/dev/docs/api/authors
Type: /type/page
body: value: ## Searching for Authors

You can search for authors using the https://openlibrary.org/search/authors.json search API which accepts `q` as a query parameter:

https://openlibrary.org/search/authors.json?q=j%20k%20rowling

<pre>
{
  numFound: 1,
  start: 0,
  numFoundExact: true,
  docs: [
    {
      key: "OL23919A",
      text: [...],
      type: "author",
      name: "J. K. Rowling",
      alternate_names: [...],
      birth_date: "31 July 1965",
      top_work: "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone",
      work_count: 162,
      top_subjects: [...],
      _version_: 1702166143068799000
    },
  ]
}
</pre>

## Data on Individual Authors

Once you have the identifier key of an author of interest, e.g. `/authors/OL23919A`, you can fetch their complete data by visiting their Author page as `.json`, `.rdf`, `.yml`:

e.g. https://openlibrary.org/authors/OL23919A.json

### Batch Requests
Currently, we do not have a way to get the full data for multiple authors in one request. However, you can get a subset (name, subjects, ratings, and more) by using the search API with a query like `key:(/authors/OL3874685A OR /authors/OL1394244A)`. <a href="https://openlibrary.org/search/authors?q=key%3A(%2Fauthors%2FOL3874685A+OR+%2Fauthors%2FOL1394244A)">Example search</a> and <a href="https://openlibrary.org/search/authors.json?q=key%3A(%2Fauthors%2FOL3874685A+OR+%2Fauthors%2FOL1394244A)">example API call</a>.

## Works by an Author

https://openlibrary.org/authors/OL23919A/works.json

The above URL will return 50 works by an author.

You can append `?limit=1000` to return the first 1000 works by an author like so: 
https://openlibrary.org/authors/OL1394244A/works.json?limit=100

If you want to paginate, you can set offset like so:
https://openlibrary.org/authors/OL1394244A/works.json?offset=50


## Gotchas

Note that by default, navigating to https://openlibrary.org/authors/OL23919A will redirect to https://openlibrary.org/authors/OL23919A/J._K._Rowling (appending the human readable slug "J._K._Rowling"). Adding .json to the end of the slug (e.g. https://openlibrary.org/authors/OL23919A/J._K._Rowling.json) will not work. You must first remove the human readable slug and append `.json` directly to the end of the author's key, e.g. https://openlibrary.org/authors/OL23919A.json.
title: Developer Center / APIs / Authors API
m: edit