William Edwin Bell (27 October 194530 July 2016) was a Canadian author of young adult fiction, born in Toronto, Ontario. He lived in Orillia, Ontario.
Personal life and education Bell was born in Toronto on 27 October 1945 to William B. and Irene (nee Spowart) Bell. He attended New Toronto Secondary School, which inspired his novel Crabbe. In 1969, he received a Master of Arts in literature from the University of Toronto, and in 1984, he received a Master of Education in education curriculum and administration from the university's Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.
He married Susan Arnup and had three children: Dylan, Megan and Brendan. Before his death, he lived with his wife, Chinese-Canadian author Ting-Xing Ye. He died in Orillia on 30 July 2016 at the age of 70.
Career
Teaching Bell taught in a variety of settings. He was a high school teacher at several schools in Simcoe County and the head of the English department at Orillia District Collegiate & Vocational Institute. In the early 1980s, he taught English in China at the Harbin University of Science and Technology and the Foreign Affairs College. He also worked at the University of British Columbia and the Simcoe County Board of Education. He was frequently invited to give presentations at conferences and to speak to elementary and secondary school students on creative writing.
Writing The inspiration to become a writer came to Bell when he heard a speech by John Metcalf, author of one of his favourite short stories. Bell said he likes to write for young people because they are "the best audience: they are loyal to the writers they like and they are enthusiastic readers".
Bell wrote many books, including three set near his home in Orillia, Ontario (Five Days of the Ghost, Stones and Fanatics), two in Barrie (Death Wind, The Cripples' Club), one in Toronto (Julian) and one in Fergus (Zack).
Bell's work has been widely published outside of Canada. His books have been translated into Chinese, French, German, Spanish, Polish, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch and Japanese.
Awards and honors +Awards for Bell's writingYearTitleAwardResultRef.1991Forbidden CityRuth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book AwardWinner1992Five Days of the GhostManitoba Young Readers' Choice AwardWinner1993Forbidden CityBelgium Prize for ExcellenceWinnerManitoba Young Readers' Choice AwardNominee1995No SignatureManitoba Young Readers' Choice AwardNominee1999ZackForest of Reading Red Maple AwardFinalistMr. Christie's Book AwardsWinner2002StonesCanadian Library Association Young Adult Book AwardWinnerForest of Reading Red Maple AwardFinalist2003Manitoba Young Readers' Choice AwardHonour2005Throwaway DaughterManitoba Young Readers' Choice AwardNominee2007Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book AwardWinner2008Manitoba Young Readers' Choice AwardNominee2011Only in the MoviesForest of Reading Red Maple AwardFinalist2012FanaticsCanadian Library Association Young Adult Book AwardShortlistForest of Reading Red Maple AwardFinalist2015JulianJohn Spray Mystery AwardWinnerRuth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award for Young Adult/Middle ReaderShortlist
Books Crabbe - 1986 Metal Head - 1987 The Cripples' Club - 1988 (reissued in 1993 as Absolutely Invincible) Death Wind - 1989 Five Days of the Ghost - 1989 Forbidden City - 1990 No Signature - 1992 Speak to the Earth - 1994 The Golden Disk - 1995 (a picture book) River My Friend - 1996 (a picture book) Zack - 1998 Stones - 2001 Alma - 2003 Throwaway Daughter – 2003 (written with his wife Ting-Xing Ye) Just Some Stuff I Wrote - 2005 The Blue Helmet - 2006 Only in the Movies - 2010 Fanatics - 2011 Julian - 2014
References
External links (Ting-xing Ye and Bell) Orillia Hall of Fame