Eley Williams
Eley Williams | |
---|---|
Occupation | Writer |
Language | English |
Nationality | British |
Alma mater | Selwyn College, Cambridge |
Notable awards | James Tait Black Memorial Prize (2017) Republic of Consciousness Prize (2018) Betty Trask Award (2021) |
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 2018 Republic of Consciousness Prize [2] and the 2017 James Tait Black Memorial Prize.[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 taught 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's 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 lives in West Oxfordshire 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 | — | Won | [18] |
2017 | Attrib. and Other Stories | James Tait Black Memorial Prize | — | Won | [3] [19] |
2018 | Dylan Thomas Prize | — | Longlisted | [20] | |
Republic of Consciousness Prize | — | Won | [2] [21] | ||
2020 | "Scrimshaw" | BBC National Short Story Award | — | Shortlisted | [12] [22] |
2021 | The Liar's Dictionary | Betty Trask Prize and Awards | Betty Trask Award | Won | [23] |
Desmond Elliott Prize | — | Shortlisted | [24] |
Selected bibliography
[edit ]Novel
[edit ]- The Liar's Dictionary, novel (2020)
Collections
[edit ]- Attrib. and Other Stories (2017)
- Frit, poetry pamphlet (2017)[25]
- Moderate to Poor, Occasionally Good (2024)
Short stories and essays
[edit ]- "In pursuit of the swan at Brentford Ait", essay in An Unreliable Guide to London, edited by Kit Caless and Gary Budden (2016)
- "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)
References
[edit ]- ^ Revely-Calder, Cal (2017年04月01日). "Attrib. and other stories by Eley Williams review – life's big microdrama moments". The Guardian . Archived from the original on 2018年10月13日. Retrieved 2018年10月06日.
- ^ a b Onwuemezi, Natasha (2018年03月20日). "Influx wins Republic of Consciousness Prize". The Bookseller . Archived from the original on 2019年03月06日. Retrieved 2019年03月03日.
- ^ a b "Literary duo join oldest book prizes' hall of fame". The University of Edinburgh . Archived from the original on 2020年10月19日. Retrieved 2023年04月15日.
- ^ Hensher, Philip. "The Penguin Book of the Contemporary British Short Story". Penguin. Archived from the original on 2020年09月23日. Retrieved 2018年10月06日.
- ^ Waidner, Isabel (2018年01月16日). "Liberating the Canon: Intersectionality and Innovation in Literature". 3:AM Magazine. Archived from the original on 2018年10月04日. Retrieved 2018年10月06日.
- ^ "Not Here A Queer Anthology of Loneliness : P-U-N-C-H". p-u-n-c-h.ro. Archived from the original on 2018年08月19日. Retrieved 2018年10月06日.
- ^ Flood, Alison (2018年06月28日). "Royal Society of Literature admits 40 new fellows to address historical biases". The Guardian . Archived from the original on 2019年04月02日. Retrieved 2018年10月06日.
- ^ a b "Dr Eley Williams". Royal Holloway, University of London. Archived from the original on 2021年02月06日. Retrieved 2020年07月19日.
- ^ "About". JUNGFTAK. Archived from the original on 2021年06月10日. Retrieved 2019年06月23日.
- ^ Cummins, Anthony (2020年07月14日). "The Liar's Dictionary by Eley Williams review – a glorious way with words". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2020年07月18日. Retrieved 2020年07月19日.
- ^ Kelly, Stuart (2020年07月11日). "Spotting the mountweazels: The Liar's Dictionary, by Eley Williams, reviewed". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 2021年01月17日. Retrieved 2020年07月19日.
- ^ a b "Scrimshaw by Eley Williams". BBC National Short Story Award 2020. BBC Radio 4. 2020年09月18日. Archived from the original on 2021年11月08日. Retrieved 2021年11月08日.
- ^ "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年04月13日). "Granta: Eleanor Catton and Saba Sams make Best of Young British Novelists list". BBC News . Archived from the original on 2023年04月14日. Retrieved 2023年04月13日.
- ^ "Granta Names 'Best of Young British Novelists'". Shelf Awareness . 2023年04月14日. Archived from the original on 2023年04月14日. Retrieved 2023年04月15日.
- ^ "Previous Competitions". Christ Church, Oxford University . Archived from the original on 2023年03月06日. Retrieved 2023年04月15日.
- ^ "Awards: James Tait Black". Shelf Awareness . 2018年08月21日. Archived from the original on 2021年09月27日. Retrieved 2023年04月15日.
- ^ "Awards: International Dylan Thomas; Branford Boase". Shelf Awareness . 2018年02月05日. Archived from the original on 2022年05月23日. Retrieved 2023年04月15日.
- ^ "Awards: Dylan Thomas International; Republic of Consciousness; B&N Discover". Shelf Awareness . 2018年03月28日. Archived from the original on 2023年01月30日. Retrieved 2023年04月15日.
- ^ "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年09月11日. Archived from the original on 2022年06月18日. Retrieved 2021年04月06日.
- ^ "Betty Trask Prize". The Society of Authors . 2020年05月08日. Archived from the original on 2022年12月02日. Retrieved 2023年04月15日.
- ^ "Awards: Governor General's Literary & IndieReader Discovery Winners, Desmond Elliott Shortlist". Shelf Awareness . 2021年06月04日. Archived from the original on 2022年12月09日. Retrieved 2023年04月15日.
- ^ "Our Books". Sad Press. 2016年09月25日. Archived from the original on 2019年06月23日. Retrieved 2019年06月23日.
External
[edit ]- Eley Williams on Goodreads
- Eley Williams The Books of My Life at The Guardian
- Profile at C&W
- Profile at Profession Writing Academy
- Profile at Penguin Random House
- Profile at Granta