Nick Hornby
Nick Hornby (born
17 April 1957) is an
English novelist and
essayist who lives in
Highbury,
Islington in
London. In his work he frequently touches upon sports, music, and the aimless and obsessive personalities of his main characters.[
1]
Hornby was born in
Maidenhead on
April 17,
1957. Owing to the success of his father, Sir
Derek Hornby, as a businessman, Hornby's family belonged to the English
middle class. His parents were
divorced when he was eleven, and in order to get over the shock young Hornby became a
fan of
Arsenal, London's famous
football club.
Having finished
Maidenhead Grammar School in the mid-
70s, Hornby studied
English literature at
Cambridge University. After his graduation, he taught English at
Parkside Community College in Cambridge, while also instructing foreign students in English, working as an In-House-Teacher for the electronics company
Samsung, and writing reviews for the magazines
Time Out and
Literary Review. In
1983 he started his career as a
freelance journalist and
writer.
In
1992 Hornby's first book appeared.
Fever Pitch, an autobiographical work of non-fiction, is about a fanatic supporter of Arsenal Football Club. It was an instant success; the author won the
William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award. The book was also adapted for film twice, in
1997 and
2005. After this first publication, Hornby started to publicise his articles in the
Sunday Times,
Time Out and the
Times Literary Supplement, in addition to his music reviews for the
New Yorker. His second work,
High Fidelity, was published in
1995. The novel, about a neurotic record collector and his failed relationships, was made into a film in
2000 starring
John Cusack. His third novel, published in
1998, was
About a Boy, the story of a depressed man who lives off a huge inheritance but finds solace in a teenager.
Hugh Grant starred in the movie version. In
1999 Hornby received the
E.M. Forster Award of the
American Academy of Arts and Letters.
A part of the money he earned with his next book
Speaking with the Angel in
2002 was donated to
TreeHouse, a charity for
autistic children. He was editor of the book, which contained twelve short stories written by his friends. He also contributed the story "NippleJesus" to the collection. In
2003 Hornby wrote a collection of essays on selected popular songs and the emotional resonance they carry, called
31 Songs (known in the
United States as
Songbook). Hornby has also written essays on various aspects of popular culture, and in particular he has become known for his writing on pop music and
mix tape enthusiasts. He also began writing a book review column, "Stuff I've Been Reading," for the monthly magazine
The Believer; several of these articles are collected in
The Polysyllabic Spree (
2004).
The book
How to Be Good appeared in 2001. The female protagonist in the novel explores contemporary morals, marriage and parenthood. It won the
WH Smith Award for Fiction in 2002. Hornby's newest book,
A Long Way Down, appeared in 2005. It was on the shortlist for the
Whitbread Novel Award. Hornby has also edited two sports-related anthologies:
My Favourite Year and
The Picador Book of Sports Writing.
In 1993 Hornby's son Danny was born with autism. His son's disorder led him to become a co-founder of
TreeHouse, an organization to which he contributed much of the profits from
Speaking with the Angel. In 1998 Hornby's marriage with Virginia Bovell collapsed. Hornby and his ex-wife were living separately, but they met every day to look after Danny.
Several of Hornby's books have made the jump from page to screen. Hornby wrote the screenplay for the first, a 1997 British adaptation of
Fever Pitch, starring
Colin Firth. It was followed in 2000 by
High Fidelity, starring
John Cusack; this adaptation was notable in that the action was shifted from
London to
Chicago. After this success,
About a Boy was quickly picked up, and released in 2002, starring
Hugh Grant. An
Americanized Fever Pitch, in which
Jimmy Fallon plays a hopelessly addicted
Boston Red Sox fan who tries to reconcile his love of the game with that of his girlfriend (
Drew Barrymore), was released in 2005. It appears likely that
A Long Way Down will also be adapted;
Johnny Depp purchased film rights to the book before it was published.
Novels
*(
1995)
High Fidelity ISBN 0140293469
*(
1998)
About a Boy ISBN 0141007338
*(
2002)
How to Be Good ISBN 0140287019
*(
2005)
A Long Way Down ISBN 0670888249
Non-fiction
* (
1992)
Fever Pitch ISBN 014029344
* (
2003)
31 Songs ISBN 0141013400
* (
2004)
The Polysyllabic Spree ISBN 1932416242
Anthologies edited
* (
1993)
My Favourite Year: A Collection of Football Writing ISBN 0753814412
* (
1996)
The Picador Book of Sportswriting ISBN 0330331337
* (
2000)
Speaking with the Angel (2000) ISBN 0140296786
* 1997
Fever Pitch â€" directed by
David Evans; screenplay by Nick Hornby
* 2000
High Fidelity â€" directed by
Stephen Frears* 2002
About a Boy â€" directed by
Chris and
Paul Weitz* 2005
Fever Pitch â€" directed by
Bob and
Peter Farrelly*
Official site from publisher
Penguin Books*
Nick Hornby filmography at the
Internet Movie Database*
BBC News 2002: Movie hype helps Hornby*
BBC News 2003: Hornby wins writers group prize*
Interview with Hornby on
NPR's
Fresh Air (
June 15 2005)
*
Interview with Hornby on
NPR's
Fresh Air (
September 26 1995)
*
Spike Magazine Interview
