“We were the people who were not in the papers. We lived in the blank white spaces at the edges of print. It gave us more freedom. We lived in the gaps between the stories. ”

— Toni Morrison

“I write the stories about the lives of the people existing in the gaps. ”

— Tina Jenkins Bell

Tina Jenkins Bell is a published fiction writer, playwright, freelance journalist, and literary activist. She has had numerous short works published in journals and anthologies, including “Kaiko,” The Overturning anthology (2025), “The Avalon Haint,” Redline: Chicago Horror Stories, “To the Moon and Back,” Hypertext Journal, which was nominated for an Illinois Arts Council award and “Swimming,” Jet Fuel Review, which was selected as best small fiction by Somber Press and nominated as best short fiction on the web. “The Visit,” Re-Living Mythology received a favorable write up in the Publisher’s Weekly, and in 2023 National League of American Pen, Inc. competition, Bell’s work was a Top Ten Finalist. “White Vans,” flash prose, was published by South Side Weekly; and The Last Supper was published in Revise the Psalm: Work Celebrating the Writing of Gwendolyn Brooks. Bell collaborated with Janice Tuck Lively and Felicia Madlock to write a hybrid fictional account of Robert Sandifer's (the young boy who was murdered by his own gang) last hours; “Looking for the Good Boy Yummy” was published in They Said by Black Lawrence Press. She also penned a craft chap book, Messy Genius (Sundress Press) on writing and collaborating.

Bell’s play Cut the Baby in Half was featured as a staged dramatic reading at the Greenline Performing Arts Center. She collaborated with Janice Tuck Lively and Sandra Jackson Opoku to write A Conversation with Lorraine Hansberry and Gwendolyn Brooks, a fictional account of two literary icons discussing race and women’s issues during a chance meeting in heaven. “A Conversation…” was produced as a staged reading by the Chicago Humanities Festival in 2019.

A playwright, two of Bell’s plays, Cut the Baby in Half and A Conversation with Lorraine Hansberry and Gwendolyn Brooks, a collaborative piece were produced as staged readings at the Green Line Performing Arts Center and the Chicago Humanities Festival, respectively. Bell most recent play, Death of a Marriage, is a part of Definition Theater’s Amplify New Plays Program.

Last year, Bell participated as a member of the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame selection committee. She also conducts writing workshops regionally. Her generative writing and critique workshops have helped writers create, get effective critiques, and get published. As a co-founder of FLOW (For Love of Writing), Bell has collaborated with numerous writing and arts organizations, authors, and bookstores to offer literary programming in Chicago’s underserved communities. Bell recently started a critique circle, called The Write Jam. Tina Jenkins Bell is a published fiction writer, playwright, freelance journalist, and literary activist. She has had numerous short works published in journals and anthologies, including “Kaiko,” The Overturning anthology (2025), “The Avalon Haint,” Redline: Chicago Horror Stories, “To the Moon and Back,” Hypertext Journal, which was nominated for an Illinois Arts Council award and “Swimming,” Jet Fuel Review, which was selected as best small fiction by Somber Press and nominated as best short fiction on the web. “The Visit,” Re-Living Mythology received a favorable write up in the Publisher’s Weekly, and in 2023 National League of American Pen, Inc. competition, Bell’s work was a Top Ten Finalist. “White Vans,” flash prose, was published by South Side Weekly; and The Last Supper was published in Revise the Psalm: Work Celebrating the Writing of Gwendolyn Brooks. Bell collaborated with Janice Tuck Lively and Felicia Madlock to write a hybrid fictional account of Robert Sandifer's (the young boy who was murdered by his own gang) last hours; “Looking for the Good Boy Yummy” was published in They Said by Black Lawrence Press. She also penned a craft chap book, Messy Genius (Sundress Press) on writing and collaborating.

Bell’s play Cut the Baby in Half was featured as a staged dramatic reading at the Greenline Performing Arts Center. She collaborated with Janice Tuck Lively and Sandra Jackson Opoku to write A Conversation with Lorraine Hansberry and Gwendolyn Brooks, a fictional account of two literary icons discussing race and women’s issues during a chance meeting in heaven. “A Conversation…” was produced as a staged reading by the Chicago Humanities Festival in 2019.

A playwright, two of Bell’s plays, Cut the Baby in Half and A Conversation with Lorraine Hansberry and Gwendolyn Brooks, a collaborative piece were produced as staged readings at the Green Line Performing Arts Center and the Chicago Humanities Festival, respectively. Bell most recent play, Death of a Marriage, is a part of Definition Theater’s Amplify New Plays Program.

Last year, Bell participated as a member of the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame selection committee. She also conducts writing workshops regionally. Her generative writing and critique workshops have helped writers create, get effective critiques, and get published. As a co-founder of FLOW (For Love of Writing), Bell has collaborated with numerous writing and arts organizations, authors, and bookstores to offer literary programming in Chicago’s underserved communities. Bell recently started a critique circle, called The Write Jam.

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AUTHOR

Tina Jenkins Bell