Biographers’ Organization Takes Root

By Lynn Andriani -- Publishers Weekly, 7/22/2008 8:53:00 AM

Biographer James McGrath Morris, author of The Rose Man of Sing Sing, admits that the craft of biography is a solitary one. But that doesn’t mean the profession couldn’t use some camaraderie. Morris thinks biographers could benefit from collaborating on research, swapping tips on accessing archival documents and online repositories, and learning from each other about funding sources. So Morris is calling on his fellow biographers to unite under the American Organization of Biographers. 

Morris, who publishes The Biographer’s Craft, a monthly e-newsletter for biographers and editors, said he decided to create the organization after noticing two new academic journals devoted to biography; the establishment of the Leon Levy Center for Biography at CUNY’s Graduate Center; growing numbers of panel discussions about biography at events hosted by the Organization of American Historians and the American Society of Journalists and Authors; and the publication of two books about biography. “It got me thinking that the time was right for an organization of biographers,” Morris wrote in an e-mail.

So Morris wrote an open letter to his 1,200 readers calling for the creation of an organization that could address the needs of biographers. On Morris’s wish list are a virtual library whereby independent biographers who lack academic affiliation could gain access to resources such as Proquest, First Search and Archives Grid; an annual conference; mentoring and collaboration opportunities; and professional advocacy. Morris said the subject of establishing a set of standards for biographers might also be up for discussion.

Morris received more than 50 responses, including some from Pulitzer winners, working biographers and aspiring biographers. He is working on convening a founding meeting next spring in New York. “I am very encouraged that by next year there will be an organization of biographers,” he wrote. “It seems like it is a lonely craft with a lot of folks who would like more chances to talk shop.”