April 28, 2025; New York, NY–A distinguished panel of judges from the Biographers International Organization (BIO) has announced the five books that have been short-listed for the 2025 Plutarch Award, the only international literary award for biography judged exclusively by biographers. These five biographies uphold the high standard set by earlier Plutarch winners for the rigorous research, irresistible writing, and the originality and significance of the project.
Detailed information for each finalist’s biography, including the Committee’s notes, is available HERE. This year’s five short-listed titles, in alphabetical order by author’s last name, are:
- Cynthia Carr, CANDY DARLING: Dreamer, Icon, Superstar (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
- Stephanie Gorton, THE ICON & THE IDEALIST: Margaret Sanger, Mary Ware Dennett, and the Rivalry That Brought Birth Control to America (HarperCollins)
- David Greenberg, JOHN LEWIS: A Life (Simon & Schuster)
- Lucy Hughes-Hallet, THE SCAPEGOAT: The Brilliant Brief Life of the Duke of Buckingham (Harper)
- Adam Shatz, THE REBEL’S CLINIC: The Revolutionary Lives of Frantz Fanon (Macmillan)
“The 2025 Plutarch Committee reviewed close to 150 books by first-time and experienced biographers, issued by major presses and small academic publishers, on subjects who made their lives in worlds as different as ancient Rome and modern-day Hollywood,” says Ruth Franklin, Plutarch Chair. “In selecting these finalists, we looked for a balance of rigorous research, irresistible writing, and original ideas, pulled together into a compelling narrative. In its own way, each of these five books makes a new and worthy contribution to the biographer’s craft.”
BIO President Steve Paul added, “To read the five finalists for BIO’s Plutarch Award is to rejoice in the extraordinary range and attractions of our craft. From 16th-century England to 1960s New York, from 1920s abortion activism to global revolution to a civil rights hero, these books take readers on unforgettable journeys. Applause also goes to our panel of judges, biographers all, for zeroing in on the best that biography has to offer.”
The 2025 Plutarch Award for the best biography of 2024 will be revealed during the annual BIO Conference on June 6, 2025 at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Information regarding this year’s BIO Conference can be found HERE.
