Registration Opens this Month for 5th Compleat Biographer Conference

December 12th, 2013

Registration for the fifth annual Compleat Biographer conference opens this month. All BIO members will be notified by email when the registration site is open for business. Active BIO members will also receive information on using their member’s discount as well as how to obtain the early-bird registration rate.

The 2014 conference will be held May 16 to 18 at the University of Massachusetts Boston, the site of the first conference and the founding of BIO. Unlike the first, simpler conference, this fifth gathering will include a full day of research workshops in the Boston area on May 16, followed by an evening reception; twenty panel sessions on May 17 along with a luncheon address by the 2014 BIO Award winner (who will be announced in January); our popular networking reception at which the Plutarch Award winner will be revealed; and four master classes on May 18.

“As in past years, our panels deal with the entire process of writing a biography: research, writing, publishing and marketing,” Cathy Curtis, chair of the Program Committee, told TBC. “What’s new is a special emphasis on what my committee likes to call the ‘core curriculum’—the information beginning biographers need as they contemplate choosing a subject and embarking on years of research and writing.”

In addition, conference organizers continue to broaden BIO’s reach to embrace nontraditional forms and subject matter, including group biographies and biographies of marginalized gay subjects. “And because we are convening in Boston,” added Curtis, “we’re devoting a panel to a discussion of biographical subjects whose lives were inseparable from the city of their greatest triumphs.”
A preliminary description of the panels may be seen here.

Planning for 2014 Compleat Biographer Conference Underway

October 12th, 2013

The scenic waterfront campus of UMass Boston will once again host the Compleat Biographer Conference.

The Program and Site Committees have begun their work on putting together the 2014 Compleat Biographer Conference that will be held in Boston on May 16-18. Returning to the campus of the University of Massachusetts Boston will be special, said James McGrath Morris, BIO President. “This will mark our fifth conference and the fifth anniversary of the formal establishment of Biographers International Organization. All of which took place on the campus.”

As with past conferences, Friday, May 16, will be devoted to research workshops at archives, libraries, and historical societies around the Boston area, with a reception in the evening. The actual conference will take place on Saturday, May 17, and a series of master classes will be offered on Sunday, May 18.

Hosting the event, which means dealing with endless and complicated logistics, will be members of the Boston Biographers Group who have agreed to serve on the Compleat Biographer Conference Site Committee. Already they secured the conference site as well as a place for the popular conference eve function, according to Ray A. Shepard, the committee’s chair.

The conference will also witness the fourth transition of leadership. In 2010, when BIO was established, Debby Applegate served as its first president. Her term was followed by that of Nigel Hamilton who served as president from 2010-2012. Morris was elected in 2012 and his term ends in 2014.

“I’m planning on taking a year away from BIO, remaining an active member, and running in 2015 for a position on the board,” Morris said.

Awards to be bestowed during the conference include the Biblio Award, the BIO Award, and the Plutarch. In addition the conference will witness the first awarding of the Hazel Rowley Prize for Best Proposal for a First Biography.

In the meantime, past conference attendees should watch their mail for a survey that will help guide the Compleat Biographer 2014 Program Committee members in planning this year’s conference. The committee members are:

• Cathy Curtis, chair
• Kate Buford
• Greg Daugherty
• Deirdre David
• Beverly Gray
• Anne Heller
• Brian Jay Jones
• Josh Kendall
• Mark Leepson
• Ray A. Shepard
• Bill Souder
• Will Swift

Compleat Biographer Conference Program Set;
Registration to Open Soon

December 27th, 2012

The Roosevelt Hotel, in midtown Manhattan, is slated to be the home of the fourth annual BIO conference.

The 2013 Compleat Biographer conference, scheduled for May 17 through May 19 in New York City, will include 20 panels, three or four on-site research workshops, and four master classes, according to program committee chair Brian Jay Jones.
“The program committee has put together an outstanding lineup of subjects for the conference,” said BIO vice president Jones. “There will be not-to-missed panels for all biographers, seasoned professionals as well as those just starting.”

The preliminary list of panels includes such topics as Getting (Too) Close to Your Subject, the Politics of Blurbs and Reviews, Beginnings and Endings, Biography for Your Audiences, the Art of the Partial Biography, University Presses, Lesser-Known Relatives, Writing the African-American Biography, and Biography on Film. The latter panel will include a screening of a biographical film about Father Michael Lapsley by Melvin McCray, a longtime editor at ABC News.

As with each conference, the keynote address will be given by that year’s BIO Award winner. The 2013 winner will be announced in the January 2013 issue of TBC. Past winners have been Jean Strouse, Robert Caro, and Arnold Rampersad.

The Friday of the conference weekend will feature research workshops at leading libraries and archives in New York City. Four master classes will be held Sunday morning; the topics are Writing a Proposal, the Art of the Interview, the Beginning Biographer, and the Art of Self-Publishing.
Places in all panels, workshops, and classes will be limited, and BIO members are encouraged to register early. “Not only do we expect a record attendance,” said James McGrath Morris, BIO president, “but we should have an outstanding lineup of editors, agents, and publicists at the conference by virtue of being in New York City.”
At press time final arrangements were being made with the Roosevelt Hotel to host the conference. The site committee will aggressively seek out inexpensive housing options and will also create a program of room sharing.
BIO members should watch their email later this month for the complete conference lineup and instructions for registration.

2013 BIO Conference Set for NYC

November 14th, 2012

The program committee of Biographers International Organization, acting on the recommendation of the site committee, just announced that the fourth annual Compleat Biographer Conference will be held from May 17 through May 19, 2013, in New York City. The committee is still hashing out details for the conference site and the panels to be offered, as well as pre- and post-conference events; Hurricane Sandy delayed finalizing the conference site selection.

BIO president James McGrath Morris had nothing but high praise for the decision, saying the New York location should make this conference the best yet. “The response to holding it in New York City has been overwhelmingly positive,” he said. “Editors and agents are lining up to join us. Our conference has a reputation as one of the finest gatherings of writers in the country, and they won’t miss out on attending the meeting when it’s held in their backyard.”

Morris added that biographers from as far away as South America plan to attend because of the ease of reaching the city. “I’m betting that for the first time we will have to limit attendance.”

The program committee is chaired by BIO vice president Brian Jay Jones. Serving with him are Barbara Burkhardt, Cathy Curtis, Greg Daugherty, Oline Eaton, Barbara Fisher, Ted Geltner, Beverly Gray, Will Swift, and Felicity Yost. BIO members should thank them for their hard work and begin planning for a fun and informative weekend in the Big Apple.

The site committee, which handles all logistical matters relating to the conference, is still looking for members. Drop Morris a note if you live around New York and would like to help out.