History of the Rain (Williams)

Author Bio
• Birth—1958
• Where—Dublin, Ireland
• Education—B.A., M.A., University College, Dublin
• Currently—Kiltumper, County Clare, Ireland


Niall Williams is an Irish author and playwright. 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, also a novelist, 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.

Between 1985 and 1997, Niall cowrote four nonfiction books with his wife, recounting the couple's life together in Kiltumper in west Clare.  In 1991 Niall's first play The Murphy Initiative was staged at The Abbey Theatre in Dublin. His second play, 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.

Novels
Niall's first novel, Four Letters of Love, published in 1997, went on to become an international bestseller and has been published in over twenty countries. ♦  His second novel, As it is in Heaven, published in 1999, was long listed for the Irish Times IMPAC Literary Award.  ♦  His third novel, The Fall of Light, was released in Britain and Ireland, France, Italy and America. ♦  His fourth novel, Only Say The Word, came out in 2005 in several countries. ♦  His fifth novel, Boy in the World, published in 2007 was dedicated to his son Joseph. He wrote chapters and sent them to Joseph who was away at boarding school. ♦  Niall continued the story in the sequel, Boy and Man, his sixth novel. ♦  Niall's seventh novel, John, explores the life of John the apostle, who reportedly lived 100 years while awaiting Jesus's return. ♦  His 2014 novel, History of the Rain, has been long listed for the 2014 Man Booker Prize.

He is at work on several screenplays, including one on his novel Four Letters of Love.

Williams currently lives in west Clare with his wife and two children. He worked as a mentor for MFA students of Carlow University in Pittsburgh. He was also the writer-in-residence for County Sligo, in Ireland, for the previous two years. (Adapted from Wikipedia. Retrieved 11/20/2014.)