The Cambridge handbook of literary authorship This Handbook surveys the state of the art in literary authorship studies. Its 27 original contributions by eminent scholars offer a multi layered account of authorship as a defining element of literature and culture. Covering a vast chronological range Part I considers the history of authorship from cuneiform writing to contemporary digital publishing; it discusses authorship in ancient Egypt Greece Rome early Jewish cultures medieval Renaissance modern postmodern and Chinese literature. The second part focuses on the place of authorship in literary theory and on challenges to theorizing literary authorship such as gender and sexuality postcolonial and indigenous contexts for writing. Finally Part III investigates practical perspectives on the topic with a focus on attribution anonymity and pseudonymity plagiarism and forgery copyright and literary property censorship publishing and marketing and institutional contexts