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Infobox writer may be used to summarize information about a person who is a writer/author (includes screenwriters).

If the writer-specific fields here are not needed, consider using the more general {{Infobox person}}; other infoboxes there can be found in Category:People and person infobox templates.

This template may also be used as a module (or sub-template) of {{Infobox person}}; see WikiProject Infoboxes/embed for guidance on such usage.

Usage

Basic

Without fetchwikidata

Infobox writer/Wikidata

Website

<strong%20class= "error"><span%20class="scribunto-error%20mw-scribunto-error-db422ce8">Lua%20error%20in%20Module:Wikidata%20at%20line%20448:%20attempt%20to%20index%20field%20'wikibase'%20(a%20nil%20value). http://<strong%20class="error"><span%20class="scribunto-error%20mw-scribunto-error-db422ce8">Lua%20error%20in%20Module:Wikidata%20at%20line%20448:%20attempt%20to%20index%20field%20'wikibase'%20(a%20nil%20value).

Omitting fetchwikidata and providing no other parameters will limit the display to a few properties, such as the title of the current page, the image if in Wikidata, and the website if in Wikidata.

The code for the infobox on the right is: <syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">

Infobox writer/Wikidata

Website

<strong%20class= "error"><span%20class="scribunto-error%20mw-scribunto-error-db422ce8">Lua%20error%20in%20Module:Wikidata%20at%20line%20448:%20attempt%20to%20index%20field%20'wikibase'%20(a%20nil%20value). http://<strong%20class="error"><span%20class="scribunto-error%20mw-scribunto-error-db422ce8">Lua%20error%20in%20Module:Wikidata%20at%20line%20448:%20attempt%20to%20index%20field%20'wikibase'%20(a%20nil%20value).

</syntaxhighlight>

With fetchwikidata=ALL

Infobox writer/Wikidata

Website

<strong%20class= "error"><span%20class="scribunto-error%20mw-scribunto-error-db422ce8">Lua%20error%20in%20Module:Wikidata%20at%20line%20448:%20attempt%20to%20index%20field%20'wikibase'%20(a%20nil%20value). http://<strong%20class="error"><span%20class="scribunto-error%20mw-scribunto-error-db422ce8">Lua%20error%20in%20Module:Wikidata%20at%20line%20448:%20attempt%20to%20index%20field%20'wikibase'%20(a%20nil%20value).

Using fetchwikidata will display additional properties from Wikidata. This template requires most Wikidata properties to have a reference to be displayed here. Unreferenced Wikidata properties are thus usually greylisted.

The default name is the current page, which will be displayed at the top of the infobox.

The code for the infobox on the right is: <syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">

Infobox writer/Wikidata

Website

<strong%20class= "error"><span%20class="scribunto-error%20mw-scribunto-error-db422ce8">Lua%20error%20in%20Module:Wikidata%20at%20line%20448:%20attempt%20to%20index%20field%20'wikibase'%20(a%20nil%20value). http://<strong%20class="error"><span%20class="scribunto-error%20mw-scribunto-error-db422ce8">Lua%20error%20in%20Module:Wikidata%20at%20line%20448:%20attempt%20to%20index%20field%20'wikibase'%20(a%20nil%20value).

</syntaxhighlight> Again, note that the qid should be omitted when the template is being used on a Wikipedia page that is linked to a Wikidata item, such as a page in the article namespace.

Parameter overrides and suppression while using fetchwikidata=ALL

Leo Tolstoy
Occupation	Author
Website	<strong%20class= "error"><span%20class="scribunto-error%20mw-scribunto-error-db422ce8">Lua%20error%20in%20Module:Wikidata%20at%20line%20448:%20attempt%20to%20index%20field%20'wikibase'%20(a%20nil%20value). http://<strong%20class="error"><span%20class="scribunto-error%20mw-scribunto-error-db422ce8">Lua%20error%20in%20Module:Wikidata%20at%20line%20448:%20attempt%20to%20index%20field%20'wikibase'%20(a%20nil%20value).

• Adding a parameter/value will override the value from Wikidata or the default value.
• Adding the suppressfields will produce a disallowlist that is delimited by spaces.

<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">

Infobox writer/Wikidata

Website

<strong%20class= "error"><span%20class="scribunto-error%20mw-scribunto-error-db422ce8">Lua%20error%20in%20Module:Wikidata%20at%20line%20448:%20attempt%20to%20index%20field%20'wikibase'%20(a%20nil%20value). http://<strong%20class="error"><span%20class="scribunto-error%20mw-scribunto-error-db422ce8">Lua%20error%20in%20Module:Wikidata%20at%20line%20448:%20attempt%20to%20index%20field%20'wikibase'%20(a%20nil%20value).

