Biographers International Organization

  The 2025 Plutarch Award longlist has been decided. This year’s award committee consists of BIO members Ruth Franklin (chair), Vanda Krefft, Lance Richardson, David Maraniss, and Lisa Napoli. “The 2025 Plutarch Committee reviewed close to 150 books by first-time and experienced biographers, issued by major presses and small academic publishers, on subjects who made their lives in worlds as different as ancient Rome and modern-day Hollywood,” says Franklin. “Many took the traditional cradle-to-grave approach;… Read More »

The deadline to apply for the Kitty Kelley Dissertation Fellowship in Biography is Saturday, February 15, 2025. The fellowship, endowed by Kitty Kelley, founding member of BIO and long-time advocate for biography and biographers, provides $25,000 to a doctoral student writing a dissertation in English focused on another person’s life or the lives of two or more individuals. The winner of the scholarship will be announced no later than May 1, 2025. The… Read More »

BIO will host the first major national conference on Black biography in over 40 years. Telling the Stories of Black Lives through Biography will be co-sponsored by Troy University-Montgomery, Alabama, and will take place on March 21-22, 2025. The conference will feature a full day of speakers, panel discussions, receptions, and other activities. Telling the Stories of Black Lives through Biography is the brainchild of author and longtime BIO board member Ray Anthony Shepard… Read More »

Biographers International Organization (BIO) is excited to announce Biography Lab 2025, its third annual online forum, which will be held via Zoom on Saturday, January 18, 2025, from 10:30 am – 5:00 pm EST. BIO invites participants at all levels of interest and experience in the craft of biography to participate in three sequential 90-minute forums led by prominent biographers and people in publishing. Free for BIO members and students. $60 General Admission. Register … Read More »

The Kitty Kelley Dissertation Fellowship in Biography will provide $25,000 to a doctoral student who is writing a dissertation in English focused on the life of another person or upon the lives of two or more individuals. This generous fellowship is endowed by Kitty Kelley, a founding member BIO and long-time advocate for biography and biographers, as well as the bestselling author of multiple biographical works where she has displayed courage and deftness in writing… Read More »

The 2025 BIO Conference is tentatively scheduled for June 5–6, in Washington, D.C. The Program Committee co-chairs, Natalie Dykstra and Linda Leavell, invite BIO members to submit proposals. The Program Committee will review these proposals for possible inclusion in the 2025 program. The Committee seeks panels that address the concerns of beginning biographers (basics), the craft of biography (craft), issues of interest to a broad range of biographers (issues and innovations), and topics related to… Read More »

Biographers International Organization (BIO) is excited to announce that Yepoka Yeebo’s ANANSI’S GOLD: The Man Who Looted the West, Outfoxed Washington, and Swindled the World (Bloomsbury) is the winner of the 2024 Plutarch Award for the Best Biography of 2023. The Plutarch is the only international prize of its kind. Named after the famous Greek writer, the Plutarch is awarded to the best biography of the year by a committee of five distinguished biographers,… Read More »

The 2024 BIO Conference is now underway at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York. You can view the digital conference program here. The following events and sessions will be live-streamed for virtual attendees: 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… Read More »