Niall Williams
Born in Dublin in 1958, Niall Williams studied English and French Literature at University College Dublin, earning an MA in Modern American Literature. In 1980, he moved to New York, where he married Christine Breen. His first job there was unpacking books at Fox and Sutherland’s Bookshop in Mount Kisco. He later worked as a copywriter for Avon Books in New York City before leaving the U.S. in 1985 with Christine to pursue a writing career in Ireland.
On April 1st, they settled in a cottage in West Clare, which had been left behind by Christine’s grandfather 80 years earlier when he emigrated to America. Their early experiences in Ireland inspired their first four books, which they co-wrote, chronicling their life together in County Clare.
Williams’ playwriting career began in 1991 with The Murphy Initiative, staged at The Abbey Theatre in Dublin. His second play, A Little Like Paradise, premiered on the Peacock stage of The Abbey Theatre in 1995, followed by The Way You Look Tonight, produced by Galway’s Druid Theatre Company in 1999.
In 1997, Williams published his debut novel, Four Letters of Love, which became an international bestseller and has since been translated into more than 20 languages. He’s gone on to write ten novels since. History of the Rain was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize 2015 and This is Happiness was nominated for The Irish Books Award, The Walter Scott Prize, and was one of the Washington Post’s Books of the Year.
