Abigail Welsh

Zoe Abigail Williams, born in London in 1973, is a British journalist, columnist, and author. She received her education at Godolphin and Latymer School and studied modern history at Lincoln College, Oxford. Her father was a forensic psychologist, and her mother was a BBC set designer.

Williams has established herself as a writer for The Guardian, contributing to lifestyle, wellness, and political sections, including columns on fitness and family. Her work has also appeared in various other publications such as the New Statesman, The Spectator, and The Times Literary Supplement. She previously served as a diarist for the London Evening Standard and reviewed restaurants for The Sunday Telegraph magazine. Her writing often explores personal experiences, including her marriages, motherhood, and abortion, viewed through a feminist lens. She authored the book 'Bring It On, Baby: How to have a dudelike pregnancy', later republished as 'What Not to Expect When You're Expecting'.

Zoe Abigail Williams is a prolific journalist and columnist whose work spans lifestyle, wellness, and political commentary. She is a regular contributor to The Guardian, where she writes on topics ranging from fitness in one's forties to family matters and political analysis. Her diverse writing portfolio also includes contributions to publications such as the New Statesman, The Spectator, and The Times Literary Supplement. For the London Evening Standard, she served as a diarist, chronicling her experiences as a single woman in London, and also reviewed restaurants for The Sunday Telegraph magazine. Williams has engaged with political discourse, defending Tony Blair's social policy legacy and commenting on figures like Fidel Castro. Her endorsement of Jeremy Corbyn's leadership campaign in the Labour Party was notably characterized by a desire to usher in a new political era.

A significant aspect of Williams's writing involves exploring her personal life through a feminist framework. This includes reflections on her marital experiences, motherhood, and her decision to have an abortion. Her book, 'Bring It On, Baby: How to have a dudelike pregnancy' (2010), offered advice to expectant mothers and was later reissued as 'What Not to Expect When You're Expecting'. In her personal life, she is married to Will Higham and lives in South London with his daughter, her son Thurston, and her daughter Harper. She became a trustee of the Butler Trust, an organization that recognizes the achievements of prison service staff, and is a patron of Humanists UK.

Beyond her written work, Zoe Abigail Williams has also made contributions to broadcasting. She has appeared as a guest on television programs, with Clive James noting the impact of her contribution to the documentary 'Teenage Kicks: the Search for Sophistication'. Williams has also presented radio documentaries, including 'Inside the Academy School Revolution', and hosted BBC Radio 4's 'What The Papers Say'. Furthermore, she has participated as a panellist on prominent BBC programs such as 'Any Questions' and 'Question Time', engaging in public debate on various issues.

Williams has faced public criticism for some of her commentary. In 2020, she drew criticism online and in Welsh media for remarks about the Welsh language, which she compared unfavorably to a fitness regime. Separately, in 2020, she was reported by Kent Live to have been asked to leave a Wetherspoons pub for allegedly breaking COVID-19 lockdown rules, an incident she later wrote about in The Guardian, describing her actions as 'shameless non-compliance'.

“I actually had a lot of affection for bendy buses, mainly because evading your fare was so easy that to pay was almost missing the point. We used to call it freebussing.”

“The point is, Corbyn doesn't have to be right about everything; he doesn't have to be certain, and fully costed about everything; he doesn't even have to be responsive and listening to everything. This political moment is about breaking open the doors and letting the 21st century in.”

“The brilliant journalist Zoe Williams did a short piece to camera that was almost an aria.”

“shameless non-compliance with rules that were introduced to protect all of us”