Paul Williams is a British-born author who has led an incredibly diverse and adventurous life. After growing up in Africa, he worked as a frontline medic in two civil wars. He then turned his passion for music into a career, becoming the lead guitarist of a Middle Eastern rock band, a surfer in Durban, and a radio DJ in Zimbabwe. Despite his eclectic background, Williams went on to earn a Ph.D. in the United States and is now a professor and Programme Leader at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia, where he teaches Creative Writing.
Williams has published extensively in various genres, including short stories, non-fiction, young adult novels, fiction, and critical articles. His works include the short story collection "The Art of Losing," his guide to writing "Novel Ideas: Writing Innovative Fiction," "Fail Brilliantly," "Soldier Blue," and "Playing with Words." He also wrote the novel "Twelve Day," a crime thriller published in 2019. Williams's memoir "Soldier Blue," which chronicles his experiences in the civil wars in Africa, was the 2008 Book of the Year in South Africa. He currently lives with his family near the beach.
Williams is an award-winning and best-selling international author who has written in many genres, including memoir, children's and young adult, literary fiction, non-fiction, short story, and crime. He was born in the UK but grew up in Zimbabwe and has lived on five continents. His early writing projects sold in the hundreds of thousands in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya, and Swaziland. In addition to "Soldier Blue," his book "Secret of Old Mukiwa" won Best Young Adult fiction at the International African Book Fair. Williams has a Ph.D. from the United States and is currently the Program Coordinator of Creative Writing at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia.