The BIO Conference

Are you an aspiring or published biographer, historian, writer, or just plain interested in books?  You might want to think about attending the first-ever conference of the newly-formed Biographers International Organization, to be held May 15 in Boston.

The brainchild of my colleague and pal James McGrath Morris (whose biography of Pulitzer is due in bookstores in early February) and the result of tons of hard work by folks like Debby Applegate, fellow WBG member Charles Shields, and devoted locals like Rob Velella, the daylong conference focuses on the nuts and bolts of biography writing.  Ten workshops are offered throughout the day on topics like working with primary documents, choosing a topic, working with the family of your subject, and how to land an agent. Yeah, it’s good stuff.

For the price of admission, you’ll also get fed twice, hear a keynote from a prominent biographer (more on that later), and get to hang out with lots of like-minded folks.  Think of it as a more literary San Diego Comic-Con, but without the filk singing or people dressed as Boba Fett.

“The Compleat Biographer Conference” will be held at the University of Massachusetts Boston on Saturday, May 15.  For more information on BIO and the conference, check out the Biographers International Organization’s website.