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John Bell

BIOGRAPHY

John Bell is the author or editor of more than twenty books touching on various aspects of Canadian history and culture. A former editor of the poetry magazine Arc, he has contributed to a wide variety of periodicals, including Literary Review of Canada, Event, This Magazine, and Canadian Literature. His work has also appeared in numerous anthologies and collections. In addition, he has given readings and lectured on cultural history in many different venues and has served as the curator of several exhibitions and websites for the Canadian Museum of Caricature, the National Library, and the National Archives. He lives in Lunenburg.

The late Malcolm Ross, one of Canada’s most renowned literary scholars, offered the following description of John’s work: “John Bell is a unique figure in our literary landscape. He goes his own way and is more likely to create fashions than to follow them.”

PUBLICATIONS

SELECTED BOOK PUBLICATIONS

Oak Island Illustrated: The 225-Year Search for Truth and Treasure (Halifax: Formac Publishing, 2021).

[Editor] Enough Time up the Line: The Diary and Letters of Gunner Frank Byron Ferguson, 1915-1919 (Lunenburg: Rockbound Books, 2019)

The Canadian Non-Sports Catalogue: Vintage Cards and Related Premiums Issued in Canada, 1875‒1975 (Lunenburg: Rockbound Books, 2019).

Rebels on the Great Lakes: Confederate Naval Commando Operations Launched from Canada, 1863-1864 (Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2011).

Invaders from the North: How Canada Conquered the Comic Book Universe (Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2006). Foreword by Seth.

[Editor] Against the Raging Sea: Stories from the Golden Age (Lawrencetown Beach, NS: Pottersfield Press, 2002)

Confederate Seadog: John Taylor Wood in War and Exile (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 2002).

The Far North and Beyond: An Index to Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy in Genre Magazines and Other Selected Periodicals of the Pulp Era, 1896‑1955 (Halifax: Dalhousie University School of Library and Information Studies/London, England: Vine Press, 1998).

[Editor] Atlantic Sea Stories (Porters Lake, N.S.: Pottersfield Press, 1995)

[Editor] The Grand-Slam Book of Canadian Baseball Writing (Porters Lake, N.S.: Pottersfield Press, 1993)

[Editor] Ottawa: A Literary Portrait (Porters Lake, N.S.: Pottersfield Press, 1992).  Foreword by Sandra Gwyn.

Guardians of the North: The National Superhero in Canadian Comic-Book Art (Ottawa: National Archives of Canada, 1992).

[Editor] Halifax: A Literary Portrait (Porters Lake, N.S.: Pottersfield Press, 1990). Foreword by Robert MacNeil.

[Editor] At the Harbour Mouth by Archibald MacMechan (Porters Lake, N.S.: Pottersfield Press, 1988)

Loup-Garou (Ottawa: Dead Centre Graohics, 1988). [Poetry chapbook]

[Main Author] Canuck Comics: A Guide to Comic Books Published in Canada (Montreal: Matrix Books, 1986). Foreword by Harlan Ellison.

[Editor] The Far Islands and Other Tales of Fantasy by John Buchan (West Kingston, R.I.: Donald M. Grant, 1984)

The Third Side (Ottawa: Ouroboros Press, 1983). [Poetry chapbook]

[Co-Editor] Visions from the Edge: An Anthology of Atlantic Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy (Porters Lake, N.S.: Pottersfield Press, 1981)

[Co-Author] CDN SF & F: A Bibliography of Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy (Toronto: Hounslow Press, 1979).

 

AWARDS

Joe Shuster Award (2016)

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Experience Levels

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia (WFNS) uses the following terms to describe writers’ experience levels:

  • New writers: those with less than two years’ creative writing experience and/or no short-form publications (e.g., short stories, personal essays, or poems in literary magazines, journals, anthologies, or chapbooks).
  • Emerging writers: those with more than two years’ creative writing experience and/or numerous short-form publications.
  • Early-career authors: those with 1 or 2 book-length publications or the equivalent in book-length and short-form publications.
  • Established authors: those with 3 or 4 book-length publications.
  • Professional authors: those with 5 or more book-length publications.

Please keep in mind that each form of creative writing (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, writing for children and young adults, and others) provides you with a unique set of experiences and skills, so you might consider yourself an ‘established author’ in one form but a ‘new writer’ in another.

The “Recommended experience level” section of each workshop description refers to the above definitions. A workshop’s participants should usually have similar levels of creative writing and / or publication experience. This ensures that each participant gets value from the workshop⁠ and is presented with information, strategies, and skills that suit their career stage. 

For “intensive” and “masterclass” workshops, which provide more opportunities for peer-to-peer feedback, the recommended experience level should be followed closely.

For all other workshops, the recommended experience level is just that—a recommendation—and we encourage potential participants to follow their own judgment when registering.

If you’re uncertain of your experience level with regard to any particular workshop, please feel free to contact us at communications@writers.ns.ca