Niall Williams (born 1958) is an Irish writer of novels, plays, and nonfiction. 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. His parents' home was not filled with books, but his parents wanted him to be better educated than they were, and his father took him to Pembroke Library every two weeks to encourage reading. and graduated with a Master's of Arts in Modern American literature from University College Dublin, where he met his future wife, writer Christine Breen.
After five years, His second play, A Little Like Paradise, was produced on the Peacock stage of the Abbey Theatre in 1995.
Williams' 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".
Screenplays
Williams has also written screenplays for television and film, including screenplays for Four Letters of Love and This Is Happiness.
Recognition
- 1997: Four Letters of Love named Notable Book of the Year in The New York Times Book Review
- 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
- 2014: History of the Rain longlisted for the Man Booker Prize
Selected works
Fiction
- Four Letters Of Love (1997)
- As It Is In Heaven (1999)
- The Way You Look Tonight (2000)
- The Fall of Light (2001)
- Only Say the Word (2005)
- The Unrequited (2006)
- Boy in the World (2007)
- Boy and Man (2008)
- John: A Novel (2008)
- History of the Rain (2015)
- This Is Happiness (2019)
- The Unrequited (2021) (novella)
They moved to Kiltumper, 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.