Bishop was a novelist, writing teacher, and newspaper columnist. His novel "Against Heaven’s Hand" was made into the movie "Seven In Darkness" in 1969. He also wrote short stories.
He taught fiction at Columbia University, the University of California at Berkeley, and other institutions, including Fort Riley Middle School, where he was filmed for a video series called "A Writer Teaches Writing." He spoke at writing conferences across the United States.
Bishop died in Manhattan, Kansas, in 2002. His writing and teaching career are documented in the "Leonard Bishop Collection" at Boston University.