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Nick Hornby

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This article is about Nick Hornby, the English writer. For the artist of the same name, see Nick Hornby (artist).

Nick Hornby
Nick Hornby, 2009
Nick Hornby, 2009
Born (1957-04-17) 17 April 1957 (age 67)
Redhill, Surrey, England
OccupationWriter, Editor
NationalityBritish
Period1992–present
GenreFiction, Non-fiction
Website
http://www.penguin.co.uk/nickhornby

Nick Hornby (born 17 April 1957) is an English novelist, essayist, lyricist, and screenwriter. He is best known for the novels High Fidelity and About a Boy, as well as for the football memoir Fever Pitch. His work frequently touches upon music, sport, and the aimless and obsessive natures of his protagonists. His books have sold more than 5 million copies worldwide as of 2009.[1]

Early life and education

Hornby was born in Redhill, Surrey, England. He was brought up in Maidenhead, and educated at Maidenhead Grammar School and Jesus College, Cambridge, where he read English.[2] His parents divorced when he was 11.

Career

Hornby's first published book, 1992's Fever Pitch, is an autobiographical story detailing his fanatical support for Arsenal Football Club. As a result, Hornby received the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award. In 1997, the memoir was adapted for film in the UK, and in 2005 an American remake was released, following Jimmy Fallon's character's obsession with the Boston Red Sox, a baseball team. With the book's success, Hornby began to publish articles in the Sunday Times, Time Out and the Times Literary Supplement, in addition to his music reviews for the New Yorker.

High Fidelity — his second book and first novel — was published in 1995. The novel, about a neurotic record collector and his failed relationships, was adapted into a 2000 film starring John Cusack, and a Broadway musical in 2006.

His second 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 and Nicholas Hoult starred in the 2002 film version. In 1999, Hornby received the E. M. Forster Award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Hornby's next novel, How to Be Good, was published in 2001. The female protagonist in the novel explores contemporary morals, marriage and parenthood. It won the W.H. Smith Award for Fiction in 2002.

Part of the money he earned with his next book, Speaking with the Angel in 2002, was donated to TreeHouse, a charity for children with autism, the disorder that affects Hornby's own son. He was editor of the book, which contained twelve short stories written by his friends. He also contributed to the collection with the story "NippleJesus".[3]

In 2003, Hornby wrote a collection of essays on selected popular songs and the emotional resonance they carry, called 31 Songs (known in the US as Songbook). Also in 2003, Hornby was awarded the London Award 2003, an award that was selected by fellow writers.[4]

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. Since 2003, he has written a book review column, "Stuff I've Been Reading", for the monthly magazine The Believer; all of these articles are collected between The Polysyllabic Spree (2004), Housekeeping vs. The Dirt (2006), Shakespeare Wrote for Money (2008), and More Baths Less Talking (2012).

Hornby's novel A Long Way Down was published 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.

Hornby's book Slam was released on 16 October 2007; it is his first novel for young adults and was recognized as a 2008 ALA Best Books for Young Adults. The protagonist of Slam is a 16-year-old skateboarder named Sam whose life changes drastically when his girlfriend gets pregnant.

Hornby released his latest novel titled Juliet, Naked in September 2009. On the same wavelength as his first novel High Fidelity, the book is about a reclusive '80s rock star who is forced out of isolation when the re-release of his most famous album brings him into contact with some of his most passionate fans. This synopsis was revealed to The Guardian newspaper as part of "What not to miss in 2009: books".[5]

In 2010, Hornby co-founded the Ministry of Stories, a non-profit organisation in East London dedicated to helping children and young adults develop writing skills and to helping teachers inspire their students to write.[6]

Hornby discussed his bouts of depression in 2012 on the BBC Radio 4 broadcast of "Fever Pitched: Twenty Years On".[7]

Adaptations

Film

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 by High Fidelity in 2000, 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. Johnny Depp purchased film rights to the book A Long Way Down before it was published.

