Thursday, May 16, 2024

4:00 p.m.–4:45 p.m.: Member Readings: BIO members read excerpts from their recent biographies.

4:45 p.m.–5:30 p.m.: Presentation Robert and Ina Caro Research/Travel Fellowships, the Chip Bishop Fellowship, the Francis “Frank” Rollin Fellowships, and the Hazel Rowley Prize

Friday, May 17, 2024

8:40 a.m.–9 a.m.: Welcome, Kai Bird (Leon Levy Center for Biography) and Steve Paul (Biographers International Organization)

9:00 a.m.–10 a.m.: James Atlas Plenary, Tamara Payne and Thulani Davis in conversation

10:15 a.m.–11:15 a.m.: Panels Session I, Basics: “What Editors Want Today”: Amanda Vaill (Jerome Robbins, by Himself), moderator; Bob Bender (Simon & Schuster), Rakia Clark (Mariner Books/HarperCollins), Charles Spicer (St. Martin’s).

11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.: Panels Session II, “Merging Biography and Memoir”: Linda M. Grasso (Equal Under the Sky), moderator; Megan Marshall (Elizabeth Bishop), Marnie Mueller (The Showgirl and the Writer).

[12:30 p.m.–2 p.m. lunch break]

2 p.m.–3 p.m.: Presentation of Plutarch Award and BIO Award

3:15 p.m.–4:15 p.m.: Panels Session III, Issues: “Intimacy and Boundaries”: Ruth Franklin (Anne Frank), moderator; Bill Goldstein (Larry Kramer), Kitty Kelley (Oprah), Abigail Santamaria (I Am Meg).

4:30 p.m.–5:30 p.m.: Panels Session IV, Business: “Research Tips From Award-Winning Writers”: Laurie Gwen Shapiro (Amelia Earhart), moderator; Debby Applegate (Madam), Emily Nussbaum (Cue the Sun), Annalyn Swan (Francis Bacon: Revelations), Rachel Swarns (The 272).

We will share videos of livestreamed events with registrants several weeks after the conference.