William Palmer
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Fellow at University of Birmingham, 2000-03
Project Fellow, 2003/04
Fellow at University of Warwick, 2004-07
Fellow at Aston University, 2008/09
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William Palmer has had seven books published, and many stories, reviews and poems in journals such as London Magazine, Literary Review, the Independent, the Times Literary Supplement, the Daily Telegraph, Stand, Panurge, the Rialto and the Shop. He reviews regularly for Literary Review and the Independent. His novels are The Good Republic (Secker and Warburg, 1990); Leporello (Secker and Warburg, 1992); The Contract (Jonathan Cape, 1995); The Pardon of Saint Anne (Jonathan Cape, 1997); and his latest novel, The India House (Jonathan Cape, 2005).
Anvil Press published a selection of his poems in 1990, and a collection of short stories, Four Last Things, was published by Secker and Warburg in 1996. In 1997, he was awarded the Society of Authors' prestigious Travelling Scholarship. For three years, from 2000-2003, he was Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellow at the University of Birmingham. In autumn 2004 he is taking up a part-time Fellowship at the University of Warwick.
William Palmer lives in South West London.
Reviews
The Good Republic
'With the current debate about war crimes, and the alarming resurgence of anti-Semitism in much of the 'new' Europe, this is as topical a narrative as one can imagine - which is surely the greatest tribute possible to a historical novel'. Kevin Loader, Daily Telegraph
'I can't say that I felt particularly consoled when I closed the book. It is altogether too tragic and honest for such a sop to be convincing.Â…Undoubtedly though, Palmer's achievement is far more significant for that'. Robert Potts, Literary Review
Leporello
'The work of a master of his art... Palmer tells the story from Leporello's birth to Don Giovanni's death, subtly leading the reader from the picaresque to the philosophical as the Don's dissipation takes its toll on both his body and soul. Leporello is an extraordinarily skilful novel'. Piers Paul Read
The Contract
'A beautifully written exploration of a once famous case that has uncomfortable relevance to our own times'. David Lodge
'A flawless and intelligent study of sex, politics and the abuse of power. It is both subtle and shocking: that is a rare and potent combination'. Jim Crace
The Pardon of St Anne
'Palmer's beautifully crafted novel convincingly unfolds for us a story of inadvertent complicity in acts of unspeakable evil'. Lisa Jardine, the Times
'Absorbing - an eminently successful cautionary tale about the function and possible dangerous malfunctions of Art'. Patrick Skene Catling, the Spectator
Four Last Things
'On the strength of his previous books, it was to be expected that Palmer would produce something exceptional in the realm of the short story. The depth and eloquence of this fine collection, however, might surprise even the most ardent admirers of his novels'. Paul Sussman, Independent on Sunday
