Madison Smartt Bell (born August 1, 1957) is an American novelist. Born and raised in Tennessee, Bell lived in New York and London before settling in Baltimore, Maryland. A graduate of Princeton University and Hollins University, he has taught in various creative writing programs, including the Iowa Writers' Workshop, the 92nd Street Y, and the Johns Hopkins University Writing Seminars. Bell is married to the poet Elizabeth Spires, and is presently a professor at Goucher College in Towson, Maryland. His eighth novel, All Souls' Rising, was a finalist for the 1995 National Book Award and the 1996 PEN/Faulkner Award and winner of the 1996 Anisfield-Wolf Award for the best book of the year dealing with matters of race. In addition he has written essays and reviews for Harper's, the New York Times Book Review, The Village Voice, and many other publications.
