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March 2025
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EDITOR’S NOTE
Although my editor’s note is at the top of The Insider, the most-clicked sections are traditionally near the bottom, so I wasn’t sure anyone was reading my note. I was (happily) mistaken! Last month, I mentioned that The Insider would be sent earlier in the month, and it would be helpful if members sent their items for the “Members News and Notes” section earlier. You delivered—and how! Within 24 hours, the editors’ inbox filled with more items than usual. Thank you! And keep on sending them.
Yours truly,
Jared
P.S. If you’re curious about the most-clicked sections, they are “Member News and Notes,” “In Stores Now,” “Paperback Releases,” and “Sold To Publishers.”
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BIO NEWS
Register by April 1 to Secure Early-Bird Rates for the 2025 BIO Conference
The 2025 BIO Conference will be held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, June 5, and Friday, June 6. Optional workshops and offsite tours at Howard University, the National Archives, and the Library of Congress are also available. Workshops and tours have limited space, so sign up early to guarantee your spot.
Registration is now open; early-bird rates are available until April 1. Register here via Eventbrite.
This year, topic-specific roundtables—traditionally held during lunch on the second day—will occur virtually approximately one week before the conference. Full program details are available here.
Discounted room blocks are now available at the Omni Shoreham Hotel and the Washington Marriott at Metro Center. Visit the “Lodging” tab on the conference page of the BIO website for more information and a list of recommended hotels.
The Chip Bishop Fellowship Application Deadline is April 1
The Chip Bishop Fellowship awards up to $2,000 to defray costs associated with attending the BIO Conference. Applications are due April 1.
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BIO Board Elections
Have you considered joining BIO’s Board of Directors? Elections will take place in April, and we encourage anyone with a passion for biography and a commitment to our field to run for a position on our all-volunteer leadership team.
If you’re interested, submit a candidate statement (up to 100 words) by April 15 with the subject line: 2025 Board Elections.
The BIO board meets monthly via Zoom, with one in-person meeting per year. Members are expected to lead or participate in committees that support all aspects of the organization’s work.
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CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
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Applications for National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Long-Term Fellowships Due April 9
The NEH’s Long-Term Fellowships offer recipients up to $60,000 to pursue projects that embody exceptional research, rigorous analysis, and clear writing. Applications from all disciplines are welcome; the NEH encourages submissions from independent and junior scholars. Applications are due by April 9. Learn more about Long-Term Fellowships here.
(Note: Please visit NEH’s page about recent executive orders concerning changes to funding for fellowships and other programs.)
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Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grants
The Whiting Foundation is accepting applications for its Creative Nonfiction Grants. Up to 10 writers will receive grants of $40,000 each. Applicants must be “in the process of completing a book-length work of deeply researched and imaginatively composed nonfiction for a general adult readership.” Projects must be contracted with a publisher in the United States, the United Kingdom, or Canada to be eligible. The deadline is April 23, 2025. More information is available here.
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IN THE NEWS
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Beethoven Biographer Reflects on Personal Connection to the Composer
John Suchet, known for his extensive work on classical musicians, has written no fewer than eight books on Beethoven. In his latest release, In Search of Beethoven: My Personal Journey (Elliott & Thompson, 2024), Suchet explores how years of researching the composer’s life profoundly impacted him on a personal level. Read more.
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Australian Biographer’s Quest to Find the Inspiration for Subject’s “One Remarkable Novel”
While there is no shortage of material in the archive of Australian writer Joan Lindsay, one crucial question remains: what inspired Lindsay to pen her most celebrated novel—Picnic at Hanging Rock—in just four weeks? Biographer Brenda Niall couldn’t resist the challenge of finding out. Read the story here.
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SOLD TO PUBLISHERS
The Stunning Gunnings
by Devoney Looser
sold to St. Martin’s Press
by Stacey Glick at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret LLC
Bloody Mary (Queen Mary I of England)
by Kristina Gehrmann
sold to Andrews McMeel
by Ivanka Hahnenberger at VIP Brands on behalf of Carlsen Comics
View more here.
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ROLL CALL
Introducing you to new members of BIO.
Emily Bernard
Emily Bernard, author of Carl Van Vechten and the Harlem Renaissance: A Portrait in Black and White, is working on a biography titled Nella Larsen Had a Problem. It considers Larsen’s creative life and mission in terms of the minor characters in her fiction.
Chava Bahle
Chava Bahle is working on a biography of Casablanca actor Conrad Veidt.
Jeffrey Boutwell
Jeffrey Boutwell is the author of the biography Boutwell: Radical Republican and Champion of Democracy (W. W. Norton & Company), about George Sewall Boutwell, released in January. The biographer is a distant relative of his subject.
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MEMBER NEWS AND NOTES
See what these members have been up to—releasing new titles, giving interviews, writing articles—by going here. And be sure to send us your news!
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Alexis Pauline Gumbs
Nigel Hamilton
Burtram Collver Hopkins II
Craig Howes
Gabriella Kelly-Davies
Diane Kiesel
Richard Kopley
Vanda Krefft
Patti Marxsen
Joanne B. Mulcahy
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Lisa Napoli
Tamara Payne
Simon Read
Hans Renders
Ray Anthony Shepard
Jennifer Skoog
Kathleen Spaltro
Jared Stearns
David Veltman
Mary Helen Washington
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IN STORES NOW
BIO members Burtram Collver Hopkins II, Diane Kiesel, Richard Kopley, Vanda Krefft, and Joanne B. Mulcahy had new books released in March. To see the full list of March releases, go here.
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PAPERBACK RELEASES
BIO members Stephen Dando-Collins, Natalie Dykstra, and Barbara Weisberg had new books released in paperback in March. To see the full list of paperbacks released in March, click here.
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OBITS
Olivier Todd, biographer of Albert Camus, died on December 28. He was 95.
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FEELING STUCK?
BIO Offers Coaching
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.
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ARE YOU A STUDENT?
Discounted BIO Membership Rate
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.
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KEEP YOUR INFO CURRENT
Making a move or just changed your email? We ask BIO members to keep their contact information up to date, so we and other members know where to find you. Update your information in the Member Area of the BIO website.
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MEMBERSHIP UP FOR RENEWAL?
Please respond promptly to your membership renewal notice. As a nonprofit organization, BIO depends on members’ dues to fund our annual conference, the publication of this newsletter, and the other work we do to support biographers around the world.
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BIO BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Steve Paul, President
Heather Clark, Vice President
Marc Leepson, Treasurer
Kathleen Stone, Secretary
Michael Gately, Executive Director
Kai Bird
Natalie Dykstra
Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina
Carla Kaplan
Kitty Kelley
Diane Kiesel
Sarah S. Kilborne
Linda Leavell
Heath Hardage Lee
Susan Page
Tamara Payne
Barbara Lehman Smith
Will Swift
Eric K. Washington
Sonja D. Williams
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Debby Applegate, Chair • Taylor Branch • A’Lelia Bundles • Robert Caro • Ron Chernow • Tim Duggan • John A. Farrell • Caroline Fraser • Irwin Gellman • Michael Holroyd • Peniel Joseph • Hermione Lee • David Levering Lewis • Andrew Lownie • Megan Marshall • John Matteson • Jon Meacham • Candice Millard • James McGrath Morris • Andrew Morton • Hans Renders • Stacy Schiff • Rachel Swarns • Gayfryd Steinberg • T. J. Stiles • William Taubman • Claire Tomalin
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THE BIOGRAPHER'S CRAFT
Editor
Jared Stearns
Associate Editor
Melanie R. Meadors
Consulting Editor
James McGrath Morris
Copy Editor
Margaret Moore Booker
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