A copy of Showman: Inside the Invasion That Shook the World and Made a Leader of Volodymyr Zelensky by Simon Shuster  was seized by customs officers after it was discovered in the luggage of a person entering the country, according to the Moscow Times. The outlet reported that the title, published by William Morrow in 2024, was not listed on the Russian Justice Ministry’s list of outlawed books at the time the book was confiscated. Following the incident, Russian state media said, “Information contained in [the book] may threaten national security or the political and economic interests of the country and the morality of its citizens.” Learn more here.

Bloomsbury recently announced that it had purchased Rowman & Littlefield’s academic publishing arm for $83 million. Nigel Newton, Bloomsbury’s CEO, said the deal would further his publishing operation’s goal of becoming a major independent scholarly press in the United States, and he explained that 115 Rowman & Littlefield employees will be joining the Bloomsbury fold. “The combined business will publish around 97,000 titles, creating a significant platform for further growth,” Newton added. Only two trade imprints, Backbeat and Applause, will transfer to Bloomsbury as part of the deal. Read more here.

Australia’s National Biography Award, presented by the State Library of New South Wales, has been awarded to Lamisse Hamouda for her hybrid biography/memoir The Shape of Dust: A Father Wrongfully Imprisoned. A Daughter’s Quest to Free Him. (Pantera Press, 2023). Learn more here.

 

Reid L. Neilson and Scott D. Marianno’s biography Restless Pilgrim: Andrew Jenson’s Quest for Latter-day Saint History (University of Illinois Press) won the Evans Biography Award, a prize given for works that “focus on the stories of people who have shaped the character of the Interior West.” Given by Utah State University, the award comes with a $10,000 cash prize. Learn more here.

The National Humanities Center, based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, offers residential fellowships for the academic year to scholars with a doctorate or equivalent credentials. (Fellows do not have to be affiliated with a college or university.) The fellowships come with a stipend that is individually determined based on the fellow. The deadline to apply for the 2025–2026 cycle is October 3. Learn more here.

The Hodder Fellowship awards a stipend of $92,000 for a 10-month appointment to writers and artists to pursue independent projects at Princeton University during the academic year. The application deadline is September 10. Learn more here.

MacDowell is now accepting applications for its Spring-Summer 2025 Residency Program. About 300 artists in seven disciplines are awarded MacDowell Fellowships each year, and the sole criterion for acceptance is “artistic excellence.” There are no residency fees. To open these residencies to the broadest possible community of artists, need-based stipends and travel reimbursement grants are available. The Literature Fellowship is open to biographers. The deadline for applications is September 10. Apply here.

BIO member Iris Jamahl Dunkle, author of the forthcoming Riding Like the Wind: The Life of Sanora Babb (University of California Press, October 2024) appeared on the fiction/non/fiction podcast to discuss recent issues concerning biographers coming under fire for alleged ethical transgressions. For example, Vivian Jenna Wilson, the estranged daughter of Elon Musk, who accused biographer Walter Isaacson of “deliberately failing” to contact her before the publication of Elon Musk—in which Wilson says Isaacson incorrectly represents her. Topics of discussion include the power imbalances inherent in writing authorized biographies, the danger of sticking to a single narrative of a person’s life, and the choice a writer must make between serving their subject or serving their readers. Listen to the podcast here.

by Rebecca Boggs Roberts
sold to Viking
by Anna Sproul-Latimer at Neon Literary

by Ray Anthony Shepard
sold to Calkins Creek
by Caryn Wiseman at Andrea Brown Literary Agency

More titles here.

Leah Redmond Chang
Julie Dobrow
John A. Farrell
Charlotte Gordon
Marsha Gordon
Diane Helentjaris
Arthur Hoyle
Ken Krimstein
Heath Hardage Lee
Eileen Martin
Edward O’Shea
Steve Paul

Raquel Ramsey
Rebecca Boggs Roberts
Carl Rollyson
Ray Anthony Shepard
Kathleen Spaltro
David O. Stewart
Rachel L. Swarns
Pamela D. Toler
Gina Waggott
Eric K. Washington
Barbara Weisberg
Matthew Zipf

Whatever state your biography’s in—vague idea, proposal, well underway—BIO’s experienced biographers can help. BIO offers a one-hour coaching session via phone or email for the member discounted rate of $60. (Coaches may charge more for subsequent hours.) Learn more about the program here.

Are you a student, or do you know one who is interested in biography? BIO now has a special student membership rate. Visit the BIO website to find out more.