I won a prize!

I was awarded The Biographers International Organization's (BIO) Hazel Rowley Prize for my proposal for Useful and Beautiful: The Life of Dorothy Wright Liebes. Given to first-time biographers who are not under contract with a publisher, The Hazel Rowley Prize is named for the author of Tȇte-à-Tȇte: Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre, and Franklin and Eleanor: An Extraordinary Marriage, among other award-winning and critically acclaimed titles. According to the BIO website, "Rowley was a passionate advocate for the art and craft of biography, a writer of exacting standards, and a generous friend to fellow biographers."

To be considered for the award, I wrote a 20-page proposal that included a synopsis of the book, a list of chapter titles, a writing sample (I submitted a chapter per the recommendation of my Institute for Historical Study), comparable books on the market, and a C. V. In its congratulatory email, the selection committee head Paula Whitacre (A Civil Life in an Uncivil Time: Julia Wilbur’s Struggle for Purpose) wrote, "We were struck by the quality of your writing, argument about why Dorothy Wright Liebes merits a biography, and organization in researching and executing the work."

The prize includes cash, a year's membership in BIO, admission to the annual conference, and – best of all – a careful reading of my proposal by an established literary agent.

As I said at the awards ceremony, it is bemusing to be recognized at this stage of my life for doing something for the first time, but I am truly thrilled to have the selection committee believe in Dorothy Liebes and believe in me.