Ian Bell (journalist)
Ian Bell | |
---|---|
Born | Edinburgh, Scotland | 7 January 1956
Died | 10 December 2015 Coldingham, Scotland | (aged 59)
Nationality | Scottish |
Alma mater | University of Edinburgh |
Occupation(s) | Journalist and writer |
Ian Bell (7 January 1956 – 10 December 2015) was a Scottish journalist and author who won the
Early life
Ian Mackay Bell was born on 7 January 1956 in Edinburgh, Scotland.[1] His father was Ian Bell, a fireman on steam trains and a trade unionist.[2][3] His mother was Helen Bell (née Mackay), a personnel worker with Edinburgh city water board.[3] He lived on the Magdalene council estate and attended Portobello High School.[4] He studied English Literature and Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh where he graduated with an honours degree.[2] He was a great-great-nephew of James Connolly, the Irish revolutionary.[5]
Career
Bell applied to a graduate trainee scheme at
He next worked as sub-editor at
Bell wrote a biography of Robert Louis Stevenson, Dreams of Exile which was published by Mainstream Publishing in November 1992.[12][13] He wrote a two-volume biography of Bob Dylan. Once Upon A Time is a 590-page work which covers Dylan's career up to and including his fifteenth studio album "Blood on the Tracks".[14] The second volume Time Out of Mind was 570 pages.[15][16][17] He wrote a novel Whistling in the Dark which was listed in catalogues by Mainstream in 1992 as "coming soon" but remained unpublished, with Bell reworking it several times.[2][3]
Awards
Dreams of Exile was awarded Best First Book by the Saltire Society in 1994.[13]
Bell won the Orwell Prize for political journalism in 1997.[2][18]
He was named columnist of the year at the Scottish Press Awards in 2000, 2007, 2008 and 2012.[19][20][21][22]
Personal life
Bell's second marriage was to Mandy Henriksen, an artist, and they had one son, Sean who became a journalist.[2][3] He was a supporter of Hibernian F.C.[4]
He lived in Coldingham, in the Scottish Borders, for several years. He was there when he suddenly became unwell and died on 10 December 2015, at the age of 59.[23] A memorial service was held on 22 December at Mortonhall Crematorium in Edinburgh.[24]
In April 2017 plans for an award for young writers being set up in his name was announced.[25] The award itself was launched in September 2017.[26]
References
- ^ "Herald writer and columnist Ian Bell dies at age of 59". BBC News. 11 December 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Taylor, Alan (12 December 2015). "Ian Bell". The Herald. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g MacAskill, Ewen (14 December 2015). "Ian Bell obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
- ^ a b c Hannan, Martin (11 December 2015). "Obituary: Ian Bell, journalist and author". The Scotsman. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ "Connolly march scrapped after 20 years". The Herald. 4 April 2007. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ a b MacDonald, Hugh (11 December 2015). "Ian Bell: A man propelled by principle". The Herald. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
- ^ a b "Tribute to Ian Bell" (Press release). National Union of Journalists. 8 January 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
- ^ a b McKenna, Kevin (12 December 2015). "Ian Bell dies aged 59". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ "Celebration of the life of NUJ member Ian Bell" (Press release). National Union of Journalists. 8 May 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
- ^ "Ian Bell, journalist – obituary". The Telegraph. 14 December 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ Bell, Sean (13 December 2015). "Goodbye, Dad ... A Tribute to Ian Bell by his son". The Herald. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
- ^ Sutherland, John (3 December 1992). "Heliotrope". London Review of Books. 14 (23): 12.
- ^ a b "Ian Bell, award-winning Herald columnist, dies at age of 59". The Herald. 11 December 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
- ^ Malitz, David (30 November 2013). "Book World: Ian Bell's 'Once Up a Time' peels away Bob Dylan's legend to reveal his oeuvre". The Washington Post. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
- ^ Dyer, Geoff (5 December 2014). "'Time Out of Mind: The Lives of Bob Dylan,' by Ian Bell". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
- ^ Dunnett, Ninian (25 August 2013). "Book review: The Lives Of Bob Dylan by Ian Bell". The Scotsman. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
- ^ Ian Bell : Time Out of Mind. 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2017 – via Vimeo.
- ^ "1997 Journalism Prize Winner: Ian Bell". orwellfoundation.com. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
- ^ MacLaren, Lorna (25 May 2000). "Financial writer makes history at millennium Scottish Press Awards". The Herald. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
- ^ "Scottish Press Awards: full list of winners". The Guardian. 20 April 2007. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
- ^ "Scottish Press Awards winners". The Guardian. 18 April 2008. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
- ^ "John McLellan collects newspaper of the year award". Press Gazette. 20 April 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
- ^ Morton, Brian (17 December 2015). "Ian Bell: Scottish journalist whose nationalist writing won him the George Orwell Prize". The Independent. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
- ^ Hannan, Martin (23 December 2015). "Tributes of love and respect for colleague and friend Ian Bell as he is laid to rest in Edinburgh". The National. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
- ^ "Media Release: Ian Bell award for new writing". allmediascotland.com. 4 April 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
- ^ "New journalism prize in memory of Ian Bell". The Herald. 7 September 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2017.