Dr Eley Williams

Introduction

I'm delighted to be a Royal Literary Fund (RLF) Fellow at St Peter's this year, offering confidential 1:1 writing support to all members of the College. Each Monday and Friday during term time, I’ll be on campus and available to help students with any aspect of their writing. This service, which is provided by the Royal Literary Fund rather than the University, is free and confidential.

My room is Emily Morris 14. To book an appointment, please write to me in the first instance at Eley.Williams@rlfeducation.org.uk. 

Teaching and Research

As well as encouraging and discussing literacy, access, and aspects of practice-based research in higher education, my published work explores the mischievous potential of language as something that can both reveal and obscure meaning. Themes of linguistic order and disorder inform my writing, including its various allusions to lexicography, errata, failures to communicate and so-called ‘nonsense literature’. Beyond the page, I'm also interested in interdisciplinary projects. Recent collaborations include co-writing and performing with Flemish writers Paul Demets and Peter Verhelst for the European Poetry Festival, libretto work with the composer Tom Wilson, and a pamphlet commissioned to accompany artist Emily Speed’s solo show Flatland at Tate Liverpool.

I have worked as a lecturer at a number of universities, primarily in their literature and creative writing departments. Alongside my work at St Peter's, I am currently Course Director for Granta magazine's Writing Literary Short Fiction online workshops, and I also work for the University of Oxford's Department for Continuing Education.

Selected Publications

Moderate to Poor, Occasionally Good (4th Estate, 2024)

The Liar’s Dictionary (William Heinemann, 2020)

Attrib. and Other Stories (Influx Press, 2017; 4th Estate, 2024)

Lullaby, or, The Origin of Bats, Earthbound Poetry Series Vol. 1, No. 52 (Earthbound Press, Dec 2020)

Frit (Sad Press, 2017)