Biographers International Organization

Deadwood: Gold, Guns, and Greed in the American West (Knopf, 2025) is the latest book by this award-winning author and editor of nineteen books on the American Civil War and the American West. A retired Foreign Service Officer at the U.S. Department of State, Cozzens also served as a captain in the U. S. Army. His previous book, The Earth Is Weeping: The Epic Story of the Indian Wars for the American West, received the 2017 Gilder Lehrman Prize for the best military history work in the English language. In December 2024, The Economist selected it as one of the seven greatest military history books ever written. In 2002, Cozzens received the American Foreign Service Association's highest award, given annually to one Foreign Service Officer for exemplary moral courage, integrity, and creative dissent. Fellow biographer and BIO member John A. Farrell interviewed Peter Cozzens.

This author's The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram: The Man Who Stared Down World War II in the Name of Love was published by Viking/Penguin Random House this month. Whitmire is a respected historian and African American Studies professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research has won awards and funding from the Ford Foundation, the Fulbright Programs, and the American Library Association, and she has been invited to residences at Yaddo, Ucross, Hedgebrook, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Fellow biographer and BIO member Eric K. Washington interviewed Ethelene Whitmire.

Strong Inside: Perry Wallace and the Collision of Race and Sports in the South (Vanderbilt University, March 2024) is the tenth anniversary edition of this author's award-winning, New York Times bestselling biography. Maraniss has authored nonfiction sports and social justice books for adults, teens, and children, and his books have received numerous honors, including the Lillian Smith Book Award and a Robert F. Kennedy Special Recognition Honor. He has been named to the American Library Association's Rainbow Book List, the RISE Feminist Book List, and Esquire's 100 Best Baseball Books Ever Written. Maraniss directs special projects at the Vanderbilt University athletic department and manages the university's Sports & Society Initiative. BIO member and BIO podcast producer Jenny Skoog interviewed Andrew Maraniss.

Queen Mother: Black Nationalism, Reparations, and the Untold Story of Audrey Moore, published by Pantheon in November 2025, is this latest book by this internationally known and award-winning writer, cultural analyst, and associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin. Farmer's first book, Remaking Black Power, was shortlisted for numerous prizes, and she has received fellowships and awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, and the Whiting Foundation. Farmer's insights have appeared in multiple venues, including Harper's Bazaar, NPR, The Washington Post, and Teen Vogue. Fellow biographer and BIO member Tamara Payne interviewed Ashley D. Farmer.

This author and scholar's latest book, Biography of a Dangerous Idea: A New History of Race from Louis XIV to Thomas Jefferson, will be published in February 2026 by Other Press. Curran, a distinguished humanities professor at Wesleyan University, has written or edited six books, including Who's Black and Why: A Hidden Chapter in the Eighteenth-Century Invention of Race. It was nominated for an NAACP Image Award, and it won the Association of American Publishers Prose Award. Curran's journalistic writing has appeared in the New York Review of Books, The New York Times, The Guardian, Time Magazine, Newsweek, The Paris Review, Il Pais, Folha de S. Paola and the Wall Street Journal. BIO member and BIO podcast producer Jenny Skoog interviewed Andrew Curran.

Troublemaker: The Fierce, Unruly Life of Jessica Mitford and Pride (Harper, November 2025) and Pride and Pleasure: The Schuyler Sisters in an Age of Revolution (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, October 2025) are the […]

Mark Twain, published in May 2025 by Penguin Press, is this celebrated, multiple award-winning biographer's latest book. Chernow is the recipient of the 2015 National Humanities Medal, and his first book, The […]

Mark Twain, published in May 2025 by Penguin Press, is this celebrated, multiple award-winning biographer's latest book. Chernow is the recipient of the 2015 National Humanities Medal, and his first book, The […]

Devouring Time: Jim Harrison, A Writer's Life, is the latest book by this scholar and author, published in November 2025 by Blackstone Publishing. Goddard is an associate professor of literary […]

The Einstein of Sex: Dr. Magnus Hirschfield, Visionary of Weimar Berlin, is this journalist and author's latest book. It was published by W. W. Norton & Company in May 2025. […]

This journalist's biography, A German Jew's Triumph: Fritz Oppenheimer and the Denazification of Germany, was published by McFarland in April 2025. Handler's work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington […]

House of Diggs: The Rise and Fall of America's Most Consequential Black Congressman, Charles C. Diggs Jr., is the latest book by this political scientist and the inaugural Frederick Lippitt Professor of […]

John Williams: A Composer's Life, published by Oxford University Press in September 2025, is the first biography by this arts journalist. Greiving, a longtime fan of Williams' celebrated film scores, […]

Gertrude Stein: An Afterlife, published by Scribner in October 2025, is the latest book by London-based author Francesca Wade. Additionally, Wade is the author of Square Haunting: Five Writers in London Between […]

Desi Arnaz: The Man Who Invented Television, published by Simon and Schuster in June 2025, is the latest book by this veteran journalist and author. Purdum also authored Something Wonderful: Rodgers […]

Toni at Random: The Iconic Writer's Legendary Editorship, the latest book by author Dana A. Williams about Toni Morrison's significant tenure as an editor at Random House, was published by […]

Martin Van Buren: America's First Politician is James M. Bradley's current book. It was published in December 2024 by Oxford University Press. Bradley co-edits the Martin Van Buren Papers, based […]

This historian and author's latest book, Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents That Forged the Republic, was published by Oxford University Press in September 2024. Her other books include the […]

High and Rising: A Book About De La Soul, published by Dey Street Books in November 2024, is the latest offering by this critically acclaimed author and university professor. Moore's work explores […]

