Matt Bell (author)
Matt Bell | |
|---|---|
 Bell at the 2015 Texas Book Festival. | |
| Born | August 23, 1980 |
| Education | Oakland University (BA) Bowling Green State University (MFA) |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Writing career | |
| Genres | Literary fiction, dark fantasy, horror, experimental fiction |
| Website | mdbell |
Matt Bell (born August 23, 1980)[1] is an American writer. He is the author of Appleseed (2021), How They Were Found (2010), and Cataclysm Baby (2012). His stories have been anthologized in The Best American Mystery Stories, Best American Fantasy, and 30 Under 30: an Anthology of Innovative Fiction by Younger Writers.[2]
Early life and education
Bell grew up in Hemlock, Michigan.[3] He received a BA in English from Oakland University and an MFA in Fiction from Bowling Green State University.[4]
Career
In 2012, he took a position as an assistant professor in the English department at Northern Michigan University.[5] He currently teaches in the English department at Arizona State University, where he directs the ASU Worldbuilding Initiative.[6][7]
Bell is the senior editor at Dzanc Books,[8] as well as the founding editor of The Collagist,[9] a monthly online literary magazine. His short fiction has also appeared in numerous literary magazines, including Conjunctions, Hayden's Ferry Review, Gulf Coast, Guernica, Willow Springs, Unsaid, The New York Times, Esquire, Tin House, Fairy Tale Review, Orion, and American Short Fiction.[10][6]
Bell's short story collection How They Were Found was reviewed favorably in multiple publications including The Believer, The Rumpus, TriQuarterly, and American Book Review.[11][12][13] At HTMLGIANT, Kyle Minor wrote: "Matt Bell has built a national reputation on his own terms, completely outside the support system of New York publishing, on the strength of his stories and novellas, which are wholly original and singularly his own. He is that rare sort of writer whose work the reader would recognize even if were published anonymously. It is formally daring, high-stakes, languaged-up stuff, and (lucky us!), the best of it has finally been collected at book length."[14]
His first novel, In the House upon the Dirt between the Lake and the Woods, was a finalist for the 2014 Young Lions Fiction Award.[15] It was an Indies Choice Adult Debut Book of the Year Honor Recipient and the winner of the Paula Anderson Book Award.[16][17]
Bell's third novel, Appleseed, was shortlisted for the 2022 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction.[18] It was a 2021 New York Times Notable Book and a Philadelphia Inquirer Best Book of the Year.[19] Cleveland Review of Books called the book's prose "visceral and sensuous" as it explored humanity's "narrow, immediate, and self-serving worldview."[20]
His next novel, Penitent, is forthcoming in 2028 from Doubleday Books.[7][21]
Bibliography
Short story collections
- How the Broken Lead the Blind (Willows Wept Press, 2009)
- How They Were Found (Keyhole Press, 2010)
- A Tree or a Person or a Wall (Soho Press, 2016)
Novellas
- The Collectors (Caketrain Press, 2009)
- Cataclysm Baby (Mud Luscious Press, 2012)
Novels
- In the House upon the Dirt between the Lake and the Woods (Soho Press, 2013)[22]
- Scrapper (Soho Press, 2015)
- Appleseed: A Novel (Custom House, 2021)[23]
Non-fiction
- Baldur's Gate II (Boss Fight Books, 2015)[24]
- Refuse to Be Done: How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts (Soho Press, 2022)[25]
References
- ↑ "Matt Bell (@mdbell79) on X". X (formerly Twitter). Archived from the original on June 8, 2024. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
- ↑ Taylor, Art. "Interview with Matt Bell, Author of 'How They Were Found'". arttaylorwriter.com. Retrieved 2026-05-07.
- ↑ Born, Kristina. "Nineteen Questions with Matt Bell (2013)". nineteenquestions.com. Retrieved 2026-05-07.
- ↑ Joffre, Ruth. "Matt Bell is a student (and teacher) of writing, Interview". Catapult. Retrieved 2026-05-07.
- ↑ "Matt Bell, Northern Michigan Faculty". NMU.edu.
- 1 2 "Matt Bell, Arizona State University Faculty". ASU.edu. Retrieved 2026-05-29.
- 1 2 "Official site, Matt Bell". mattbell.com. Retrieved 2026-05-29.
- ↑ "Matt Bell, Dzanc Books". dzancbooks.org.
- ↑ The Collagist Archived July 10, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "Matt Bell, Contributor History". Conjunctions. Retrieved 2026-05-29.
- ↑ Kwon, R.O. "Matt Bell's How They Were Found". The Believer. Retrieved 2026-05-29.
- ↑ Cohen, Garnett Kilberg. "How They Were Found by Matt Bell". TriQuarterly. Retrieved 2026-05-29.
- ↑ Taylor, J.A. "How They Were Found". The Rumpus. Retrieved 2026-05-29.
- ↑ HTMLGiant Archived July 28, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "Young Lions Award List of Winners & Finalists". nypl.org. Retrieved 2026-05-07.
- ↑ "The Center for Fiction: Matt Bell on Refuse to Be Done with Benjamin Dreyer". centerforfiction.org. Retrieved 2026-05-07.
- ↑ "Soho Press, Authors: Matt Bell". sohopress.com. Retrieved 2026-05-07.
- ↑ "The 2022 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction". ursulakleguin.com. Retrieved 2026-05-29.
- ↑ "Appleseed, Matt Bell". HarperCollins. Retrieved 2026-05-29.
- ↑ "Torn Between Three Worlds: On Matt Bell's "Appleseed"". Cleveland Review of Books. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
- ↑ "People & Publishing Roundup, June 2026". Locus Magazine. Retrieved 2026-08-02.
- ↑ "Publisher's Book Page". Soho Press. June 2013. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
- ↑ "Appleseed". Matt Bell. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
- ↑ Williams, Michael P. (November 11, 2014). "Baldur's Gate II, Dungeons & Dragons, and Character Creation: 6 Questions for Matt Bell". Boss Fight Books. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
- ↑ Bell, Matt. "Refuse to Be Done". Soho Press.