Bell's personal correspondence falls into roughly six categories: letters from family members, letters from fans, letters from older writers, letters from contemporary writer-friends, letters from students, and letters from friends in the visual arts. Letters are foldered separately by correspondent only where bulk justifies doing so.

The largest number of letters from family members are from Bell's mother Georgia Allen Bell and from his maternal grandfather Madison Wigginton. There are also letters from other relatives both from his family and from Elizabeth Spires' family.

The letters from older writers, who in some cases have also been Bell's teachers, are not numerous but include names such as John Barth, Elinor Wilner, Andrew Lytle, George Garrett, Walter Sullivan, Madison Jones, Elizabeth Hardwick, Elizabeth Spencer and Rosanne Coggeshall.

Letters from contemporary writer-friends include names such as Don Skiles, Cathryn Hankla, George Stenson, Wyn Cooper, Jill McCorkle, Kimberly Kafka, Molly Moynahan, Mary Gaitskill, Tom McGonigle, and Tom Alderson.

Letters from writers who have been Bell's students include names of published writers such as Carolyn Chute, Hillary Johnson, Marcia Golub, Amy Homes, Wayne Johnson, Simon Black, Brooke Stevens, and Darcey Steinke. Then there are other former students who are still seeking publication, such as Lee Seifman, Max Phillips, Ellen Geist, Miriam Kuznets, and Beth Boyett.

Letters from friends in the visual arts include Alexis Roshuk (filmmaker, arts bureaucrat), Neil Cartan (filmmaker), Andrew Moore (photographer), Jean de la Fontaine (painter, printmaker), Sara Spinelli (photographer, printmaker), Jane Kent (painter, printmaker), and Alan LeQuire (sculptor).