Nigel Williams (author)
Encyclopedia
Nigel Williams is an English novelist, screenwriter
and playwright
.
and Oriel College, Oxford
, is married with three sons and lives in Putney
, south-west London
. 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.
He won a television BAFTA
for his 1994 screen adaptation of William Horwood
's Skallagrigg
.
His most successful work to date has been the 2005 TV drama Elizabeth I
, being himself nominated for an Emmy Award
for his script and winning multiple awards for the film and its star, Helen Mirren
.
Williams was also the primary scriptwriter for the second season - based on Greek myths - of the acclaimed Jim Henson's Storyteller series.
His first novel My Life Closed Twice won the 1978 Somerset Maugham Award
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
and playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
.
Biography
He was educated at Highgate SchoolHighgate School
-Notable members of staff and governing body:* John Ireton, brother of Henry Ireton, Cromwellian General* 1st Earl of Mansfield, Lord Chief Justice, owner of Kenwood, noted for judgment finding contracts for slavery unenforceable in English law* T. S...
and Oriel College, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, is married with three sons and lives in Putney
Putney
Putney is a district in south-west London, England, located in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated south-west of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
, south-west London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. 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.
He won a television BAFTA
British Academy Television Awards
The British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . They have been awarded annually since 1954, and are analogous to the Emmy Awards in the United States.-Background:...
for his 1994 screen adaptation of William Horwood
William Horwood (novelist)
William Horwood is an English novelist. He grew up on the East Kent coast, primarily in Deal, within a model modern family—fractious with "parental separation, secret illegitimacy, alcoholism and genteel poverty"....
's Skallagrigg
Skallagrigg
Skallagrigg is a 1987 novel written by William Horwood and influenced by Horwood's relationship with his own daughter Rachel, who has cerebral palsy.-Plot introduction:...
.
His most successful work to date has been the 2005 TV drama Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (TV series)
Elizabeth I is a 2005 British television miniseries directed by Tom Hooper. The teleplay by Nigel Williams concentrates on the last 25 years of the nearly 45-year-long reign of Elizabeth I of England....
, being himself nominated for an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for his script and winning multiple awards for the film and its star, Helen Mirren
Helen Mirren
Dame Helen Mirren, DBE is an English actor. She has won an Academy Award for Best Actress, four SAG Awards, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes, four Emmy Awards, and two Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Awards.-Early life and family:...
.
Williams was also the primary scriptwriter for the second season - based on Greek myths - of the acclaimed Jim Henson's Storyteller series.
His first novel My Life Closed Twice won the 1978 Somerset Maugham Award
Somerset Maugham Award
The Somerset Maugham Award is a British literary prize given each May by the Society of Authors. It is awarded to whom they judge to be the best writer or writers under the age of thirty-five of a book published in the past year. The prize was instituted in 1947 by William Somerset Maugham and thus...
Novels
- 1977 – My Life Closed Twice (Secker & Warburg)
- 1980 – Jack Be Nimble (Secker & Warburg)
- 1983 – Johnny JarvisJohnny JarvisJohnny 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...
(PenguinPenguin BooksPenguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
, based on his teleplay) - 1984 – Charlie (Methuen, based on his teleplay)
- 1985 – Star Turn (Faber & Faber)
- 1987 – Witchcraft, (Faber & Faber)
- 1988 – Black Magic (Hutchinson NovellaHutchinson NovellaHutchinson 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 TrilogyThe Wimbledon TrilogyThe Wimbledon Trilogy consists of three books written by Nigel Williams set in Wimbledon, London and published by Faber & Faber:*The Wimbledon Poisoner : Henry Farr, a struggling solicitor is desperate to get rid of his wife, Elinor and decides to poison her, following the example of Everett...
:- 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 (GrantaGrantaGranta is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centers 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 make real." In 2007, The Observer stated, "In its blend of...
) - 1999 – Fortysomething (Penguin)
- 2002 – Hatchett & Lycett (Penguin)
Plays
- 1974 – Marbles (Bush TheatreBush TheatreThe Bush Theatre is based in Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 above The Bush public house by Brian McDermott, and has since become one of the most celebrated new writing theatres in the world. An intimate venue renowned for its close-up...
) - 1976 – Square One
- 1976 – Double Talk (London)
- 1977 – Snowwhite Washes Whiter and Deadwood (Bristol)
- 1978 – Class Enemy (Royal Court TheatreRoyal Court TheatreThe Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
) - 1979 – Easy Street (Bristol)
- 1980 – Line 'em (Cottesloe Theatre)
- 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 TheatreHalf Moon TheatreThe Half Moon Theatre Company was formed in 1972 in a rented synagogue in Alie Street, Aldgate, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Half Moon Passage was the name of a nearby alley...
) - 1985 – My Brother's Keeper (Greenwich)
- 1985 – Deathwatch (Birmingham Rep)
- 1986 – Country Dancing (Other Place Theatre, RSCRoyal Shakespeare CompanyThe Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
) - 1987 – As it Was (Edinburgh)
- 1988 – Consequences (Croydon)
- 1988 – Breaking up
- 1989 – Buttons in the Marsh (Cheltenham FestivalsCheltenham Festivals]Cheltenham Festivals is a registered charity that organises four festivals every year in the spa town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire: the Jazz, Science, Music and Literature. In addition to this it promotes the use of several venues for private and commercial use ]Cheltenham Festivals is a...
) - 1989 – Nativity (Tricycle TheatreTricycle TheatreThe Tricycle Theatre is located on Kilburn High Road in Kilburn in the London Borough of Brent, England. During the last 30 years, the Tricycle has been presenting plays reflecting the cultural diversity of its community; in particular Black, Irish, Jewish, Asian and South African works, as well as...
) - 1995 – Lord of the FliesLord of the FliesLord of the Flies is a novel by Nobel Prize-winning author William Golding about a group of British boys stuck on a deserted island who try to govern themselves, with disastrous results...
(adaption) (Other Place) - 1996 – The Last Romantics (Greenwich)
- 1996 – Harry and Me (Royal Court)
- 2008 – MyFace (Cottesloe Theatre)
- 2009 – HR (6-part play for BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
)
External links
- Stalking Fiona on Granta website
- Nigel Williams and 'The Wimbledon Poisoner' article on the London Fictions website