Robin Williams

Williams grew up in San Jose and Fremont, California and graduated from Washington High School in Fremont. She later attended Ohlone College, then moved to Santa Rosa, California, and attended, then taught graphic design and typography at, Santa Rosa Junior College. In 2011, she received an MA degree from Brunel University, London, in Shakespeare Authorship studies, and in 2014 she completed a doctoral dissertation for the same university; her doctorate is on the history (and future) of reading Shakespeare—out loud and in community, with an emphasis on editorial practice.

Williams has spent years studying William Shakespeare, and in 2006 issued her book Sweet Swan of Avon: Did a Woman Write Shakespeare? in which she proposed the writer Mary Sidney as a candidate in the Shakespearean authorship question. She also teaches Shakespeare and leads the Shakespeare Close Readers reading and discussion groups about individual plays.

Robin Patricia Williams (born October 9, 1953) is an American educator who has authored many popular computer-related books, as well as the book Sweet Swan of Avon: Did a Woman Write Shakespeare?. Among her computer books are manuals of style The Mac is Not a Typewriter and The Non-Designer’s Design Book, as well as numerous manuals for various macOS operating systems and applications, including The Little Mac Book. “Through her writing, teaching, and seminars, … [Williams] has influenced an entire generation of computer users in the areas of design, typography, desktop publishing, the World Wide Web, and the Macintosh.”