William Edwin Bell (27 October 194530 July 2016) was a Canadian author of

young adult fiction Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults. The subject matter and genres of YA correlate ...

, born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. He lived in

Orillia Orillia is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is in Simcoe County between Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe. Although it is geographically located within Simcoe County, the city is a single-tier municipality. It is part of the Huronia region of Cent ...

, Ontario.

Education

His novel ''Crabbe'' was partly inspired by his days as a student at

New Toronto Secondary School New Toronto Secondary School (New Toronto S.S., NTSS or New Toronto), formerly known as Long Branch Continuation School and New Toronto Vocational School is a former public high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It existed from 1926 until 1983 ...

. Bell had a master's degree in

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

and a second master's in education curriculum and administration, both from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

Teaching career

Bell taught in a variety of settings. He was a high school teacher at several schools in

Simcoe County Simcoe County is located in the central portion of Southern Ontario, Canada. The county is just north of the Greater Toronto Area, stretching from the shores of Lake Simcoe in the east to Georgian Bay in the west. Simcoe County forms part of the ...

and the head of the English department at Orillia District Collegiate & Vocational Institute. He was a teacher in China at the

Harbin University of Science and Technology Harbin University of Science and Technology () is a university in Harbin, China. Previously known as Harbin University of Science and Technology (). It is colloquially known as Hakeda (), or Harbin Institute of Electrical Technology(). It is coll ...

and the Foreign Affairs College. He also worked at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

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 career

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 says 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 In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's o ...

'' and ''Fanatics''), two in

Barrie Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay, the western arm of Lake Simcoe. Although physically in Simcoe County, Barrie is politically i ...

(''Death Wind'', ''The Cripples' Club''), one in

(''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 Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

and

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

Personal life

He was born 27 October 1945 in Toronto, son of William and Irene Bell. He married Susan Arnup and had three children: Dylan, Megan and Brendan. He lived with his wife, Chinese-Canadian author

Ting-Xing Ye Ting-Xing Ye (born 1952) is a Chinese- Canadian author of young adult novels, as well as '' Leaf In A Bitter Wind'', a best-selling autobiographical account of her life in Maoist China. Biography Ye was born in Shanghai, China, in 1952, the four ...

. He died in Orillia on 30 July 2016 at the age of 70.

Awards and honors

* Ruth Schwartz Award (''Forbidden City'' 1991) * Mr. Christie's Book Awards (''Zack'' 1999) * Belgium Prize for Excellence (''Forbidden City'' 1993) *

Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book Award The Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book Award was a literary award given annually from 1981 to 2016 to recognize a Canadian book of young adult fiction written in English and published in Canada, written by a citizen or permanent reside ...

(''Stones'' 2002) * Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Awards (''Five Days of the Ghost'' 1992, ''Stones'' 2003)

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 The Forbidden City () is a Chinese palace, palace complex in Dongcheng District, Beijing, China, at the center of the Imperial City, Beijing, Imperial City of Beijing. It is surrounded by numerous opulent imperial gardens and temples includ ...

'' - 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 * ''

'' - 2001 * ''Alma'' - 2003 * ''Throwaway Daughter'' – 2003 (written with his wife

) * ''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
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, William 1945 births 2016 deaths Canadian children's writers Canadian male novelists Writers from Toronto 20th-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian male writers