Photo by Philip Bermingham

The Kitty Kelley Dissertation Fellowship in Biography will provide $25,000 to a doctoral student who is writing a dissertation in English focused on the life of another person or upon the lives of two or more individuals. This generous fellowship is endowed by Kitty Kelley, a founding member BIO and long-time advocate for biography and biographers, as well as the bestselling author of multiple biographical works where she has displayed courage and deftness in writing unvarnished accounts of some of the most powerful figures in politics, media, and popular culture, including Oprah Winfrey, the Bush Family, the Royal Family, Nancy Reagan, Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, and Jackie Kennedy Onassis. 

 Reflecting on the impact of this new fellowship, BIO Committee Chair Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina remarks, “BIO is delighted to offer this exciting opportunity for a Ph.D. student writing a biography as their dissertation. Kitty Kelley’s generosity in funding a biographical project at the dissertation level will go a long way to encourage the writing of biography at the final stages of academic training. We hope that the fellowship will inspire universities to endorse such projects, which combine the rigor of doctoral research with the art of storytelling.” 

Kitty Kelley said of her decision to create this fellowship, “Biography is the art of telling a life story. By exploring the past, we illuminate the present, and enlarge the future. I hope this dissertation fellowship opens a wide world of ideas and imagination coupled with potential and purpose.”  

The Kitty Kelley Dissertation Fellowship in Biography will provide $25,000 in financial support so that a doctoral candidate may devote a year to completing a dissertation in the field of biography. A fellow is expected to pursue the dissertation project on a full-time basis during the funding period and must be writing a dissertation in English focused upon the life of another person or upon the lives of two or more individuals. It cannot be fictionalized nor should the focus be primarily autobiographical. It need not cover the entire life of its subject or subjects. Applicants must have completed all course work, passed all preliminary examinations and received approval for a dissertation proposal. Students who have already received a dissertation fellowship are not eligible. The fellowship is open to students in all fields and academic departments, provided that the dissertation is biographical in its methods and focus.  

For the fellowship starting September 1, 2025, the deadline to apply will be January 15, 2025, and the winner of the $25,000 scholarship will be announced no later than May 1, 2025. The request for applications is now open. For more information, please visit this link.