Niall Williams (writer)
Template:Short description Template:For Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox writer Niall Williams (born 1958) is an Irish writer of novels, plays, and non-fiction. He is known for his novels Four Letters of Love (1997), As It Is In Heaven (1999), Fall of the Light (2008), History of the Rain (2014), and This Is Happiness (2019).
Early life and education
Niall Williams was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1958.<ref name=int2020>Template:Cite interviewOriginally titled: "Niall Williams (61): This Literary Life", see </ref> His parents' home was not filled with books, but his parents wanted him to be better educated than they were, and his father would take him to Pembroke Library every two weeks to encourage reading.<ref name=int2020/>
He attended Oatlands College, a boys' school in Stillorgan, County Dublin.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
He studied at University College Dublin, graduating with a Masters of Arts in Modern American literature, where he met his future wife, writer Christine Breen.<ref name=int2020/>
Career
Williams' first published story was printed in The Irish Press when he was eighteen. A £25 cheque for his first story, and a nod of approval, was the confirmation he needed from the world to dedicate his life to writing.<ref name=int2020/>
After a year lecturing at the Université de Caen in Normandy, France, Williams moved to New York City (with Breen<ref name=int2020/>). He worked briefly at Fox and Sutherland's bookstore in Mount Kisco, New York, before becoming a copywriter at Avon Books.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
After five years,<ref name=int2020/> in 1985, Williams and Breen returned to Ireland and moved to Kilmihil, County Clare, and began co-writing factual accounts of life in rural Ireland.<ref name=":0" />
Non-fiction
Williams' first four books, co-written with Breen, were non-fiction works relating to their lives living in a 200-year-old farmhouse in County Clare, and were written primarily for an American audience.<ref name=int2020/>
Plays
In 1991, Williams' first play, The Murphy Initiative, was staged at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin.<ref name=":5">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> His second play, A Little Like Paradise, was produced on the Peacock stage of the Abbey Theatre in 1995.<ref name=":5" /> His third play, The Way You Look Tonight, was produced by Galway’s Druid Theatre Company in 1999.<ref name=":5" />
Novels
Four Letters of Love, Williams' first novel, was published in 1997 to acclaim.<ref name=int2020/> It went on to become an international bestseller and has been translated into many languages.Template:Cn
The Fall of Light was set in the nineteenth century and was Williams' first foray into historical fiction.Template:Cn
In 2006, Williams' published his novella, The Unrequited. He also wrote two young adult novels, Boy in the World (2007) and Boy and Man (2008).Template:Cn
In 2014, Williams started a series of novels set in Faha, a fictional village in the west of Ireland. Similar to Macondo in the works of Gabriel García Márquez, Faha is a village steeped in magic realism, which acts as a backdrop for Williams' stories.<ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":3">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
His 2024 novel, Time of the Child, is also set in Faha. Lucy Popsecu, writing in The Guardian, called it "a slow-burning, finely crafted novel about second chances, humanity and familial love".<ref name=popescu2024>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Screenplays
Williams has also written screenplays for television and film, including screenplays for Four Letters of Love and This Is Happiness.<ref name=":0" />
Four Letters of Love was made into a feature film, directed by Polly Steele and starring Pierce Brosnan, Helena Bonham-Carter, and Gabriel Byrne. The film was screened at the 2025 Dublin International Film Festival prior to a theatrical release in UK and Irish cinemas from 18 July 2025.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="bailey">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Recognition
- 1997: Four Letters of Love named Notable Book of the Year in The New York Times Book Review<ref name=":4" />
- 1999: As It Is In Heaven shortlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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- 1999: As It Is In Heaven shortlisted for the Irish Times Literature Prize
- 2000: The Fall of Light longlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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- 2014: History of the Rain longlisted for the Man Booker Prize<ref name=":2" /><ref name=int2020/>
- 2019: This Is Happiness listed in Washington Post's Best Books of the Year<ref name=":3"/>
- 2019: This Is Happiness shortlisted for the An Post Irish Book Awards Best Book of the Year<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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Selected works
Fiction
- Four Letters Of Love (1997)<ref name=":4">Template:Cite news</ref>
- As It Is In Heaven (1999)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- The Way You Look Tonight (2000)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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- The Fall of Light (2001)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Only Say the Word (2005)<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead link</ref>
- The Unrequited (2006)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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- Boy in the World (2007)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Boy and Man (2008)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- John: A Novel (2008)
- History of the Rain (2015)
- This Is Happiness (2019)
- The Unrequited (2021) (novella)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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- Time of the Child (2024)<ref name=popescu2024/>
Non-Fiction (with Christine Breen)
- O Come Ye Back to Ireland (1987)
- When Summer’s in the Meadow (1989)
- The Pipes are Calling (1990)
- The Luck of the Irish (1995)
- In Kiltumper: A Year in an Irish Garden (2021)
Personal life
Williams married American writer and artist Christine Breen, whom he met at University College Dublin. They have two adult children.<ref name=int2020/><ref name="niallwilliams.com">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
They moved to Kiltumpter, in west County Clare, in Ireland, to live in Breen's grandfather's old cottage. Both teach creative writing workshops. Williams does not read reviews.<ref name=int2020/>