NIALL WILLIAMS, born in Dublin in 1958, studied English and French Literature at University College, Dublin. He moved to New York in 1980 where he married Christine Breen, whom he had met while she was also a student at UCD. In 1985, he and Chris left America to attempt to make lives as writers in Ireland. On April 1st they moved to the cottage in west Clare that Chris’s grandfather had left eighty years before. Niall’s first four books, published between 1987 and 1995, were co-written with Chris and tell of their life together in County Clare. In 1991 Niall’s first play The Murphy Initiative was staged at The Abbey Theatre in Dublin. His second play, A 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. Niall’s first novel was Four Letters of Love published in 1997, it went on to become an international bestseller and has since been published in over twenty countries. It was re-issued in 2016 as a Picador Modern Classic. His second novel, As it is in Heaven was published in 1999 and short-listed for The Irish Times Literature Prize. Further novels include The Fall of Light, Only Say the Word, Boy in the World, and its sequel, Boy and Man. In 2008 Bloomsbury published Niall’s fictional account of the last year in the life of the apostle, John. History of the Rain, was published by Bloomsbury in May 2014. It was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize 2015, and has since been translated into several languages, including Russian. Niall’s newest novel is This Is Happiness. It was nominated for The Irish Books Award, The Walter Scott Prize, and was one of The Washington Post’s Books of the Year. Niall has written several screenplays for television and film, including the screenplay for Four Letters of Love. Several projects are in active production, including some in partnership with Christine.