John Lincoln Williams (born 12 May 1961) is a Welsh writer who has published as John Williams, John L. Williams, and John Lincoln.

Early life

Williams was born in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, where he currently lives, and grew up in a middle-class neighbourhood. In his teens, he joined the

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

scene and moved to

Camden Town Camden Town () is an area in the London Borough of Camden, around north-northwest of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is identified in the London Plan as one of 34 major centres in Greater London. Laid out as a residential distri ...

to live in a squat and play in bands. After discovering the works of

Elmore Leonard Elmore John Leonard Jr. (October 11, 1925August 20, 2013) was an American novelist, short story author and screenwriter. He was, according to British journalist Anthony Lane, "hailed as one of the best crime writers in the land". His earliest no ...

he began writing book reviews for ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' and ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

''.

Career

In 1994, Williams published ''Into the Badlands'' (1991), a combination of travelogue and interviews with American crime fiction authors, including Elmore Leonard, James Ellroy, Carl Hiaasen, and Sara Paretsky. This was followed in 1994 by ''Bloody Valentine'', a nonfiction account of the killing of sex worker

Lynette White Lynnette, also spelled Lynette, is a feminine given name. People * Lynette Boggs (born 1963), American politician * Lynnette Brooky (born 1968), New Zealand golfer * Lynette Chico (21st century), Puerto Rican fashion model and actress * Lynnette ...

in the inner-city district of

Butetown Butetown (or ''The Docks'', ) is a district and community (Wales), community in the south of the city of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. It was originally a model housing estate built in the early 19th century by John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marqu ...

. ''Five Pubs, Two Bars and a Nightclub'' (1999), a collection of short stories, was his fiction debut. It became the first volume in the so-called 'Cardiff Trilogy', which includes the novels ''Cardiff Dead'' (2000) and ''The Prince of Wales'' (2003). He has also written biographies of the singer and Butetown native Dame

Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the James Bond music, theme songs to three James Bond films - the only artist to officially perform more than o ...

and the Trinidadian

Black Power Black power is a list of political slogans, political slogan and a name which is given to various associated ideologies which aim to achieve self-determination for black people. It is primarily, but not exclusively, used in the United States b ...

activist

Michael X Michael X (17 August 1933 – 16 May 1975), born Michael de Freitas, was a Trinidad and Tobago-born self-styled black revolutionary, convicted murderer, and civil rights activist in 1960s London. He was also known as Michael Abdul Malik and A ...

and the Trinidadian historian and writer C.L.R. James. He writes crime fiction under the name "John Lincoln", Williams currently writes for ''

The Mail on Sunday ''The Mail on Sunday'' is a British conservative newspaper, published in a tabloid format. Founded in 1982 by Lord Rothermere, it is the biggest-selling Sunday newspaper in the UK. Its sister paper, the ''Daily Mail'', was first published i ...

'' and ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' and is co-organiser of the Laugharne Festival.

Selected works

Non-fiction

* ''Into the Badlands'' (Paladin, 1991) * ''Bloody Valentine'' (HarperCollins, 1994) * ''Michael X: a Life in Black and White'' (Century, 2008) * ''Miss Shirley Bassey'' (Quercus, 2010) * ''Bloody Valentine (Updated Edition)'' (Oldcastle Books, 2021) * ''C.L.R. James: A Life Beyond the Boundaries'' (Constable, 2022).

Fiction

* ''Five Pubs, Two Bars and a Nightclub'' (Bloomsbury, 1999) * ''Cardiff Dead'' (Bloomsbury, 2000) * ''The Prince of Wales'' (Bloomsbury 2003) * ''Temperance Town'' (Bloomsbury, 2004) * ''The Cardiff Trilogy'' (Bloomsbury, 2006) (an omnibus volume collecting ''Five Pubs, Two Bars and a Nightclub''; ''Cardiff Dead;'' and ''The Prince of Wales)'' * ''Fade to Grey'' (No Exit Press, 2019) (under "John Lincoln")

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, John 1961 births 20th-century British male writers 20th-century British non-fiction writers 20th-century Welsh writers 21st-century British male writers 21st-century Welsh non-fiction writers 21st-century British short story writers 21st-century Welsh novelists British male non-fiction writers British male short story writers Journalists from Cardiff Living people Welsh crime novelists Welsh male novelists Welsh short story writers Writers from Cardiff