Earlier this month, Andrea Robin Skinner, the daughter of Alice Munro, publicly revealed that she was sexually assaulted by her stepfather, and that her mother knew of this and did nothing. The news rippled across the literary world and the media. Munro biographer Robert Thacker, author of Alice Munro: Writing Her Lives (Douglas Gibson Books, 2005), said that Skinner had approached him with this information after his manuscript had been completed but before his biography was published, and that he chose not to include it. BIO member Jonathan Eig interviewed Thacker and wrote about the situation for The Wall Street Journal. Read the article here.

A German organization for journalists, Netzwerk Recherche, has expelled prominent TV journalist Hubert Seipel from its ranks after it emerged that Seipel accepted $650,000 from a Russian oligarch while working on his biography of Vladimir Putin, Putins Macht: Warum Europa Russland Braucht (Hoffmann und Campe, 2021). “Hubert Seipel has broken the fundamental rules of independent journalism with his behaviour and massively damaged the credibility of our profession,” the chair of the organization said. Learn more here.

Elizabeth Baron won the inaugural American Battlefield Trust Prize for History for her biography of James Longstreet, Longstreet: The Confederate General Who Defied the South (Simon & Schuster, 2023). Judges said the book “amplifies the vital nature of historic battlefields as irreplaceable literary sources.” The prize comes with a $50,000 award. Learn more here.

Jackie Wullschläger has won this year’s Elizabeth Longford Prize for her biography Monet: The Restless Vision (Penguin UK, 2023). The £5,000 prize is awarded annually for a historical biography published in the preceding year. Learn more here.

The Association for the Study of Australian Literature has awarded its Magarey Medal for Biography to Ann-Marie Priest for My Tongue Is My Own: A Life of Gwen Harwood (La Trobe University Press, 2022). The Magarey Medal is presented biannually to the female author who has published the work judged to be the best biographical writing on an Australian subject in the preceding two years. Learn more here.

Applications for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) stipends for the period ranging from May 1, 2025, through September 1, 2025, are now available. The program awards up to $8,000 to each fellow and is intended for individuals pursuing “advanced research that is of value to humanities scholars, general audiences, or both.” The deadline is September 18. Learn more here.

Applications for the 2025–2026 Cullman Center Fellowships at the New York Public Library are due September 27. The Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers offers fellowships to people whose work will benefit directly from access to the research collections at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, New York City. Learn more here.

Robert Caro’s seminal biography, which has become one of the most foundational texts of the genre, turns 50 this year. To celebrate, The New Yorker released an extensive interview between its editor, David Remnick, and Caro, detailing Caro’s early career, his pivot to biography, and how he drew out the notorious and mysterious Robert Moses. Listen here.

Publishing industry analyst Jane Friedman wrote a comprehensive roundup of the ways artificial intelligence is impacting authors and publishers. The title says it all: “Like It or Not, Publishers Are Licensing Books for AI Training—And Using AI Themselves.” In this piece, Friedman talks about the kinds of deals book publishers are striking with AI companies, how writers can protect themselves and their work, and the biggest problems and fears with AI in the book world as she sees them. Read the blog post here.

by Lynne Bermont
sold to W. W. Norton & Company
by Brettne Bloom at The Book Group

by Patti Hartigan
sold to the University of California Press
by Alice Martell at The Martell Agency

More titles here.

Lynne Bermont
William R. Cross
Jonathan Eig
Tanisha C. Ford
Patti Hartigan
Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina

Tamara Payne
Ann-Marie Priest
J. Randy Taraborrelli
Marlene Trestman
Eric K. Washington
Ethelene Whitmire

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.