Charles J Shields

Charles J. Shields is an American biographer, primarily of twentieth century American novelists.

In 1997, Shields left a career in high school teaching and administration to write independently. Over the course of the next six years, e published twenty histories and biographies for young people. His first biography for adults, Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee went on to become a New York Times bestseller.

In 2009, with fellow biographers Nigel Hamilton, James McGrath Morris, and Debby Applegate, Shields co-founded Biographers International Organization (BIO), a nonprofit organization founded to promote the art and craft of biography, and to further the professional interests of its practitioners. As of July 2011, BIO has members in forty-three American states and ten nations, including Australia, India, Kenya, and the Netherlands.