Where to Start Reading Eley Williams
For readers new to Eley Williams's distinctively linguistic and playful style, the best entry point depends on your preferred format. If you enjoy immersive, character-driven narratives with a healthy dose of humor and intellectual curiosity, you should start with her debut novel, The Liar's Dictionary (2020). It perfectly encapsulates her obsession with lexicography, presenting a dual-narrative mystery centering on mountweazels (fake dictionary entries) that is both lighthearted and deeply thoughtful. It is accessible yet filled with the clever wordplay that defines her style.
If you prefer short-form fiction or want to see her most experimentally daring work first, start with her debut collection, Attrib. and Other Stories (2017). This collection won the prestigious James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the Republic of Consciousness Prize, established her reputation as a major new voice in British fiction, and led to her inclusion on Granta's once-a-decade list of the Best of Young British Novelists. The stories here are shorter, more abstract, and showcase her ability to find extraordinary meaning in everyday words, punctuation, and human awkwardness.
Eley Williams Books in Publication Order
Eley Williams's works do not share a single narrative continuity or universe, meaning they can be read in any order. However, reading them in order of publication allows readers to trace the development of her style, from the experimental short prose of her debut to the broader narrative scope of her novel, and finally to the refined themes of her second collection.
Standalone Novels
- The Liar's Dictionary (2020) – Set in two different eras, this novel follows Peter Winceworth, a Victorian lexicographer secretly inserting fake words into Swansby's New Encyclopaedic Dictionary, and Mallory, a modern-day intern tasked with finding these "mountweazels" before the dictionary is digitized.
Short Story Collections
- Attrib. and Other Stories (2017) – A collection of short, inventive pieces that explore the difficulties of communication, the quirks of language, and the intimacy of shared vocabulary. It features stories that experiment with form, punctuation, and structure.
- Moderate to Poor, Occasionally Good (2024) – Her second collection, continuing her exploration of language's limits and possibilities. The stories in this volume focus on themes of care, relationships, and contemporary anxiety, blending her signature wit with a deeper sense of emotional vulnerability.
Anthologies and Key Contributions
Eley Williams is a prolific contributor to anthologies and collaborative literary projects. Here is a list of notable anthologies featuring her work, ordered by publication year:
- An Unreliable Guide to London (2016) – Features her early short fiction exploring the oddities of London's geography and culture.
- On Anxiety (2017) – A collection of creative responses to contemporary mental health and anxiety.
- Egress (2018) – A literary anthology themed around the works and ideas of writer Mark Fisher.
- We Were Strangers (2018) – A collection of stories inspired by the album of the same name by the band Joy Division.
- We'll Never Have Paris (2019) – An anthology of stories exploring anti-romantic or unconventional depictions of the French capital.
- Pursuit (2019) – A collection of short fiction published by experimental press test centre.
- Resist: Stories of Uprising (2019) – A collection of historical fiction and political resistance narratives.
- The BBC National Short Story Award 2020 (2020) – Featuring her shortlisted story, showcasing her standing in contemporary British short fiction.
- Outsiders (2020) – An anthology exploring isolation, difference, and marginalization.
- Praxis (2021) – A collaborative and experimental anthology focusing on creative practice.
- Reverse Engineering II (2022) – A collection where contemporary writers deconstruct and discuss the creation of one of their own stories.
What to Know Before You Start
Eley Williams's writing is heavily influenced by her academic background. She holds a doctorate focusing on fictitious dictionary entries (specifically "mountweazels"), which directly inspired the plot and themes of The Liar's Dictionary. Currently, she is a Lecturer in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway, University of London. Her work belongs to the tradition of experimental British fiction, drawing comparison to writers like Ali Smith, Lydia Davis, and historical nonsense literature like Lewis Carroll. Readers should expect a heavy emphasis on puns, etymology, and the physical shape of words on the page, rather than traditional, plot-heavy narratives.