M. Shayne Bell


Michael Shayne Bell is an American science fiction writer, editor, and poet. He won the second quarter of the 1986 Writers of the Future contest with his story, "Jacob's Ladder". His short works have been nominated for the Hugo and the Nebula Awards. The Association for Mormon Letters awarded him for editorial excellence with his Washed by a Wave of Wind: Science Fiction from the Corridor anthology in 1994. Baen Books published Nicoji, a novel based on his short story of the same name, in 1991.

Biography

Michael Shayne Bell was born in Rexburg, Idaho in 1957. He earned both a Bachelor's and a Master's degree from Brigham Young University. He served as a volunteer missionary in Brazil for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His first published work was "Earthlonging" in the first issue of The Leading Edge in April 1981. He published at least one story in each of the first fifteen issues of The Leading Edge, from 1981 until 1987. "Jacob's Ladder", won the first prize for the second quarter in the 1986 Writers of the Future contest. His 1989 poem, "One Hundred Years of Russian Revolution, 7 November 1917 to 7 November 2017: Novaya Moskva, Mars", was nominated for a Rhysling Award.
Baen Books published Nicoji in 1991, which remains his sole novel as of 2022. He was nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 1995 for "Mrs. Lincoln's China", and nominated for a Nebula Award for Best Novelette in 2003 for "The Pagodas of Ciboure". He won an award for editorial excellence from the Association for Mormon Letters for Washed by a Wave of Wind: Science Fiction from the Corridor, a collection of science fiction short stories by people who lived or had lived in Utah. His 2000 story, "The Thing About Benny", was selected for The Year's Best Science Fiction: Eighteenth Annual Collection, and his 2003 story "Anomalous Structures Of My Dreams" was selected for The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-First Annual Collection.
Bell worked for six years as the poetry editor for Sunstone Magazine. He holds a master's degree in English from Brigham Young University. He lives in Rexburg with his cats.

Short fiction

  • "Earthlonging" in The Leading Edge #1
  • "Deathwatch" in The Leading Edge #2
  • "Rachel" in The Leading Edge #3
  • "Hymrise" in The Leading Edge #4
  • "Incident at the Prancing Unicorn" in The Leading Edge #5
  • "Red Flowers & Ivy" in The Leading Edge #5
  • "A Witch's Christmas" in The Leading Edge #6
  • "Dark Between the Stars" in The Leading Edge #7
  • "Shadow Walker" in The Leading Edge #7
  • "First Contact: A Play in One Act" in The Leading Edge #8
  • "Out of Azram" in The Leading Edge #9
  • "Jacob's Ladder" in The Leading Edge #10
  • "Road to Candarei" in The Leading Edge #11
  • "And the Stars Are Old" in The Leading Edge #12
  • "And the Stars Are Old" in The Leading Edge #13
  • "Lenin's Bones" in The Leading Edge #14
  • "Shaamek" in The Leading Edge #15
  • "Nicoji" in Asimov's Science Fiction
  • "Bangkok" in Asimov's Science Fiction
  • "Dry Niger" in Asimov's Science Fiction
  • "Inuit" in Inuit
  • "Second Lives" in Asimov's Science Fiction
  • "The Sound of the River" in Asimov's Science Fiction
  • "Night Games" in Tomorrow Speculative Fiction
  • "The King's Kiss" in Asimov's Science Fiction
  • "The Shining Dream Road Out" in Simulations: 15 Tales of Virtual Reality, edited by Karie Jacobson
  • "With Rain, and a Dog Barking" in Fantasy & Science Fiction
  • "Soft in the World, and Bright" in Hotel Andromeda, edited by Jack L. Chalker
  • "Naked Asylum" in Tomorrow Speculative Fiction
  • "Mrs. Lincoln's China" in Asimov's Science Fiction
  • "Drawing the Maps of Peace: The Moisture Farmer's Tale" in Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina, edited by Kevin J. Anderson
  • "Of the Day's Annoyances: Bib Fortuna's Tale" in Tales from Jabba's Palace, edited by Kevin J. Anderson
  • "Of Possible Futures: The Tale of Zuckuss and 4-LOM" in Tales of the Bounty Hunters, edited by Kevin J. Anderson
  • "Bright, New Skies" in Fantasy & Science Fiction
  • "The Moon Girl" in Asimov's Science Fiction
  • "Dogs, Stick People, Deer" in Between the Darkness and the Fire, edited by Jeffry Dwight
  • "Lock Down" in Starlight 2, edited by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
  • "And All Our Banners Flying" in Fantasy & Science Fiction
  • "How We Play the Game in Salt Lake" in Realms of Fantasy
  • "Life Itself is Reason Enough" in Amazing Stories
  • "At Bud Light Old Faithful" in Interzone
  • "Homeless, with Aliens" in Science Fiction Age
  • "The Thing About Benny" in Vanishing Acts, edited by Ellen Datlow
  • "Balance Due" in Asimov's Science Fiction
  • "Breaking Spells" in Realms of Fantasy
  • "Refugees from Nulongwe" in Sci Fiction
  • "Miss America at the Java Kayenko" in Fantasy & Science Fiction
  • "Ragnarok of the Post-Humans: Final Transmissions, Sam 43 Unit 763" in Bones of the World, edited by Bruce Holland Rogers
  • "If On a Moonlit Night" in Realms of Fantasy
  • "The Pagodas of Ciboure" in The Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
  • "Flower Children of Mars" in Mars Probes, edited by Peter Crowther
  • "Anomalous Structures of My Dreams" in ''Fantasy & Science Fiction''

