Biographers International Organization

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 […]

This veteran author and Rutgers University journalism professor speaks with BIO member Kevin McGruder about his latest book, John Lewis: A Life. It was published by Simon and Schuster in October 2024 […]

Veteran biographer and emeritus Baruch College journalism professor Carl Rollyson talks about his latest book, Sylvia Plath Day by Day, Volume 2, published by the University Press of Mississippi in August 2024. […]

Award-winning historian, curator and biographer, Heath Hardage Lee, talks about her  latest book, The Mysterious Mrs. Nixon: The Life and Times of Washington's Most Private First Lady.  It was published by St. […]

Celebrated documentary filmmaker and Television Hall of Fame inductee Ken Burns, talks about his latest film, Leonardo da Vinci. It will air nationwide on PBS network stations on November 18 and 19, 2024. Burns has directed […]

Author Susan Blumberg-Kason talks about her latest book, Bernardine's Shanghai Salon: The Story of the Doyenne of Old China, published by Post Hill Press in November 2023. Blumberg-Kason has also authored Good Chinese […]

This week we interview Benjamin Taylor, author of Chasing Bright Medusas: The Life of Willa Cather. This biography of Cather, a celebrated American novelist, was published in November 2023 by Viking. In 2021, […]

This week we interview Patti Hartigan, award-winning journalist and author of August Wilson: A Life. This biography, Hartigan's first, about the legendary, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright who powerfully and poetically chronicled African […]

This week we interview veteran independent writer, historian, and journalist, Fergus M. Bordewich. His latest book, Klan War: Ulysses S. Grant and the Battle to Save Reconstruction, was published in October […]

This week we interview Katie Gee Salisbury, author of Not Your China Doll: The Wild and Shimmering Life of Anna May Wong, a new biography of the first Asian American movie star. […]

This week we interview award-winning journalist and author Kenneth Miller about his first biography, Mapping the Darkness: The Visionary Scientists Who Unlocked the Mysteries of Sleep. It was published in October 2023 […]

This week we interview Jessica (Max) Stein, author of Funny Boy: The Richard Hunt Biography. This first-time biography of a highly regarded Muppet/Sesame Street performer was published in March 2024 by […]

This week film historian Matthew Kennedy talks about his latest book, On Elizabeth Taylor: An Opinionated Guide, published by Oxford University Press in May 2024. Kennedy also authored Roadshow! The Fall of […]

This week we interview City University of New York (CUNY) professor and author Rachel Kousser. Her latest book, Alexander at the End of the World: The Forgotten Final Years of Alexander […]

This time we interview author Will Hermes, whose latest book, Lou Reed: The King of New York, was published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in October 2023. Hermes is a contributing editor at Rolling […]

This week we interview Amrita Chakrabarti Myers, an award-winning author and the Ruth N. Halls Associate Professor of history and gender studies at Indiana University in Bloomington. Her latest book, […]

This week we interview poet, novelist, and biographer Brad Gooch. His latest book, Radiant: The Life and Line of Keith Haring, was published by Harper/HarperCollins in March 2024. Gooch's previous ten books […]

This week we interview Marsha Gordon, author, professor, and director of Film Studies at North Carolina State University. Gordon's latest book, Becoming the Ex-Wife: The Unconventional Life & Forgotten Writings […]

This week we interview Adam Nagourney, veteran journalist and author of, The Times: How the Newspaper of Record Survived Scandal, Scorn and the Transformation of Journalism, published by Crown Press in September 2023. […]

This week we interview award-winning author and first-time biographer, Barbara D. Savage. Her latest book, Merze Tate: The Global Odyssey of a Black Woman Scholar, is an incisive examination of a scholar who […]

This week we interview Judith Tick, a Matthews Distinguished Professor Emerita at Northeastern University in Boston, and an award-winning author. Her latest book, Becoming Ella Fitzgerald: The Jazz Singer Who Transformed […]

This week we interview celebrated author Hampton Sides. His latest book, The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook, was published by Doubleday in […]

This week we interview Scott Shane, author of Flee North: A Forgotten Hero and the Fight for Freedom in Slavery's Borderland. Published by Celadon Press in September 2023, Shane has written […]

This week we interview award winning author Cynthia Carr, whose latest book, Candy Darling: Dreamer, Icon, Superstar, was published by Farrar Straus and Giroux in March 2024. Carr's previous biographies include, […]

This week we interview journalist Larry Rohter, author of the biography about a brilliant Brazilian explorer. Rohter's Into the Amazon: The Life of Cândido Rondon, Trailblazing Explorer, Scientist, Statesman, and […]

This week we interview Danny Fingeroth, a veteran biographer and cultural historian/commentator who specializes in history at the intersection of Jewish and American cultures. His latest book, Jack Ruby: The Many Faces […]

This week we interview Jack Kelly, an award-winning author and historian. Kelly's latest book,  God Save Benedict Arnold: The True Story of America's Most Hated Man, was published in December 2023 by […]