—some 1400 of them. The individual articles were acclaimed for their lively tone and for providing the reader with a new perspective on familiar figures and works. With more than 450 scholars contributing to the project, the PSP found the depth and breadth of scholarship astounding, and commended the work on its ability to integrate so many voices seamlessly.

Also gaining recognition was Inventing English: A Portable History of the English Language, by Seth Lerer, which received an honorable mention in the category of “Literature, Language, and Linguistics.”