Biographers International Organization

Registration is now open for the Eighth Annual BIO Conference, taking place May 19-21 at Emerson College in Boston. For more information, go here.… Read More »

A distinguished panel of judges made up of members of Biographers International Organization (BIO) has selected the four finalists for the 2017 Plutarch Award. The Plutarch is the only international literary award presented to a biography by biographers. BIO members around the world will now vote for the winning biography from among those four distinguished books, honoring a writer who has achieved distinction in the craft. The winner will be announced on May 20 at… Read More »

  Here are the nominees for the 2017 Plutarch Award, honoring the best biography published in 2016, listed in alphabetical order by title:   BIO PLUTARCH AWARD COMMITTEE MEMBERS, 2017: Cathy Curtis Deirdre David John Farrell (Chair) Anne C. Heller Linda Leavell John Matteson Hans Renders David O. Stewart Will Swift Amanda Vaill… Read More »

On May 19–21, the annual BIO Conference returns to Boston, where the organization held its first gathering in 2010. The conference will offer research workshops, a full day of panels, numerous networking opportunities, a conversation between two highly respected biographers, and a keynote address by the 2017 BIO Award winner, whose name will be revealed in February. “This year’s program is bound to please the membership,” said James McGrath Morris, co-chair of the Program Planning… Read More »

More than two dozen distinguished biographers from the United States and Europe met to talk about their work on  November 4-5 at a conference co-sponsored by BIO and the Oxford Centre for Life-Writing. The weekend-long conference, called Biography Beyond Borders, a colloquium on American and European biography, took place in Oxford and London and included a pre-conference lecture by Carla Kaplan and a keynote address by Hermione Lee. Her Penelope Fitzgerald: A Life won BIO’s… Read More »

On November 4-5, BIO and the Oxford Centre for Life-Writing co-sponsored Biography Beyond Borders, a colloquium on American and European biography. The weekend in Oxford and London featured 29 distinguished biographers from across the United States and Europe examining their craft in lectures and panel discussions. Look for more news on the weekend next month.… Read More »

“ We learn by stories,” Nan A. Talese said, and when it comes to biography, “the story of the person’s life should be interesting and carry the reader along.” That was just one of the insights Talese imparted from a 50-year career in publishing, many of those years spent helping dozens of biographers bring their subjects’ stories to life. Talese spoke just before accepting BIO’s third annual Editorial Excellence Award, which recognizes the contributions of… Read More »

Biography Beyond Borders, a colloquium on American and European biography, will feature 29 distinguished biographers from across the United States and Europe. In alphabetical order, they are: James Atlas, Betty Boyd-Caroli, Anne de Courcy, Natalie Dykstra, Robert Douglas-Farihurst, Gayle Feldman, Rebecca Fraser, Anne C. Heller, Carla Kaplan, Dennis Kersten, Robert Lacey, Zachary Leader, Andrew Lownie, Jana Wohlmuth Markupova, Iwan Morgan, James McGrath Morris, Joanny Moulin, Catherine Reef, Harriet Reisen, Jane Ridley, Anne Boyd Rioux, Carl… Read More »