Award biography

About the Award

Since , the National Biography Award has celebrated excellence in biography, autobiography and memoir writing. With a prize pool of $42,, it is the nation’s richest prize for Australian biographical writing and memoir: 

•    $25, for the winner 
•    $2, for each of the six shortlisted authors 
•    $5, Michael Crouch Award for a first published biography, autobiography or memoir by an Australian writer 

The Award is supported by the State Library of NSW Foundation. This year, we acknowledge the generous support of the Graham & Charlene Bradley Foundation, Sarah Crouch and the John Lamble Foundation.

Judges

Sylvia Martin

Panel Chair

Dr Sylvia Martin is the author of three biographies of women who have been neglected in Australian literary and cultural history, and who today might identify as lesbian or queer. Ida Leeson: A life was awarded the Magarey Medal for Biography and was shortlisted fo

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The Plutarch Award

Congratulations to Yepoka Yeebo, winner of the Plutarch Award for Anansi’s Gold: The Man Who Looted the West, Outfoxed Washington, and Swindled the World.

 

 

Eligibility:

• Biographies published in English (including in translation) during the current calendar year are eligible for nomination.
• Nominated biographies must be bygd an author or group of authors about another figure or figures.
• Nominated biographies may include those about two or more people, as well as those written in narrative forms other than cradle-to-grave format.
• Autobiographies, memoirs, works of fiction, self-published works, and non-print forms of biography are not eligible.
• Both publishers and BIO members may nominate books before December first of the current year.

Publishers wishing to nominate biographies should email BIO for instructions.

BIO members may nominate biographies (including their own work) by filling out the nomination form—one form per book,

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The BIO Award

Kitty Kelley has won the 14th BIO Award, bestowed annually by the Biographers International Organization, to a distinguished colleague who has made major contributions to the advancement of the art and craft of biography.

She is the author of seven biographical works: Oprah: A Biography (), The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty (), The Royals (), Nancy Reagan: The Unauthorized Biography (), His Way: The Unauthorized Biography of Frank Sinatra (), Elizabeth Taylor: The Last Star (), and Jackie Oh! (). 

Widely regarded as the foremost expert and author of unauthorized biography, Kelley has displayed courage and deftness in writing unvarnished accounts of some of the most powerful figures in politics, media, and popular culture. Of her art and craft, Kelley said, in American Scholar, “I do not relish living in a world where information is authorized, sanitized, and homogenized. I read banned books, I applaud whistleblowers, and I reject any sup