In 2009, Hornby adapted an autobiographical memoir by the journalist Lynn Barber for the screen as An Education, a feature film starring Peter Sarsgaard and Carey Mulligan.[8] He was nominated for an Oscar for writing the screenplay.

Stage

High Fidelity was also the basis for a 2006 eponymous musical that shifted the action to Brooklyn; its book is by David Lindsay-Abaire, with lyrics by Amanda Green and music created by Tom Kitt. The production ran for a month in Boston, then moved to Broadway, closing after 18 previews and 14 regular performances.

Music

The importance of music in Hornby's novels, and in his life, is evidenced by his long-standing and fruitful collaborations with the rock band Marah, fronted by Dave and Serge Bielanko. Hornby has even toured in the United States and Europe with the band, joining them on stage to read his essays about particular moments and performers in his own musical history that have had a particular meaning for him.

Hornby's music criticism (most notably for The New Yorker and in his own Songbook) has been widely criticised by writers such as Kevin Dettmar (in his book Is Rock Dead), Curtis White (in an essay at www.centreforbookculture.org, titled "Kid Adorno"),[9] Barry Faulk and Simon Reynolds for his embrace of rock traditionalism and conservative take on post-rock and other experimental musics (exemplified in Hornby's negative review of the Radiohead album Kid A).[10]

Hornby has also had extensive collaboration with American singer/songwriter Ben Folds. Their album Lonely Avenue was released in September 2010. Folds wrote the music, with Hornby contributing lyrics. Prior to the album's release, "Picture Window", was released on Ben Folds' website.[11] A bootleg version of a song about Levi Johnston written by Hornby and Folds and performed by Folds, appeared on the internet.[12]

Personal life

Hornby has been married twice. He and his first wife have one son, born in 1992, who has autism. Hornby's second wife is producer Amanda Posey. They have two sons, born in 2003 and 2005. Hornby's sister, writer Gill Hornby, is married to writer Robert Harris.[13]

Awards and honours

Bibliography

Novels

Screenplays

Short Stories

Non-fiction

Anthologies edited

Film adaptations

References

  1. ^ "Nick Hornby interview for Juliet, Naked". The Daily Telegraph. 7 September 2009. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  2. ^ Nick Hornby's Official Website
  3. ^ Interview at failbetter.com
  4. ^ Hornby wins London literary award, BBC News
  5. ^ "What not to miss in 2009: books", The Guardian UK
  6. ^ Stratton, Allegra (18 November 2010). "Nick Hornby opens Ministry of Stories to get Britain's kids writing again". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  7. ^ "Fever Pitched: Twenty Years On" BBC Radio 4 web site
  8. ^ Nick Hornby "Nick Hornby on An Education", Daily Telegraph, 23 October 2009
  9. ^ "Kid Adorno" archived here
  10. ^ Hornby, Nick (30 October 2000). "Beyond the Pale". The New Yorker. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  11. ^ "Picture Window" at Ben Folds web site
  12. ^ Ben Folds & Levi Johnson song at Buzzfeed
  13. ^ Hornby, Nick. (2006.) The Polysyllabic Spree, Viking. ISBN 978-0-670-91666-5.
  14. ^ Staff writer (May 2012). "British Sports Book Awards to honour Hornby". Arsenel. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
  15. ^ "Prior winners". British Sports Book Awards. Retrieved 27 November 2012.

Further reading

  • "Inarticulate Expression of Love" [radio transcript]. 2008. In Talking to Kinky and Karlheinz – 170 musicians get vocal on The Music Show ed. Anni Heino, 186–193. Sydney: ABC Books. ISBN 978-0-7333-2008-8.
  • O’Brien, C. (1 October 2001). "About a teenager". Men. The Times. Retrieved 3 October 2007. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  • "Nick Hornby, Fever Pitch". 2008. In Nick Bentley, Contemporary British Fiction, 117-124. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-2420-1.
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Awards
Preceded by William Hill Sports Book of the Year winner
1992 		Succeeded by

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