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]

Biography

Hornby was born in Maidenhead on April 17, 1957 (his website says "BORN: Redhill, Surrey"). 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.

Career

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 publish 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, About a Boy, published in 1998, is about two "boys" -- Marcus, an awkward yet endearing adolescent from a single parent family, and the free floating, mid-30s "Will Freeman" who overcomes his own immaturity and self-centeredness through his growing relationship with Marcus. 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.

Personal life

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.

Film adaptations

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.

Bibliography

Novels

• (1995) High Fidelity ISBN 0-14-029346-9
• (1998) About a Boy ISBN 0-14-100733-8
• (2002) How to Be Good ISBN 0-14-028701-9
• (2005) A Long Way Down ISBN 0-670-88824-9

Non-fiction

• (1992) Fever Pitch ISBN 0-14-029344-2
• (2003) 31 Songs ISBN 0-14-101340-0
• (2004) The Polysyllabic Spree ISBN 1-932416-24-2
• (2006) Housekeeping vs. the Dirt ISBN 1-932416-59-5

Anthologies edited

• (1993) My Favourite Year: A Collection of Football Writing ISBN 0-7538-1441-2
• (1996) The Picador Book of Sportswriting ISBN 0-330-33133-7
• (2000) Speaking with the Angel (2000) ISBN 0-14-029678-6

Filmography

• 1997 Fever Pitch — directed by David Evans; screenplay by Nick Hornby
• 2000 High Fidelity — directed by Stephen Frears
• 2002 About a Boy — directed by Chris and Paul Weitz
• 2005 Fever Pitch — directed by Bob and Peter Farrelly

External links

• Official site from publisher Penguin Books
• Nick Hornby at IMDb
• 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
• Template:Contemporary writers