Nigel Williams (born 20 January 1948) is an English

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire ...

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

Biography

Williams was born in Cheadle,

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county tow ...

. He was educated at

Highgate School Highgate School, formally Sir Roger Cholmeley's School at Highgate, is an English co-educational, fee-charging, independent day school, founded in 1565 in Highgate, London, England. It educates over 1,400 pupils in three sections – Highgat ...

, north London and

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, ...

, is married with three sons and lives in

Putney Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ancient paris ...

, southwest

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. After graduating from Oxford, Williams joined the BBC as a general trainee, and worked as an arts producer for the corporation eventually becoming the editor of '' Omnibus'' and ''Bookmark''.Geraldine Bedel
"All roads lead to Croydon"
''The Observer'', 14 April 2002 His first novel ''My Life Closed Twice'' won the 1978 Somerset Maugham Award. For his screen adaptation of William Horwood's '' Skallagrigg'' (1994) he won a television BAFTA. Williams was also the primary scriptwriter for the second season – based on Greek myths – of the acclaimed '' Jim Henson's Storyteller'' series. Williams' most successful work has been the 2005 TV drama ''

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

'', being himself nominated for an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

for his script and winning multiple awards for the film and its star,

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (born Helen Lydia Mironoff; born 26 July 1945) is an English actor. The recipient of numerous accolades, she is the only performer to have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting in both the United States and the United Kingdom ...

Bibliography

Novels

*1977 – ''My Life Closed Twice'' (

Secker & Warburg Harvill Secker is a British publishing company formed in 2005 from the merger of Secker & Warburg and the Harvill Press. History Secker & Warburg Secker & Warburg was formed in 1935 from a takeover of Martin Secker, which was in receivership, ...

) *1980 – ''Jack Be Nimble'' (Secker & Warburg) *1983 – ''

Johnny Jarvis ''Johnny Jarvis'' is a 1983 British television drama series created and written by Nigel Williams, adapted from his novel of the same title. The series was directed by Alan Dossor and produced by Guy Slater for the BBC. The principal actors wer ...

'' (

Penguin Penguins (order Sphenisciformes , family Spheniscidae ) are a group of aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is found north of the Equator. Highly adap ...

, based on his teleplay) *1984 – ''Charlie'' ( Methuen, based on his teleplay) *1985 – ''Star Turn'' ( Faber & Faber) *1987 – ''Witchcraft'', (Faber & Faber) *1988 – ''Black Magic'' (

Hutchinson Novella ''Hutchinson Novellas'' was a series of short novels published by the Hutchinson Group in the United Kingdom and Australia in the late 1980s. The books were also published as '' The Harper Short Novel Series'' in the United States. Bibliography ...

) *1988 – ''Breaking Up'' (Faber & Faber, based on his teleplay) *1989 – ''Buttons in the Marsh'' (Faber & Faber, based on his stageplay) *''

The Wimbledon Trilogy The Wimbledon Trilogy consists of three books written by Nigel Williams set in Wimbledon, London and published by Faber & Faber: *''The Wimbledon Poisoner'' (1990, ) : Henry Farr, a struggling solicitor is desperate to get rid of his wife, Eli ...

'' : **1990 – ''The Wimbledon Poisoner'' (Faber & Faber) **1992 – ''They Came from SW19'' (Faber & Faber) **1993 – ''East of Wimbledon'' (Faber & Faber) *1994 – ''Scenes from a Poisoner's Life'' (Faber & Faber) *1997 – ''Stalking Fiona'' (

Granta ''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and ma ...

) *1999 – ''Fortysomething'' (Penguin) *2002 – ''Hatchett & Lycett'' (Penguin) *2013 – ''Unfaithfully Yours'' (Corsair) *2016 – ''Waking Up Dead''

Plays

*1974 – ''Marbles'' (

Bush Theatre The Bush Theatre is located in the Passmore Edwards Public Library, Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 as a showcase for the work of new writers. The Bush Theatre strives to create a s ...

) *1976 – ''Square One'' *1976 – ''Double Talk'' (London) *1977 – ''Snowwhite Washes Whiter'' and ''Deadwood'' (Bristol) *1978 – ''

Class Enemy The term enemy of the people or enemy of the nation, is a designation for the political or class opponents of the subgroup in power within a larger group. The term implies that by opposing the ruling subgroup, the "enemies" in question are ac ...

'' (

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England ...

) *1979 – ''Easy Street'' (Bristol) *1980 – ''Line 'em'' (

Cottesloe Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. ...

) *1980 – ''Sugar and Spice'' (Royal Court) *1980 – ''Trial Run'' (Playhouse, Oxford) *1982 – ''The Adventures of Jasper Ridley'' (Hull) *1982 – ''W.C.P.C.'' ( Half Moon Theatre) *1985 – ''My Brother's Keeper'' (Greenwich) *1985 – ''Deathwatch'' (Birmingham Rep) *1986 – ''Country Dancing'' (Other Place Theatre, RSC) *1987 – ''As it Was'' (Edinburgh) *1988 – ''Consequences'' (Croydon) *1988 – ''Breaking up'' *1989 – ''Buttons in the Marsh'' (

Cheltenham Festivals Cheltenham Festivals is a registered charity that aims to bring joy, spark curiosity, connect communities, and inspire change year-round with four world-class Festivals in Jazz, Science, Music and Literature, and charitable programmes for educ ...

) *1989 – ''Nativity'' (

Tricycle Theatre The Kiln Theatre (formerly the Tricycle Theatre) is a theatre located in Kilburn, in the London Borough of Brent, England. Since 1980, the theatre has presented a wide range of plays reflecting the cultural diversity of the area, as well as ...

) *1995 – ''

Lord of the Flies ''Lord of the Flies'' is a 1954 novel by the Nobel Prize-winning British author William Golding. The plot concerns a group of British boys who are stranded on an uninhabited island and their disastrous attempts to govern themselves. Themes ...

'' (adaption) (Other Place) *1996 – ''The Last Romantics'' (Greenwich) *1996 – ''Harry and Me'' (Royal Court) *2008 – ''MyFace'' (

) *2009 – '' HR'' (five series comedy drama for

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...

)

Non-fiction

*1993 – '' Two and a Half Men in a Boat (Hodder and Stoughton) *1995 – '' From Wimbledon to Waco'' (Faber & Faber)

References

External links

*
Stalking Fiona
on Granta website

article on the London Fictions website {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Nigel 1948 births Living people 20th-century English novelists 21st-century British novelists Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford English dramatists and playwrights English humorists Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature People educated at Highgate School People from Cheadle, Greater Manchester English male dramatists and playwrights English male novelists 20th-century English male writers 21st-century English male writers