Biographers International Organization (BIO) aims to promote the art and craft of biography, cultivate a diverse community of biographers, encourage public interest in biography, and provide educational and fellowship opportunities that support the work of biographers worldwide.
Here’s how BIO fulfills its mission. We…
- host the annual BIO Conference which presents inspiring speakers, opportunities for networking, and instruction about researching, writing, publishing, and marketing biographical work
- host additional in-person and online events that encourage biographers to learn from and engage with one another
- publish two monthly newsletters for members, The Biographer’s Craft and The Insider, offering the latest news in biography, in-depth features and interviews, and opportunities and advice for biographers
- support aspiring and practicing biographers with prizes and fellowships
- honor outstanding biographers, editors, and librarians with awards
- offer a coaching program in which members receive personalized advice from experienced biographers
- publish a quarterly newsletter to inform the media and publishing world about BIO’s activities and general news related to biography
A note from James McGrath Morris, co-founder of BIO:
“If you write biographies, or are thinking of writing one; if you make biopics, or are thinking of making one; if you produce radio documentaries on people’s lives, or are thinking of producing one; or, if you simply are a devoted reader of biographies, Biographers International Organization is the place for you. BIO is the only organization of its kind completely devoted to all aspects of the art and craft of biography.”
For a list of membership types and benefits, please visit here.
A Brief History of BIO
Biographers International Organization grew out of the passion of biographer James McGrath Morris, creator of The Biographer’s Craft, which is now BIO’s premier monthly newsletter. In the July 2008 issue of TBC, Morris wrote an “Open letter to biographers” expressing his vision for a grassroots organization devoted to the field of biography and to both established and emerging biographers. On March 26, 2009, in a classroom at the Leon Levy Center for Biography at CUNY, fifty biographers gathered for the first formal meeting of “BIO” during which an Interim Board was established. The following year, an advisory council of noted biographers was formed for BIO, and the first Compleat Biographers Conference was held May 15, 2010 in Boston. Nine years later – and a decade after its spark in that classroom – on June 13, 2019 BIO received its IRS approval to become a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. It serves biographers worldwide.
Your gift will generously help support BIO’s awards and its advancement of the work of all biographers. Since BIO is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit, all gifts to BIO are tax deductible to the full extent authorized by law.