This author's latest book, Crumb: A Cartoonist's Life, examines the life of Robert Crumb, one of the most celebrated artists of the 20th century. Scribner published Crumb in April 2025, and its author is the […]

Mayor of the Tenderloin: Del Seymour’s Journey from Living on the Streets to Fighting Homelessness, is this former broadcast journalist and author's latest book. It was published by Beacon Press in […]

This author's latest book, Collisions: A Physicist's Journey From Hiroshima to the Death of the Dinosaurs, was published by W. W. Norton & Company in June 2025. It explores the life […]

Do Admit: The Mitford Sisters and Me is the award-winning cartoonist, illustrator, and author Mimi Pond's latest book. Published by Drawn & Quarterly this month, Do Admit is Ponds' graphic biography […]

Baldwin: A Love Story, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in August 2025, is author Boggs's examination of writer James Baldwin — the first major biography of this influential, controversial, and compelling […]

This independent scholar and award-winning author's latest book, Queen of Bohemia Predicts Own Death: Gilded-Age Journalist Zoe Anderson Norris, was published this month by Fordham University Press. It explores the life of […]

Joy Goddess: A'Lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance is the latest book by this award-winning journalist and author. Published by Scribner this June, it is the first major biography of Bundles' […]

This journalist, historian, and Vietnam War veteran is the author of eleven books. His most recent book, The Unlikely War Hero: A Vietnam War POW's Story of Courage and Resilience […]

90 Seconds to Midnight: A Hiroshima Survivor's Nuclear Odyssey, published by Potomac Books this month, is this author's biography of Setsuko Nakamura Thurlow—a passionate Japanese individual whose lifelong endeavors helped safeguard […]

Brooklynites: The Remarkable Story of the Free Black Communities that Shaped a Borough is this author's first full-length book. It was published by New York University Press in September 2024. […]

In Wallace Stegner: Dean of Western Writers, published by Signature Books in February 2025, this longtime Boston Globe columnist and author takes readers on a brisk and riveting journey through Stegner's life […]

Love and Need: The Life of Robert Frost's Poetry is literary critic Adam Plunkett's first biography. His exploration of the life and creativity of one of America's favorite 20th-century poets was published […]

In this special episode, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, National Humanities Medal recipient, and New York University history professor emeritus David Levering Lewis discusses his latest book—a sweeping exploration of his own […]

This award-winning filmmaker, showrunner and Academy of Art University professor, talks about her documentary film, Raise HELL: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2019 […]

These authors talk about a few of the different forms of biography. Caitlin Cass's graphic book, Suffrage Song: The Haunted History of Gender, Race, and Voting Rights in the U.S., was named […]

As the president of the Biographers International Organization, Steve Paul talks about the organization's exciting new initiatives in 2025 and beyond. Paul spent more than 40 years in daily journalism […]

This celebrated documentary filmmaker is the recipient of the 2025 BIO Award – Biographers International Organization's annual recognition of a distinguished colleague who has made significant contributions to the art […]

These celebrated authors talk about BIO's Plutarch Award for Biography – the organization's annual recognition of the year's best biography, as determined by a committee of five distinguished biographers from […]

These guests talk about the awards that BIO offers for biographers. Heather Clarks is an author, literary critic and chair of BIO's awards committee. Her most recent book, Red Comet: The Short […]

These pivotal BIO members share their experience as co-chairs of BIO's June 5-6, 2025 annual conference at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Linda Leavell served as BIO's president […]

In this special episode, BIO's former president and one of the organization's founders, talks about the history of BIO and its influence. In 2019 McGrath Morris received the BIO Award, […]

This award-winning author of biographers for young readers talks about his writing career and his long-term service as a founding BIO board member. His most recent book, A Long Time […]

This first-time biographer's, Pure: The Sexual Revolutions of Marilyn Chambers, explores the untold story of the world's most famous X-rated star. Chambers rose to fame as the face of Ivory […]

This scholar and author's latest book, Survival Is a Promise: The Eternal Life of Audre Lorde, was published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux in August 2024. As a queer Black feminist love evangelist, […]

This historian and author’s Black Panther Woman: The Political and Spiritual Life of Ericka Huggins, was published in January 2025 by New York University Press. It examines the life and legacy […]

This award-winning archaeologist, author and scholar talks about her latest book, Apostle of Liberation: AME Bishop Paul Quinn and the Underground Railroad. Published by Rowman and Littlefield this month, this biography […]

This award-winning musicologist, internationally recognized concert pianist, and London-based popular public speaker talks about her first book, South Side Impresarios: How Race Women Transformed Chicago’s Classical Music Scene, published by […]

Author, professor and retired New York Supreme Court judge, Diane Kiesel, talks about her latest book, When Charlie Met Joan: The Tragedy of the Chaplin Trials and the Failings of American Law. It is […]

This author's biography, The Troublemaker: How Jimmy Lai Became a Billionaire, Hong Kong's Greatest Dissident, and China's Most Feared Critic, was published by Simon & Schuster in December 2024. Clifford is […]

This historian, best-selling author and foreign-policy analyst talks about his latest book, Reagan: His Life and Legend. Published by Liveright in September 2024, this biography was recognized as one of the […]

This journalist's co-authored and Pulitzer Prize winning biography, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, served as the inspiration for the Oscar winning film, Oppenheimer. Bird has written several […]

Historian and author Pamela D. Toler's latest book, The Dragon from Chicago: The Untold Story of an American Reporter in Nazi Germany, was published in August 2024 by Beacon Press. In addition […]