The Frances “Frank” Rollin Fellowship for African American Biography

About this program

The Biographers International Organization (BIO) awards two $5,000 Frances “Frank” Rollin Fellowships annually to support exceptional book-length biographies of African American figures or groups whose stories deepen understanding of the Black experience. Recipients also receive a one-year BIO membership, annual conference registration, and promotional support. Applicants may be biographers anywhere in the world writing in English, at any stage of a biography-in-progress; memoirs and autobiographies are not eligible, and a publishing contract or BIO membership is not required. Applications are due February 1 and must include a project description, statement of need, author biography, and a manuscript excerpt of up to 20 pages in one PDF.