</syntaxhighlight>

The code for the infobox on the right is: <syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">

Leo Tolstoy
Occupation	Author
Website	<strong%20class= "error"><span%20class="scribunto-error%20mw-scribunto-error-db422ce8">Lua%20error%20in%20Module:Wikidata%20at%20line%20448:%20attempt%20to%20index%20field%20'wikibase'%20(a%20nil%20value). http://<strong%20class="error"><span%20class="scribunto-error%20mw-scribunto-error-db422ce8">Lua%20error%20in%20Module:Wikidata%20at%20line%20448:%20attempt%20to%20index%20field%20'wikibase'%20(a%20nil%20value).

</syntaxhighlight> Note that the name on the infobox has changed from the default page name to Leo Tolstoy, that noicon has caused the default pencil icons to be replaced with an [edit on Wikidata] link in the bottom right of the infobox, and that the Pen name and Children no longer appear.

Please do not use the qid in the article namespace unless the article is not linked to Wikidata.

Adding parameters that cannot be retrieved from Wikidata

Sometimes an infobox cannot display a value because the parameter does have a corresponding property value for the Wikidata item. Also, if there is a property value for the Wikidata item, but no reference, it may not display in the template. In these cases, one may add the parameter to display a value.

For instance, if there is no image in the Wikidata item, but there is non-free content in English Wikipedia, then one may add the |image= parameter and the file name to display it in the infobox.

Similarly, many times an image may exist for the Wikidata item without a (P2096) in English. In this case, one may use the |caption= and |alt= parameters.

Editors should consider adding missing parameters as property values to the Wikidata item, along with a reference when feasible. That would enable not only the retrieval and display for that in English Wikipedia, but also for other language Wikipedias and Wikimedia projects.

There are some parameters that do not retrieve Wikidata values, but instead alter other properties of the infobox. Examples include the |image_size=, |image_upright=, and |portaldisp= parameters.

Syntax using full parameter set in vertical format

{{{honorific_prefix}}} {{{name}}} {{{honorific_suffix}}}
{{{native_name}}}
[[File:{{{image}}}|{{{image_size}}}|alt={{{alt}}}|upright={{{image_upright}}}]] {{{caption}}}
Born	{{{birth_name}}} {{{birth_date}}} {{{birth_place}}}
Died	{{{death_date}}} {{{death_place}}}
Resting place	{{{resting_place}}}
Education	{{{education}}}
Occupation	{{{occupation}}}
Years active	{{{years_active}}}
Notable work	{{{notable_works}}} or {{{notable_work}}}
Movement	{{{movement}}}
Spouse	{{{spouse}}} or {{{spouses}}}
Partner	{{{partner}}} or {{{partners}}}
Children	{{{children}}}
Relatives	{{{relatives}}}
Awards	{{{awards}}}
{{{module}}}
Website	{{{website}}}
Signature
[[File:{{{signature}}} |150px|alt={{{signature_alt}}}|class=infobox-signature skin-invert]]

The infobox may be added by pasting the template as shown below into an article. All fields are optional. Any unused parameter names can be left blank or omitted.

<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext" style="overflow:auto;">

Infobox writer/Wikidata

</syntaxhighlight>

Parameters

Please remove any parameters from an article's infobox that are unlikely to be used.

All parameters are optional.

