Biographers International Organization

Jim Elledge Jim Elledge is the author of Henry Darger, Throwaway Boy: The Tragic Life of An Outsider Artist, a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for gay memoir/biography and for the Publishing Triangle nonfiction award. A published poet, Elledge is a professor of English at Kennesaw State University in Georgia. At the BIO conference, he will join Cassandra Langer, Barry Werth, and Brian Halley on the panel “Twice Marginalized: The Challenges of Writing … Read More »

Nominees for Plutarch Award for Best Biography of the Year as Selected by Biographers Revealed BOSTON, MA—Biographers will once again determine the best biography of the year when they bestow the Plutarch Award at a gala ceremony in Boston on May 17. Named after the famous Ancient Greek biographer, the prize aims to be the genre’s equivalent of the Oscar, in that the winner is determined by secret ballot from a list of nominees selected… Read More »

The following are the election statements and biographies submitted by the candidates. RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT BRIAN JAY JONES Brian Jay Jones has been a BIO Board Member since 2009, served for two years as BIO’s secretary, and presently serves as its elected Vice President.  “Five successful years after establishing BIO, we’ve reached a critical juncture. More than ever, it’s vital that we increase our numbers, actively promote the organization (including our members, our conference,… Read More »

More than two-thirds of the spaces BIO has set aside for attendees at the 2014 Compleat Biographer Conference have been taken. If this record pace continues, some sessions will sell out or we might even have to turn folks away. While we are thrilled at the prospect of a sold-out conference, we would hate to see loyal members unable to attend. Go to the registration site NOW and lock in your place! Also, please consider… Read More »

By James McGrath Morris Art critic Deborah Solomon has won plaudits from readers and critics alike for her recently published American Mirror: The Life and Art of Norman Rockwell, the first complete look at the iconic artist. The first is one faced primarily by biographers writing about artists, as well as musicians, composers, singers, and others whose work cannot easily be explained in words. Try as hard as one might want, a verbal description… Read More »

The 2014 spring list of forthcoming biographies is not as robust as that of previous spring seasons. Yet there are plenty of works that will attract attention and readers. As usual, BIO is posting a complete list of the works on its website and, as in the past, the list will be continually updated as we learn about forthcoming books that we may have missed. Here, however, are some from the list bound to attract… Read More »

BIO members Megan Marshall and Linda Leavell will present “Making Modernism: A Conversation Between Biographers” at the BIO conference on May 17. As a prelude to that, Marshal interviwed Leavell about her new book and a recent honor. Megan Marshall: Congratulations on your nomination for the National Book Critics Circle Award in biography for Holding On Upside Down: The Life and Work of Marianne Moore. I’ve noticed that your book is the only… Read More »

March Marjorie Harris Carr: Defender of Florida’s Environment by Peggy Macdonald (University Press of Florida) Suffer and Grow Strong: The Life of Ella Gertrude Clanton Thomas, 1834–1907 by Carolyn Newton Curry (Mercer University Press) Stephen Ward: Scapegoat by Douglas Thompson (John Blake) Rachel Carson and Her Sisters: Extraordinary Women Who Have Shaped America’s Environment by Robert K. Musil (Rutgers University Press) Leaving Home: The Remarkable Life of Peter Jacyk by John Lawrence Reynolds (Figure 1… Read More »