Kate Crehan wins the 2020 Tony Lothian Prize for her proposal But Will it Get a Laugh? The Life of Doris Hare in Three Acts Doris Hare’s performance career, from child actress to Variety and the pre-war revues of Noel Coward and Andre Charlot to nationwide fame in the TV sitcom On the Buses, spans much…

Tony Lothian Prize 2020 Our shortlist for the best proposal for an uncommissioned biography received in 2020 is just announced, and the prize will be awarded at a Biographers’ Club celebratory event on Zoom on Tuesday 1 December Brad Bigelow: Failures – Six Ways to be Forgotten There’s really only one way to succeed as a…

Historian and biographer Kevin Shillington has released Patrick van Rensburg, Rebel, visionary and radical educationist, a biography. His recent books include Albert René: the Father of Modern Seychelles (2014) and History of Africa 4th edition (2019) Patrick van Rensburg (1931–2017) was an anti-apartheid activist and self-made ‘alternative educationist’ whose work received international recognition with the Right Livelihood Award in 1981. Born in KwaZulu-Natal into what he…

Member and Author Mohsin Zaidi’s biography ‘A Dutiful Boy’ was published just over a week ago to critical acclaim. Mohsin Zaidi grew up in a devout Muslim community in an economically deprived area of East London. Feeling isolated from his family, as he struggled with his sexuality, Moshin found an incredible drive for education, and became…

The great literary agent Felicity Bryan, has died of cancer aged 74. She was the founder in 1988 of the distinguished literary agency Felicity Bryan Associates. She was liked and respected in equal measures in the world in which she had worked since 1972, when she joined Curtis Brown. The Guardian Obituary says, “In those days, few agents struck out…

Dear Members, We hope you had a lovely Easter and are all well! We are now into our fourth week of isolation and lockdown, and like last week The Biographers’ Club is inviting members to continue to contribute reflections, diaries or pieces of memoir prompted by the extraordinary times we are living through. We have received such brilliant and…

Dear Members, We are now into our third week of isolation and lockdown, and like last week The Biographers’ Club is inviting members to contribute reflections, diaries or pieces of memoir prompted by  the extraordinary times we are living through. We have already had some wonderful pieces, and these will be posted on our website over the next…

Calling All Members, We are back! Our second week of isolation and lockdown gives a marvellous opportunity for us all to pause and think. This week The Biographers’ Club is inviting members to contribute reflections, diaries or pieces of memoir prompted by  the extraordinary times we are living through.. We will post these on the website, and…

Dear Members, While we wait out these uncertain times, we hope you are all well and safe. But if like us you are confined to your home and a bit fed up,  we at The Biographers’ Club  would like to bring you a boost of weekly book news, and entertainment, to distract you from the endless BBC updates.  Biographers’ book of the…