Parameter	Default	Explanation
name	Wikidata label (en) (Or Page name)	Insert name of the writer. Use the common name, typically name of article. If omitted it defaults to the name of the article; if present but blank, the header is omitted. Note: Do not add icons or other images.
embed		Set to 'yes' if embedded in another infobox template.
honorific_prefix		Honorifics that go before the name, e.g. "Lady", "Sir"
honorific_suffix		Honorifics that go after the name, e.g. "MBE"
image	(P18)	Insert image name. Use only the file name such as abc.jpg, xyz.png, 123.gif, etc. Do not use syntax such as [[File:abc.jpg]] or [[File:abc.jpg|200px]] Only free-content images are allowed for depicting living people. Non-free and "fair use" images, e.g., promo photos, CD/DVD covers, posters, screen captures, etc., will be deleted. See WP:NONFREE.
image_upright		Scales the image thumbnail from its default size by the given factor. Values less than 1 scale the image down (0.9 = 90%) and values greater than 1 scale the image up (1.15 = 115%). Note: Parameter not supported as of April 2017.
image_size		Size to display image: 200px (set width), or 200x300px (max width & max height). This defaults to 200px if empty or omitted.
alt		The alt attribute for the image, for readers who cannot see the image. See WP:ALT.
caption	(P18), qualifier (P2096)	Caption for the image. Try to include the date the image was created.
native_name		Name in local language. If more than one, separate using {{Plainlist}}
native_name_lang		A language tag, e.g. "fr" for French. If more than one, use {{lang}} inside native_name instead
pseudonym	(P742)	Any of the writer's aliases or pen names. Separate entries with a comma "," followed by a blank space. Please do not separate entries with a line break <br />.
birth_name	(P1477)	Insert writer's name at birth (or christening if name at birth is unavailable).
birth_date	(P569)	Insert the writer's birth date if known as: month day, year or day month year as appropriate. For a living writer consider using: {{Birth date and age|year of birth|month of birth|day of birth}} Otherwise use: {{Birth date|year of birth|month of birth|day of birth}}. In either case, add <syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext" inline style="display: none;" />|df=yes to show date as day before month; otherwise format is month before day.
birth_place	(P19)	Insert the writer's place of birth if known as: town, city, state, country. Note: Do not add flag icons to the birthplace. See: Wikipedia:Manual of Style (flags).
death_date	(P570)	Note: Using this field will also change the background display color of the name at the top of the infobox to silver. If the writer is still living, leave this parameter blank. Insert the writer's date of death if known as: month day, year or day month year as appropriate. When the full birth date and death date are known, use the following: {{Death date and age|yr died|mo died|da died|yr born|mo born|da born}} Add <syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext" inline style="display: none;" />|df=yes to show date as day before month; otherwise format is month before day. example {{Death date and age|2026|10|27|1950|12|31|df=yes}} output display results 27 October 2026(2026-10-27) (aged 75) When only the birth and death years are known, use: {{Death year and age|year died|year born}} example {{Death year and age|2026|1950}} output display results 2026 (aged 75–76) When only the birth month, birth year and death year are known, use: birth month, {{Death year and age|year died|year born}} example October, {{Death year and age|2026|1950}} output display results October, 2026 (aged 75–76) When only the death year is known, use: death year example 2026 output display results 2026 When the date of death is unknown, but the writer is certainly now dead use the following (case is insensitive): example unknown output display results date of death unknown When the date of death is unknown, and it is preferable not to display anything and just change the background display color of the infobox. Enter the following (case is insensitive): example died output display results nothing will be displayed. When the date of death is only known approximately. Preface the entry with a wikilink [[Circa|c.]] or c. examples [[Circa|c.]] {{Death year and age|2026|1950}} [[Circa|c.]] year died output display results c. 2026 (aged 75–76) c. 2026
death_place	(P20)	Insert the writer's place of death if known as: town, city, state, country. Note: Do not add flag icons to the deathplace. See: Wikipedia:Manual of Style (flags).
resting_place	(P119)	Place of burial, ash-scattering, etc.