    Poetry

  • "Dreamstone" in The Leading Edge #9
  • "Laundromat: Night" in The Leading Edge #11
  • "One Hundred Years of Russian Revolution, 7 November 1917 to 7 November 2017: Novaya Moskva, Mars" in ''Amazing Stories''

    Reception

called Bell "one of the central figures in GLBT and AIDS-related science fiction", and Orson Scott Card called him "one of the most wise and decent human beings it's been my pleasure to know on this planet". Jonathan Langford, writing on the Association for Mormon Letters site, described Bell as "one of the best short fiction writers in the Mormon literary world" during the late 1980s and 1990s. He goes on to describe the writing as containing "deft craftsmanship, careful worlduilding, superb characterization, and heartwarming emotional impact".

Awards and honors

Bell has received the following awards and honors for his various works.
YearOrganizationAward title,
Category		WorkResultRefs
1986Writers of the Future2nd Quarter"Jacob's Ladder"Won
1989Readers of Asimov's Science FictionAsimov's Readers' Poll,
Best Novelette		"Nicoji"
1990Science Fiction Poetry AssociationRhysling Award,
Best Fantastic Short Poetry		"One Hundred Years of Russian Revolution"Nomitated
1993Association for Mormon LettersAML Award,
Editorial Excellence		Washed by a Wave of WindWon
1993LocusLocus Award,
Best Short Story		"The Sound of the River"
1995Readers of Asimov's Science FictionAsimov's Readers' Poll,
Short Story		"Mrs. Lincoln's China"
1995WorldconHugo Award,
Best Short Story		"Mrs. Lincoln's China"
1995LocusLocus Award,
Best Short Story		"Mrs. Lincoln's China"
2001Gardner Dozois / St. Martin's GriffinThe Year's Best Science Fiction: Eighteenth Annual Collection"The Thing About Benny"
2003Science Fiction Writers of AmericaNebula Award,
Best Novelette		"The Pagodas of Ciboure"Nomitated
2004LocusLocus Award,
Best Novelette		"Anomalous Structures of My Dreams"
2004Gardner Dozois / St. Martin's GriffinThe Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-First Annual Collection"Anomalous Structures of My Dreams"