Eley Williams
Eley Williams | |
|---|---|
| Alma mater | Selwyn College, Cambridge |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Spouse | Nell Stevens |
Eleanor Williams FRSL is a British writer.[1] Her debut collection of prose, Attrib. and Other Stories (Influx Press, 2017), was awarded the Republic of Consciousness Prize[2] and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize 2018.[3] Her writing has also been anthologised in The Penguin Book of the Contemporary British Short Story (Penguin Classics, 2018),[4] Liberating the Canon (Dostoevsky Wannabe, 2018)[5] and Not Here: A Queer Anthology of Loneliness (Pilot Press, 2017).[6]
Williams is an alumna of the MacDowell workshop and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.[7] She teaches at Royal Holloway, University of London,[8] and supervises Jungftak, a journal for contemporary prose poetry.[9]
Her first novel, The Liar's Dictionary, was published in 2020, described in The Guardian as a "virtuoso performance full of charm... a glorious novel – a perfectly crafted investigation of our ability to define words and their power to define us."[10] Stuart Kelly in a review in The Spectator wrote of the book: "It deals with love as something which cannot be put into words, and dare not speak its name (done neither stridently nor sentimentally). It is, in short, a delight."[11]
Williams' stories "Moderate to Poor, Occasionally Good" (2018) and "Moonlighting" (2019) have been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 under the Short Works strand, and her story "Scrimshaw" was a finalist for the 2020 BBC National Short Story Award.[12] A 10-part radio series Gambits, based around the theme of chess, was broadcast on Radio 4 beginning in November 2021.[13]
Early and personal life
[edit]Williams' given name is Eleanor; the unusual spelling of Eley came from school. She grew up with two sisters.[14] Williams graduated from Selwyn College, Cambridge. She now lives in London with her wife Nell Stevens.[15]
Awards and honours
[edit]In 2017, Williams received the Society of Authors's Writing Grant, and in 2018, she received a MacDowell Fellowship and Fellowship of Royal Society of Literature.[8]
In 2023, Williams was named on the Granta Best of Young British Novelists list, compiled every 10 years since 1983, identifying the 20 most significant British novelists aged under 40.[16][17]
| Year | Title | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | "Gravity" | Christopher Tower Poetry Prize | Winner | [18] |
| 2017 | Attrib. and Other Stories | James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction | Winner | [3][19] |
| 2018 | Dylan Thomas Prize | Longlist | [20] | |
| Republic of Consciousness Prize | Winner | [2][21] | ||
| 2020 | "Scrimshaw" | BBC National Short Story Award | Finalist | [12] |
| 2021 | The Liar’s Dictionary | Betty Trask Award | Winner | [22] |
| Desmond Elliott Prize | Shortlist | [23] |
Selected bibliography
[edit]- "In pursuit of the swan at Brentford Ait," essay in An Unreliable Guide to London, edited by Kit Caless and Gary Budden (2016)
- Attrib. and Other Stories, short story collection (2017)
- Frit, poetry pamphlet (2017)[24]
- "Of Père Lachaise, On Business," in We'll Never Have Paris, edited by Andrew Gallix (2019)
- "To Plot, Plan, Redress," on the Rebecca Riots 1839, in Resist: Stories of Uprising (2019)
- "Scrimshaw," story anthologised in Still Worlds Turning (2019), shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award 2020[25]
- The Liar's Dictionary, novel (2020)
References
[edit]- ^ Revely-Calder, Cal (2017-04-01). "Attrib. and other stories by Eley Williams review – life's big microdrama moments". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2018-10-13. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Onwuemezi, Natasha (2018-03-20). "Influx wins Republic of Consciousness Prize". The Bookseller. Archived from the original on 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2019-03-03.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Literary duo join oldest book prizes' hall of fame". The University of Edinburgh. Archived from the original on 2020-10-19. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
- ^ Hensher, Philip. "The Penguin Book of the Contemporary British Short Story". Penguin. Archived from the original on 2020-09-23. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
- ^ Waidner, Isabel (2018-01-16). "Liberating the Canon: Intersectionality and Innovation in Literature". 3:AM Magazine. Archived from the original on 2018-10-04. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
- ^ "Not Here A Queer Anthology of Loneliness : P-U-N-C-H". p-u-n-c-h.ro. Archived from the original on 2018-08-19. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
- ^ Flood, Alison (2018-06-28). "Royal Society of Literature admits 40 new fellows to address historical biases". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2019-04-02. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Dr Eley Williams". Royal Holloway, University of London. Archived from the original on 2021-02-06. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
- ^ "About". JUNGFTAK. Archived from the original on 2021-06-10. Retrieved 2019-06-23.
- ^ Cummins, Anthony (2020-07-14). "The Liar's Dictionary by Eley Williams review – a glorious way with words". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2020-07-18. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
- ^ Kelly, Stuart (2020-07-11). "Spotting the mountweazels: The Liar's Dictionary, by Eley Williams, reviewed". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 2021-01-17. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Scrimshaw by Eley Williams". BBC National Short Story Award 2020. BBC Radio 4. 2020-09-18. Archived from the original on 2021-11-08. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
- ^ "Gambits". BBC Radio 4. 1 November 2021. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ Jordan, Justine (17 July 2020). "Hunting for mountweazels: Eley Williams on the fun - and responsibility - of dictionaries". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
- ^ Wolfe, Kathi (29 January 2024). "'Liar's Dictionary' a fab, queer tale for lovers of language". Washington Blade. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
- ^ Razzall, Katie (2023-04-13). "Granta: Eleanor Catton and Saba Sams make Best of Young British Novelists list". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2023-04-14. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
- ^ "Granta Names 'Best of Young British Novelists'". Shelf Awareness. 2023-04-14. Archived from the original on 2023-04-14. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
- ^ "Previous Competitions". Christ Church, Oxford University. Archived from the original on 2023-03-06. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
- ^ "Awards: James Tait Black". Shelf Awareness. 2018-08-21. Archived from the original on 2021-09-27. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
- ^ "Awards: International Dylan Thomas; Branford Boase". Shelf Awareness. 2018-02-05. Archived from the original on 2022-05-23. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
- ^ "Awards: Dylan Thomas International; Republic of Consciousness; B&N Discover". Shelf Awareness . 2018-03-28. Archived from the original on 2023-01-30. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
- ^ "Betty Trask Prize". The Society of Authors. 2020-05-08. Archived from the original on 2022-12-02. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
- ^ "Awards: Governor General's Literary & IndieReader Discovery Winners, Desmond Elliott Shortlist". Shelf Awareness . 2021-06-04. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
- ^ "Our Books". Sad Press. 2016-09-25. Archived from the original on 2019-06-23. Retrieved 2019-06-23.
- ^ "Sarah Hall Nominated for Fourth Time as 15th BBC National Short Story Award Reveals Bold, Experimental Shortlist Celebrating a Generation of Voices | BBC Short Story Awards". University of Cambridge. 2020-09-11. Archived from the original on 2022-06-18. Retrieved 2021-04-06.
