News
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Plath’s Psychiatrist
Club member Nigel Cameron is at work on a biography of Ruth Barnhouse (Beuscher), Sylvia Plath’s psychiatrist and friend, and is due to deliver the ms to University of Massachusetts Press for publication in 2028. The press published Cameron’s previous book, Dr. Koop: The Many Lives of the Surgeon General, in 2025.
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Soho Legend
The National Portrait Gallery will hold a launch for Club member Darren Coffield’s new book, Hen, Mistress of Mayhem, a biography of Soho legend Henrietta Moraes, at 6-9pm on Wednesday 15 April. The launch will take place in Larry’s bar – entrance in St Martin’s Place. Coffield will give a talk and book signing at the…
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Miranda Seymour’s New Biography Out 20 May
Winner of our Exceptional Contribution to Biography Award, 2025, Miranda Seymour’s I, Vera: The Many Lives of Vera Gedroits tells the inspiring story of ‘a towering, sweet-faced lesbian princess [and] an ardent supporter of workers’ rights who regularly performed true medical miracles of surgery. Pre-order your copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/i-vera/miranda-seymour//9780008650384 Can’t wait that long? Watch Seymour…
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A Story of Survival: Anne Sebba and Dr Kate Kennedy on The Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz
29 May, 14:00 @ The Buttery, Wolfson College (and online via Zoom) Register here: https://oclw.web.ox.ac.uk/event/a-story-of-survival-anne-sebba-and-dr-kate-kennedy-on-the-womens-orchestra-of-auschwitz
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Join OCLW’s Writing Class & Feedback Group
No matter where you are and what stage your writing has reached, you can join one of our classes to learn and to develop your writing in a supportive and expert-led environment. What to expect: Life-Writing Class: Mondays, 11:00-13:00; hybrid sessions, in person at Wolfson College and online via Zoom; led by Rebecca Abrams. Online Writing…
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The Hatchards and Biographers’ Club First Biography Prize Winner, 2025 – Matthew Cobb!
We are delighted to announce that the winner of this year’s prize is Matthew Cobb, author of Crick: A Mind in Motion, all about the essential role Francis Crick played – alongside his scientific partner James Watson – in the discovery of DNA. Congratulations also to the shortlisted runners up:
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Passion, Politics and Power: The Life of Lady Pamela Berry
Patrons of the London Library are warmly invited to their annual gathering to thank those who have kindly chosen to leave a gift to the Library in their Will. Library Member Harriet Cullen will share insights from her biography of her mother, Lady Pamela Berry – a woman who was a bystander and protagonist across…
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Elizabeth Buccleuch Prize winner Andrew Kenrick to be published this summer
Andrew Kenrick, winner of the then Tony Lothian Prize (now Elizabeth Buccleuch Prize) will have his first biography published by Penguin in August 2026 as Rex Juba: 15 Glimpses of an African King. To pre-order your copy now, choose from the options included on Penguin’s website here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/467783/rex-juba-by-kenrick-andrew/9781911709787
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Develop your writing in the heart of Tuscany
18 – 25 APRIL 2026 OCLW have designed a bespoke programme for everyone to enjoy, from first-time writers to published authors. Led by Dr Kate Kennedy and Dr Tony Gray, tutors will be eminent writers in the fields of biography, fiction and creative non-fiction. OCLW are delighted to announce that their 2026 retreat will be…
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New member’s Byzantine history
New Biographers’ Club member Cecily Hennessy is the author most recently of Imperial and Royal Child Brides in Byzantium and Beyond (Arc Humanities Press). The book focuses on the Byzantine court in Constantinople and the young females (aged fourteen or younger) who married into the royal and imperial households of Byzantium and medieval Europe to…