Apply for BIO 2026 Fellowships and Prizes

October 19th, 2025

Biographers International Organization (BIO) invites applications for its 2026 fellowships and prizes, which support and celebrate the craft of biography at every stage—from dissertation research to debut works and beyond. These awards recognize exceptional promise, fund essential research, and amplify diverse voices shaping the future of biographical writing.

The Frances “Frank” Rollin Fellowship
Deadline: February 1, 2026

The Frances “Frank” Rollin Fellowship awards $5,000 each to two authors working on a biographical project about an African American figure or figures whose story deepens our understanding of the Black experience. Recipients also receive a year’s membership in BIO, registration to the annual BIO Conference, and publicity through BIO’s marketing channels.

The fellowship seeks to address the historic underrepresentation and suppression of Black lives and voices in published biographies. It reflects BIO’s commitment not only to supporting working biographers but also to advancing diversity in the field.

The Robert and Ina Caro Research/Travel Fellowship
Deadline: February 1, 2026

Established in honor of Robert and Ina Caro, this annual fellowship supports biographers with a work in progress who need funding for research trips to archives or key locations in their subjects’ lives. It reflects BIO’s dedication to helping authors produce deeply researched, context-rich biographies.

Kitty Kelley Dissertation Fellowship in Biography
Deadline: February 15, 2026

This fellowship awards $25,000 to a doctoral student writing a dissertation in English that focuses on the life of one or more individuals. The work must be biographical rather than autobiographical or fictionalized, though it need not cover an entire life.

Endowed by Kitty Kelley—a founding BIO member and author of seven bestselling biographies—the fellowship honors her lifelong advocacy for biography and biographers.

The Hazel Rowley Prize
Deadline: March 1, 2026

The Hazel Rowley Prize recognizes a first-time biographer with a $5,000 award, a professional reading by an established literary agent, a year’s BIO membership (including conference registration), and publicity through BIO’s platforms. The prize helps advance BIO’s mission to nurture emerging talent and expand the reach of biographical writing.

Hazel Rowley (1951–2011) was an award-winning biographer and devoted BIO supporter whose acclaimed works on Richard Wright, Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt reflect her passion for the art and craft of biography.

The Clio Fellowship for Archival Research
Deadline: March 1, 2026

The Clio Fellowship awards $5,000 to one or more biographers conducting archival research for a book-length biography. Named for Clio, the Greek muse of history and memory, the fellowship is endowed by Linda Leavell, a biographer, Plutarch Award winner, and past BIO president.

The Chip Bishop Fellowship
Deadline: April 1, 2026

Established by BIO co-founder James McGrath Morris, the Chip Bishop Fellowship provides up to $2,000 in travel and related expenses—including childcare—to help aspiring biographers attend the annual BIO Conference. Registration fees are waived or refunded.

The fellowship honors Chip Bishop, who credited attending the BIO Conference with the publication of his first biography. It is open to both members and non-members working toward their first book.

If you have any questions about the fellowships, please contact BIO’s Executive Director, Michael Gately.

Valerie Waterhouse Wins Inaugural Kitty Kelley Dissertation Fellowship

June 30th, 2025

Valerie Waterhouse has been named the recipient of the inaugural Kitty Kelley Dissertation Fellowship for her research on Malachi Whitaker (1895–1976), a British working-class writer known for her short stories and memoir.

The $25,000 fellowship is awarded to a doctoral student in any department who is writing a dissertation in English that focuses on the life of another person or persons. It is endowed by Kitty Kelley, a founding member of BIO, the author of seven best-selling biographies, and a long-time advocate for biography and biographers.

“Being chosen by a committee of published biographers as the inaugural winner of the Kitty Kelley Dissertation Fellowship is a game-changer for me,” said Waterhouse. “Writing the first biography of any subject involves long, isolated hours in archives, libraries, on research trips, and in one’s own head.  This prestigious affirmation gives me the confidence and support I need to continue and complete my work. Malachi Whitaker was a literary author writing stories about northern working-class people at the time of Virginia Woolf’s upper-class Bloomsbury.  Her work fills a gap in English literary history. Thank you, Kitty Kelley, and BIO, for helping to bring attention to  her life and work.”

“The fellowship selection committee was pleased with the pool of applicants for its inaugural fellowship and was doubly pleased to find within that pool a true biography, one that makes the case for reconsidering an overlooked woman writer,” said Linda Leavell, chair of the committee. “Valerie Waterhouse’s writing sample shows that she has learned well the art of creating narrative out of serious scholarship. We congratulate Ms. Waterhouse on her promising project and also the University of Salford for accepting biography as a creative writing dissertation.”

The selection committee was composed of Linda Leavell, Heather Clark, and Carla Kaplan.

Kitty Kelley Dissertation Fellowship Deadline February 15

February 7th, 2025

Photo by Philip Bermingham

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 request for applications is now open. Please visit this link for more information about the award and how to apply. The official entry form can be found here.

Kelley is the bestselling author of multiple biographical works where she has displayed courage and deftness in writing unvarnished accounts of some of the most influential figures in politics, media, and popular culture, including Oprah Winfrey, the Bush Family, the Royal Family, Nancy Reagan, Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, and Jackie Kennedy Onassis. 

BIO Announces the Kitty Kelley Dissertation Fellowship

October 15th, 2024

Photo by Philip Bermingham

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 unvarnished accounts of some of the most powerful figures in politics, media, and popular culture, including Oprah Winfrey, the Bush Family, the Royal Family, Nancy Reagan, Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, and Jackie Kennedy Onassis. 

 Reflecting on the impact of this new fellowship, BIO Committee Chair Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina remarks, “BIO is delighted to offer this exciting opportunity for a Ph.D. student writing a biography as their dissertation. Kitty Kelley’s generosity in funding a biographical project at the dissertation level will go a long way to encourage the writing of biography at the final stages of academic training. We hope that the fellowship will inspire universities to endorse such projects, which combine the rigor of doctoral research with the art of storytelling.” 

Kitty Kelley said of her decision to create this fellowship, “Biography is the art of telling a life story. By exploring the past, we illuminate the present, and enlarge the future. I hope this dissertation fellowship opens a wide world of ideas and imagination coupled with potential and purpose.”  

The Kitty Kelley Dissertation Fellowship in Biography will provide $25,000 in financial support so that a doctoral candidate may devote a year to completing a dissertation in the field of biography. A fellow is expected to pursue the dissertation project on a full-time basis during the funding period and must be writing a dissertation in English focused upon the life of another person or upon the lives of two or more individuals. It cannot be fictionalized nor should the focus be primarily autobiographical. It need not cover the entire life of its subject or subjects. Applicants must have completed all course work, passed all preliminary examinations and received approval for a dissertation proposal. Students who have already received a dissertation fellowship are not eligible. The fellowship is open to students in all fields and academic departments, provided that the dissertation is biographical in its methods and focus.  

For the fellowship starting September 1, 2025, the deadline to apply will be January 15, 2025, and the winner of the $25,000 scholarship will be announced no later than May 1, 2025. The request for applications is now open. For more information, please visit this link.