Niall Williams biography

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Niall Williams

Niall Williams

Niall Williams Biography

Niall Williams was born in Dublin in 1958. He studied English and French literature at University College Dublin before graduating with a Master's degree in Modern American Literature. He moved to New York in 1980 where he married Christine Breen, whom he had met while she was a Master's student also at UCD, and took his first job opening boxes of books in Fox and Sutherland's bookshop in Mount Kisco. He later worked as a copywriter for Avon Books in New York City before leaving America with Chris in 1985 to attempt to make a life as a writer.

Niall and Christine moved on April 1st to the cottage in west Clare that Chris's grandfather had left eighty years before to find his life in America. In 1991 Niall's first play 'The Murphy Initiative' was staged at The Abbey Theatre in Dublin. His second play, 'A Little Like Paradise' was produced on the Peacock stage of The Abbey Theatre in 1995. His third play, 'The Way You Look Tonight,' was produced by Galway's Druid Theatre Company in 1999.

In additon to the plays, Niall is the author of nine novels including History of the Rain and Four Letters of Love, for which he has recently completed the screenplay. He lives in Kiltumper in County Clare.

Niall Williams's website

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Books by Niall Williams at BookBrowse
This Is Happiness jacket History of the Rain jacket John: A Novel jacket
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All the books below are recommended as read-alikes for Niall Williams but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
How we choose read-alikes

  • John Banville

    John Banville

    John Banville, the author of seventeen novels, has been the recipient of the Man Booker Prize, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, the Guardian Fiction Award, the Franz Kafka Prize, a Lannan Literary Award for Fiction, and ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    This Is Happiness

    Try:
    The Sea
    by John Banville

  • Sadie Jones

    Sadie Jones

    Sadie Jones is the author of five novels, including The Outcast, winner of the Costa First Novel Award in Great Britain and a finalist for the Orange Prize for Fiction and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize/Art Seidenbaum Award... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    This Is Happiness

    Try:
    The Outcast
    by Sadie Jones

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