Nia Williams is a freelance writer and musician, born in Cardiff and now based in Oxford. She's the author of six novels: The Pierglass (Honno Modern Fiction, 2001); Persons Living or Dead (Honno Modern Fiction, 2005); The Colour of Grass (Seren Books, 2011); Birdcage (Gurning Gnome, 2013); Hidden Gems (Gurning Gnome, 2014), Breakage (Gurning Gnome, 2017) and Touched (Gurning Gnome, 2021). Her short stories have been published in magazines and anthologies and broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and Radio Wales.

Nia's work involves music and words in various forms and combinations. Her musical Verity received a 4-star review at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2019, and her new show Melody has played in venues around the country to great feedback. Her first sole-author musical, Daddy's Girls, was staged at the Burton-Taylor Studio and the Old Fire Station in Oxford; Love Online, written in collaboration with Andy Milburn, has been produced by several theatre groups. Other staged work includes Smoke and Mirrors, based on the music of Kurt Weill; the lyrics for a cantata for choir and brass, Terpsichoreana, by Malcolm Pearce; and specially commissioned music for contemporary dance group Lunas Dance, and BMH Theatre's production of As You Like It. Forthcoming work includes Melody, a musical for three performers, and Dexter, a sequel to Verity.

As one of the English National Ballet's Associate Artistes, Nia co-leads and accompanies their Dance for Parkinson's sessions in Oxford and occasionally in their other hubs around the country. She's led workshops and musically directed for Creation Theatre, Musical Youth Company Oxford, the Birmingham Hippodrome, Live Nation Theatre, the Royal Academy of Music and several other arts organisations, colleges, schools and universities. Her work as an accompanist has taken her to a wide range of venues including a cowshed, an ice rink, many gardens (usually in rain and/or gales), regional theatres and concert rooms, and a back room in the Royal Opera House. She's the resident MD and pianist for Opera Anywhere, a company bringing opera to a wider audience and performing across the country; and is an in-house accompanist for the Oxford Lieder Festival's outreach events and masterclasses. Nia also teaches piano and performance.

For more information see Nia's website: www.niawilliams.com