occupation	(P106)	Insert the type of writer: novelist, short story author, journalist, etc. Separate entries with a comma "," followed by a blank space. Please do not separate entries with a line break <br />.
language	(P1412)	Language of published writings.
education	(P512)	The degree(s) obtained by the writer.
period	(P2031) to (P2032)	Dates from first publication to last publication.
genre	(P136)	All genres that the person wrote in. (fiction persons) Separate entries with a comma "," followed by a blank space. Please do not separate entries with a line break <br />.
subject		All subjects that the person wrote about. (non-fiction persons) Separate entries with a comma "," followed by a blank space. Please do not separate entries with a line break <br />.
movement		Insert the literary movement associated with or involving the writer. Separate entries with a comma "," followed by a blank space. Please do not separate entries with a line break <br />.
notable_works	(P800)	Names of notable works (WP:NN). Separate entries with a line break (<br />). If there is a dispute between editors over what is or is not a notable work, it should be brought up on the article's talk page. If no consensus can be developed for a particular writer, the notableworks parameter should be marked with: <!-- Please do not add notable works to this article. See talk page as mutual consensus could not be achieved on this article. -->
spouse	(P26)	Name of spouse(s), followed by years of marriage. Use the format Name (1950–present) for current spouse and Name (1970–1999) for former spouse(s). Separate entries using {{Plainlist}}.
partner	(P451)	Name of long-term unmarried partner(s) (e.g., domestic partner). Separate multiple entries using {{Plainlist}}.
children	(P40), fallback to (P1971)	Number of children (e.g., 3), or list of children names. Separate entries using {{Plainlist}}.
relatives		Names of parents, siblings or other relatives. Include the relationship in parentheses after the name (father, sister, uncle, etc.). Separate entries using {{Plainlist}}.
influences		No longer supported. Please move cited/citable instances into prose.
influenced		No longer supported. Please move cited/citable instances into prose.
awards	(P166)	Insert any notable awards the writer has won. Consider using the template: {{Awards|award|year|title|role}} Separate entries using {{Plainlist}}. Note: Do not add icons or other images.
signature	(P109)	An image of the writer's signature. Image is displayed at a width of 128px, same format as {{Infobox person}}, {{Infobox officeholder}} and {{Infobox philosopher}}.
signature_alt		Alternative text for signature. Write out the signature exactly as it appears in the image, including punctuation. For accessibility.
years_active		Date range in years during which the subject was active in their principal occupation(s) and/or other activity for which they are notable. Use the format 1950–2000, or 1970–present if still active (note the use of an en dash, not hyphen). If no dates of birth and/or death are known for the subject, only a floruit date range, as is common with ancient subjects, this parameter can be used for it. If approximate (circa) dates are known for either or both, put them in the birth_date and death_date parameters.
module		Used for embedding other infoboxes into this one.
website	(P856)	If the writer has an official website enter it here. Do not enter unofficial, blogs or fan websites. Only one official website is allowed. If the writer has more than one official website, only the most prominent should be listed in the infobox. All other websites should be listed in the article under ==External links==. Use {{URL}} as in {{URL|Example.com}}. Do not include the www. part, unless the server requires it. Use camel case capitalization to make multiword domain names easier to read.
noicon	no	Set to 'yes' to remove the Wikidata pencil links, and instead show an "Edit on Wikidata" link at the bottom
qid	—	Set to a Wikidata QID to show information from that item rather than the one the template is used on
suppressfields	—	If you want to suppress values from Wikidata that don't have local values, set this to a list of the parameter names
fetchwikidata	ALL	If you want to only fetch some values from Wikidata rather than all available, set this to a list of the parameter names, with names separated with commas
onlysourced	no	If you want to show values from Wikidata that don't have references, set this to "yes", with names separated with commas
list		For Wikidata values that have multiple values, you can set this to a value, e.g. "hlist", which is then used to format the list.
refs	no	Set to 'yes' to display references from Wikidata
dateformat	dmy	Defaults to N month Year format. Set to 'mdy' if Month N Year format is preferred instead.

