Juried literary
Plutarch Award
Biographers International Organization (BIO)
In short
The Plutarch Award is given by Biographers International Organization to the year's best biography, chosen by biographers themselves, and it carries a $3,000 honorarium. Review editors and libraries that collect biography treat the list as a useful signal. The book must be a biography of someone else, published in English in print during the calendar year; memoir and self-published books are not eligible. You can join the organization and nominate your own book, or your publisher can email the committee for instructions before December 1.
Deadline December 1, 2026Checked September 13, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
Every label is a fact from the official rules, never a judgment about whether the award is worth entering. How we describe awards.
The Plutarch Award is given by Biographers International Organization (BIO) to the best biography of the year, chosen by biographers. A committee of five distinguished biographers selects a longlist and finalists from nominations, and BIO members vote by secret ballot to pick the winner. As of 2025 the award carries a $3,000 honorarium.
Eligible books are biographies published in English (including in translation) during the current calendar year. The book must be about another person or people; autobiography, memoir, fiction, self-published works, and non-print formats are excluded. Narratives about multiple people in non-traditional formats can qualify.
Nominations come from two directions. BIO members nominate using the official form, with no limit on how many books they put forward, and they may nominate their own work. Publishers nominate by emailing the Plutarch committee for instructions. Nominations must arrive before December 1 of the publication year. No entry fee is listed.
Why it may matter
This is the only major biography award judged by the people who write biographies, which makes it a useful signal for review editors and libraries that collect in the genre. For a biographer, joining BIO is the simplest route to nominating your own book; otherwise the publisher needs to email for instructions before the December 1 cutoff.
2027 cycle: 2027 Plutarch Award (biographies published in 2026)
- Eligible publication dates
- January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026
- Final deadline
- December 1, 2026Checked September 13, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- Deadline note
- Nominations must be received before December 1, 2026
- Entry fee
- No entry fee is listedChecked September 13, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- Results
- Longlist, finalists, and winner announced in 2027; dates are posted on the BIO site
Worth knowing
Our reading, not a rule the organization published. We judge an award on the rubric in how we describe awards.
Memoir and autobiography are not eligible even when they read as biography, so a book that blends the author's story with a subject's may not qualify; ask BIO before nominating. The award page does not give announcement dates; the longlist, finalists, and winner are posted on the BIO site in the following year.
Rules and deadlines change. We last checked this information on September 13, 2026. If you see something that needs updating, please tell us.
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