This issue of Medical Writing focuses on authors and authorship, but where, in fact, did the term “authorship” come from? The term first appeared in the early 18th century. In a paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Council of Teachers of English and available online at http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED266481.pdf, Lisa Ede describes the historical perspective and development of the concept of authorship. She explains that authorship is a complex construct and reflects the contemporary culture.