Use as a child template

The embed parameter is used when embedding this infobox into another.

This infobox may be used to create a genre-specific section within {{Infobox person}} (or similar biographical infobox templates) for cases where a person may be notable in more than one field; a generic example is shown below. For guidance on usage, see Wikipedia:Infobox modules. Also see the Template:Infobox documentation which explains embedding and subboxes. <syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">

</syntaxhighlight>

TemplateData

This is the TemplateData for this template used by TemplateWizard, VisualEditor and other tools. See a monthly parameter usage report for Template:Infobox writer in articles based on its TemplateData.

TemplateData for Infobox writer

<templatedata> { "params": { "name": { "required": false, "label": "Name", "type": "string", "description": "Name of the writer. If not provided, page name is used." }, "embed": { "label": "Embedded", "description": "Set to 'yes' if embedded in another infobox template.", "type": "string", "required": false }, "honorific_prefix": { "required": false, "label": "Honorific (prefix)", "type": "string", "description": "Honorifics that go before the name, e.g. 'Lady', 'Sir', 'Dr'." }, "honorific_suffix": { "required": false, "label": "Honorific (suffix)", "type": "string", "description": "Honorifics that go after the name, e.g. 'MBE'." }, "native_name": { "required": false, "label": "Native name", "type": "string", "description": "Name of the writer in his native languages(s)." }, "native_name_lang": { "required": false, "label": "Native name language", "type": "string", "description": "A language tag e.g. 'fr' for French." }, "image": { "required": false, "label": "Image", "type": "wiki-page-name", "description": "Image of the writer" }, "image_size": { "required": false, "label": "Image size", "type": "string", "description": "Width of an image in pixels" }, "image_upright": { "required": false, "label": "Image upright", "type": "string", "description": "Width of an image in ratio" }, "alt": { "required": false, "label": "Image alternative text", "type": "string", "description": "Alt text to display if the image specified by image_name does not display for whatever reason" }, "caption": { "required": false, "label": "Image caption", "type": "string", "description": "Caption for the image." }, "birth_name": { "required": false, "label": "Birth name", "type": "string", "description": "Nomenclature at the time of birth" }, "birth_date": { "required": false, "label": "Birth date", "type": "line", "description": "Date of birth and age of writer" }, "birth_place": { "required": false, "label": "Birth place", "type": "string", "description": "Writer's place of birth" }, "death_date": { "required": false, "label": "Death date", "type": "line", "description": "Date of death of writer" }, "death_place": { "required": false, "label": "Death place", "type": "string", "description": "Writer's place of death" }, "resting_place": { "required": false, "label": "Resting place", "type": "string", "description": "Place of writer's grave or ash scattering" }, "occupation": { "required": false, "label": "Occupation", "type": "string", "description": "Occupation of writer" }, "language": { "required": false, "label": "Language", "type": "string", "description": "Language of published writings" }, "education": { "required": false, "label": "Education", "type": "string", "description": "Degree obtained by writer" }, "period": { "required": false, "label": "Period", "type": "line", "description": "Dates from first publication to last publication" }, "genre": { "required": false, "label": "Genre", "type": "string", "description": "Writer's category of art. Separate entries with commas" }, "subject": { "required": false, "label": "Subject", "type": "string", "description": "Subject of writings" }, "movement": { "required": false, "label": "Movement", "type": "string", "description": "Literary movement associated with the writer" }, "spouse": { "required": false, "label": "Spouse", "type": "string", "description": "Writer's spouse(s)" }, "partner": { "required": false, "label": "Partner", "type": "string", "description": "Writer's partner(s)" }, "children": { "required": false, "label": "Children", "type": "string", "description": "Writer's children" }, "relatives": { "required": false, "label": "Relatives", "type": "string", "description": "Writer's relatives" }, "awards": { "required": false, "label": "Awards", "type": "string", "description": "Awards won by writer" }, "signature": { "required": false, "label": "Signature", "type": "wiki-page-name", "description": "File name of signature" }, "signature_alt": { "required": false, "label": "Signature (alternative)", "type": "string", "description": "Alt text to display if the image specified by signature does not display for whatever reason" }, "years_active": { "description": "Date range in years during which the subject was active in their principal occupation(s) and/or other activity for which they are notable. Use the format 1950–2000, or 1970–present if still active (note the use of an en dash, not hyphen). If no dates of birth and/or death are known for the subject, only a floruit date range, as is common with ancient subjects, this parameter can be used for it. If approximate (circa) dates are known for either or both, put them in the birth_date and death_date parameters.", "label": "Years Active", "type": "string", "required": false }, "module": { "required": false, "label": "Module", "type": "string", "description": "Used for embedding other infoboxes into this one" }, "website": { "required": false, "label": "Website", "type": "string", "description": "Writer's website" }, "pen_name": { "label": "Pen name", "description": "Name used by the writer", "type": "string" }, "notable_works": { "label": "Notable works", "description": "Notable works of writer", "type": "string" } }, "format": "block", "paramOrder": [ "name", "embed", "honorific_prefix", "honorific_suffix", "native_name", "native_name_lang", "image", "image_size", "image_upright", "alt", "caption", "pen_name", "birth_name", "birth_date", "birth_place", "death_date", "death_place", "resting_place", "occupation", "language", "education", "period", "genre", "subject", "movement", "notable_works", "spouse", "partner", "children", "relatives", "awards", "signature", "signature_alt", "years_active", "module", "website" ] } </templatedata>

Microformat

The HTML markup produced by this template includes an hCard microformat, which makes the person's details parsable by computers, either acting automatically to catalogue articles across Wikipedia or via a browser tool operated by a reader, to (for example) add the subject to an address book or database. For more information about the use of microformats on Wikipedia, please see the microformat project.

Sub-templates

Date-of-birth ("bday") information will only be included in the microformat if {{birth date}}, or {{birth date and age}} are used in the infobox. (Do not use these if the date is before 1583). Be cautious about using these if the person is still living, per WP:DOB.

To include a URL, use Template:URL, specifying the url as the value of unnamed param 1; example:

{{URL|1=https://www.somedomain.com/foo/bar?q=weird_stuff&xyz=more_stuff}}.

Please do not remove instances of these sub-templates.

Classes

hCard uses HTML classes including:

• adr
• agent
• bday
• birthplace
• category
• country-name
• deathdate
• deathplace
• extended-address
• family-name
• fn (required)
• given-name
• honorific-prefix
• honorific-suffix
• label
• locality
• n
• nickname
• note
• org
• role
• url
• vcard

Please do not rename or remove these classes nor collapse nested elements which use them.

Tracking categories

• Category:Biography template using pronunciation (0)
• Category:Biography template using bare URL in Web site parameter (0)

See also

• {{Infobox person}}

The above documentation is transcluded from Template:Infobox writer/Wikidata/doc. (edit | history)
Editors can experiment in this template's sandbox (create | mirror) and testcases (create) pages.
Add categories to the /doc subpage. Subpages of this template.