Biographers International Organization welcomes biographers, editors, agents, publishers, and publicity professionals to the 16th annual BIO Conference. BIO is honored to partner with the Leon Levy Center for Biography at CUNY Graduate Center in New York City to host this event.
About the Conference
The 2026 BIO Conference will take place Thursday, May 28, and Friday, May 29, at CUNY Graduate Center in New York City. Optional workshops will occur on Saturday, May 30. Off-site library and archive tours will also be available. Optional pre-conference virtual roundtables will take place the week of May 18.
Visit the Lodging tab for information about discounted room blocks at nearby hotels. Those in need of financial assistance may apply for a Chip Bishop Fellowship here.
BIO members who have a new biography published between June 1, 2025, and May 30, 2026, are invited to participate in the Members’ Reading. Please send the title of your book, the name of its publisher, and the month of publication here.
Face-to-face coaching sessions are available to conference participants who seek advice from an experienced biographer. Each session lasts 45 minutes and costs $50, paid directly to the coach. To request a coaching session, email a one-page description of your project along with a specific question or two.
2026 Biographers International Organization Annual Conference
Program
Thursday, May 28
All times listed are New York (Eastern Daylight) time.
Note: Tours are limited to those who signed up in advance. If you would like to participate, you must purchase the tour of your choosing as a ticket add-on when you register for the conference through Humanitix.
9:00 AM–3:00 PM
Tours (For those who have signed up in advance)
10 AM–11:30 AM
New York Public Library: Welcome reception and archive introductions (attendance limited to 40 participants; advance signup required)
12:00 PM
Registration opens, CUNY Graduate Center
2:00 PM–3:00 PM
Tour: The Morgan Library & Museum
3:30 PM–5:00 PM
Member Readings & Awards Presentation, Auditorium
Presentation of the Robert and Ina Caro Research/Travel Fellowship, the Frances “Frank” Rollin Fellowship, the Hazel Rowley Prize, the Chip Bishop Fellowship, and the Ray A. Shepard Service Award.
5:30 PM–7:30 PM
Welcome Reception, The Century Association, 7 W. 43rd St. (near Fifth Avenue), Midtown Manhattan
Friday, May 29
All times listed are New York (Eastern Daylight) time.
All panels and plenaries at CUNY Graduate Center.
8:00–8:40 AM
Registration and Breakfast
8:40 AM–9:00 AM
Welcome from BIO President Steve Paul and Leon Levy Center Executive Director Kai Bird, Auditorium
9:00 AM–10:00 AM
JAMES ATLAS PLENARY, Auditorium
Ron Chernow and Brenda Wineapple in Conversation
10:15 AM–11:15 AM
BASICS
In the Right Hands: Biographers as Collectors
CRAFT
Radical Biography for Teens
ISSUES
What Editors Want
THEME
Life Writing and Difference
11:30 AM–12:30 PM
BASICS
Beyond the Launch: Audience Outreach for the Long Term
CRAFT
Dancing About Architecture: Writing Biographies of Musicians
ISSUES
Troublemakers
THEME
Using Genealogical Tools to Research Your Biographical Subject
12:30 PM–2:30 PM
Lunch and Awards Presentation, Auditorium
BIO Award and Keynote Address by the recipient, followed by presentation of the Biblio Award and the Plutarch Award
2:45–3:45 PM
BASICS
The Agent’s View
CRAFT
The Sixties, Revisited
ISSUES
Experimenting With Form
THEME
University Presses Make the Grade
4:00–5:00 PM
BASICS
Life-Writing for Hire
CRAFT
Queering Biography
ISSUES
Attention Must Be Paid: Writing about Forgotten Lives
THEME
How 1776 Speaks to Us Today
5:00–7:00 PM
Closing Reception, Graduate Center
Coaching Sessions
Face-to-face coaching sessions are available to conference participants who seek advice from an experienced biographer. Each session lasts 45 minutes and costs $50, paid directly to the coach. To request a coaching session, email a one-page description of your project along with a specific question or two to president@biographersinternational.org.
Panelists
Coming soon.
Lodging
Coming soon.
Registration
Registration opening soon.