Biography
Madison Smartt Bell was born in Nashville on August 1, 1957, and raised in Tennessee. He has lived in New York and in London, and currently makes his home in Baltimore, Maryland. Bell graduated from Princeton University in 1979 with his B.A. and Hollins College in 1981 with his M.A.. He is the author of several novels and articles. Bell has taught in various creative writing programs, including the Iowa Writer's Workshop and the Johns Hopkins University Writing Seminars. Since 1984 he has taught at Goucher College, where he is currently Writer In Residence with his wife, poet Elizabeth Spires. In 1999, Bell was appointed as Director of the Kratz Center for Creative Writing at Goucher College.
Soldier's Joy received the Lillian Smith Award in 1989. His eighth novel, All Soul's Rising, was a finalist for the 1995 National Book Award and the 1996 PEN/Faulkner Award, and it was winner of the 1996 Anisfield-Wolf award for the best book of the year dealing with matters of race. Bell has also been awarded the Strauss Living Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His papers can be found at Princeton University.
Bibliography
Fiction
Non-Fiction
Short Fiction
Sources and Links