Jon Meacham and Doris Kearns Goodwin participated in a conversation moderated by Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden to mark the one-year anniversary of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who organized the event, stated that the goal of this conversation was to “establish and preserve the narrative of January 6th.” Both Meacham and Goodwin discussed the parallels between what occurred on Jan. 6, 2021, and during the lead-up to the Civil War. Goodwin said: “We know the revolution was won. We know George Washington became a president, not a military leader. We know that the Civil War ended with emancipation secured in the union restored. We know that the Allies won World War II. The people living through that time did not know that. So, they were living with the same anxiety we are living through today of ‘How does this fragile democracy, which is under attack today, resolve itself?’” FULL STORY

Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, who had initiated libel proceedings against journalist Catherine Belton and HarperCollins for allegations made in the book Putin’s People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and Then Took On the West (HarperCollins UK, 2021), dropped the charges against the author and the publisher after an agreement was reached at the end of December. “The text will now recognize that the allegation Abramovich bought Chelsea football club at the Russian president’s behest is not a statement of fact. It will include additional denials from the oligarch’s spokesperson and the club,” The Guardian reported. FULL STORY

Sarah Harkness has won the Biographer’s Club Tony Lothian Prize, an award of £2,000 given to the writer of the best proposal for a first, uncommissioned biography. Harkness’s proposal focuses on “Alexander Macmillan, Advocate for the Ignorant—The Life and Times of a Victorian Publisher.” More information is available here.

Nicholas A. Basbanes has won the Massachusetts Book Award for Nonfiction for his biography Cross of Snow: A Life of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Knopf, 2020). The awards are presented by the Massachusetts Center for the Book and recognize “significant works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and children’s/young adult literature published by current Commonwealth residents.” More information is available here.

 

The Massachusetts Historical Society and the Boston Athenaeum are offering the Suzanne and Caleb Loring Fellowship for research on the “Civil War, Its Origins, and Consequences.” The recipient will conduct research for at least four weeks at each institution between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023. The fellowship recipient will receive a stipend of $4,000. Applications are due February 15, 2022. Additional information is available here.

NYU’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute offers the Matthew Power Literary Reporting Award, a $12,500 grant to support the work of a promising, early career nonfiction writer on a story that uncovers truths about the human condition. The deadline for applications is February 16, 2022. Additional information is available here.

The New York Public Library (NYPL) is offering short-term research fellowships to engage in graduate-level, post-doctoral, and independent research in the arts and humanities, to scholars who are based outside of the metropolitan New York area. Fellowship stipends are $1,000 per week for a minimum of two and a maximum of four concurrent weeks. Applications are due January 31, 2022. Additional information is available here.

The Society of Authors is offering grants to writers whose book projects are for commercial United Kingdom publication. Grants will be awarded to writers aged 40 and under. The typical grant amount is between £2,000 and £3,500, for a maximum of £6,250. The deadline for applications is February 1, 2022. Additional information is available here.

Editor’s Note: With a new year now underway, you may feel as though you have a metaphorical blank canvas on which to plot and plan your writing projects. In that spirit, I have compiled a roundup of digital tools and platforms that may be useful to organizing your writing life. These companies have not paid to be featured here, rather, these tools are ones I have heard writers frequently wonder about at the BIO Conference, in writer’s groups, and online. The four tools featured are:

• Notion
• Scrivener
• Evernote
• Bookflow

May they spark your curiosity and creativity! FULL STORY

by Phil Bennett and Steve Fainaru
sold to Celadon Books
by Rafe Sagalyn at ICM

by Kenneth Womack
sold to Dey Street Books
by Matthew Elblonk at DeFiore and Company

by Adam Lashinsky
sold to Simon & Schuster
by Esmond Harmsworth at Aevitas Creative Management

More titles HERE

Debby Applegate
Ray Boomhower
Paul Cantor
Cathy Curtis
Rebecca Donner
Irwin F. Gellman
Alexis Greene
Nigel Hamilton
Brian Jay Jones
Kitty Kelley
Sarah Kilborne
Heath Lee
Hermione Lee

Andrew Lownie
Michael N. McGregor
Jon Meacham
Janice P. Nimura
Steve Paul
Tamara Payne
Arnold Rampersad
Hans Renders
Carl Rollyson
Ray A. Shepard
David O. Stewart
Rosemary Sullivan
Billy Tooma

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.