Hazel Dorothy Campbell was born in Jamaica, where she attended
Merl Grove High School in
Kingston. She subsequently earned a BA degree in English & Spanish at the
University of the West Indies,
Mona, followed by diplomas in Mass Communications and Management Studies. She worked as a teacher, as a public relations worker, editor, features writer and video producer for the Jamaican Information Service, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Creative Production and Training Centre. From 1987 she freelanced as a communications consultant. Her first published book, in 1978, was
The Rag Doll & Other Stories, and she went on to become one of the most prolific writers produced by Jamaica. She was particularly noted for her children's books, and the
Jamaica Gleaner stated: "Campbell had an in-depth understanding of children and demonstrated giftedness in crafting material that engaged their attention in literature." Her short stories appeared in publications including
West Indian Stories (ed. John Wickham, 1981),
Caribanthology I (ed. Bruce St. John, 1981),
Focus 1983;
Facing the Sea (ed.
Anne Walmsley, 1986); and
When de Mark Buss: Black British and Caribbean Short Stories (2001). Reviewing her 1991 story collection
Singerman, Keith Jardim wrote: "The excellence of Hazel D. Campbell’s short stories lies not only in the bright, robust prose of her third and latest collection, Singerman, but also in her portrayals of the preoccupations of the Caribbean people, race, class, and poverty - how they have cursed the region. ... all of these stories are beautifully written, wise, and sweeping in moral concerns." Campbell died on 12 December 2018, aged 78, at the University Hospital of the West Indies in Kingston, following a brief illness. ==Selected bibliography==