Biographers International Organization

In the first of several previews of panels offered at the Seventh Annual BIO Conference, moderator James Atlas takes a look at some of his panelists’ views on their topic, “Choosing a Subject.”   Maybe another way to look at this question is to ask: Do biographers actually choose their subjects at all? Do they have agency over the process of determining how they will spend the next five or ten or—in the famous case… Read More »

By Deirdre David Whether strolling down St. Marks Place, wrestling with the many lives of Orson Welles, or wondering where Virginia Woolf got her clothes, the biographer must inevitably confront the vexing question of perspective: Where do you stand in relation to your subject, whether it’s a street, a cinematic genius, a brilliant novelist, or indeed yourself? At the Leon Levy Biography Conference, held on March 8 and organized around the theme of “Point… Read More »

While publishing insiders may say that the overall selection of new biographies coming out this spring and summer is not as impressive as last year’s stellar crop, the range of subjects—some tried and true, some getting their first major due—should satisfy the most discriminating readers. Here are some books most likely to receive considerable attention in the coming months. You can see a longer list of upcoming releases here.  A literary biography is one… Read More »

BIO is proud to announce the four finalists for the 2015 Plutarch Award —  the world’s only literary award presented by biographers, to biography. The four finalists for the 2015 Plutarch Award are (alphabetical by author): The President and the Apprentice: Eisenhower and Nixon, 1952-1961 by Irwin F. Gellman (Yale) Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock’n’Roll by Peter Guralnick (Little, Brown) Custer’s Trials:  A Life on the Frontier of a New America by T.J.… Read More »

The following list of biographies appearing between March and August 2016 was assembled using Edelweiss, a web-based interactive publisher catalog system widely used in the book industry. If we missed a title, please let us know at editortbc@biographersinternational.org March The Rev. J. W. Loguen, as a Slave and as a Freeman: A Narrative of Real Life by Jennifer A. Williamson and J. W. Loguen (Syracuse University Press) Queen Elizabeth II: A Celebration of Her Majesty’s … Read More »

Claire Tomalin, winner of multiple prizes for her literary biographies, is the winner of the seventh annual BIO Award. BIO bestows this honor on a colleague who has made a major contribution to the advancement of the art and craft of biography. Previous award winners are Jean Strouse, Robert Caro, Arnold Rampersad, Ron Chernow, Stacy Schiff, and Taylor Branch. Tomalin will receive the honor during the 2016 BIO Conference on June 4 at the Richmond… Read More »

Detailed conference information is available here.… Read More »

A distinguished panel of judges made up of members of Biographers International Organization (BIO) has selected ten nominees for the 2015 Plutarch Award. The Plutarch is the only international literary award presented to biography, by biographers. Following the announcement of the ten nominees, BIO’s Plutarch Committee will next narrow the list to four finalists. BIO members around the world will vote for the winning biography from among these four distinguished books, honoring a writer who… Read More »