William Bell was born on October 27, 1945 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was married to Ting-Xing Ye. He died on July 30, 2016 in Orillia, Ontario, Canada.
He taught at the University of British Columbia, and overseas in China at Harbin University of Science and Technology and the Foreign Affairs College.
He wrote several young adult novels, which have been translated into nine languages. He won awards for "Forbidden City", "Stones", "Five Days of the Ghost", and "Zack".