Nick Hornby

Hornby and his first wife have a son together who was born in 1992. He is autistic and studies in TreeHouse - the school for autistic children in London, founded by him and his wife.

He got married for the second time to Amanda Posey, a film producer. They both have two sons together born in 2003 and 2005.

Nick Hornby was born on 17 April 1957 in Redhill, Surrey, England. His father was a known businessman, Sir Derek Hornby. He was raised mostly in Maidenhead and went to Maidenhead Grammar School. He studied at the Jesus College, Cambridge and took up English literature as his major.

His mother and father divorced when Hornby was only 11 years old. Around his teen years, his father started to take him to watch football matches and he became an ardent fan of the North London Premier League club Arsenal. He still calls himself as a loyal and an irrational fan of the team.

During his younger years, he became an avid reader and was always found absorbed in books. Whether it was comics or Lorrie Moore’s books, Hornby constantly and dedicatedly read. This habit of his took him to Cambridge to do his major in Literature, where he wrote stage plays, screenplays and radio plays.

After completing his graduation from the Cambridge University, Hornby did miscellaneous jobs to support himself, all related to his interest and talent in English literature. He started with teaching at a grade school and then started giving language classes and also did hosting for Samsung executives visiting England.

Soon after this he became a paid journalist and started composing a column based on the pop culture in the Independent. He also did writing on sports for publications like Esquire and the Sunday Times. In 1992, came out his first book called ‘Contemporary American Fiction’. It was a compilation of essays on American scholars like Tobias Wolff, Ann Beattie, etc.

In the year 1992, he released his first memoir on being a dedicated and ardent lover of Arsenal fan since his younger years. It is called ‘Fever Pitch’. This book was a personal autobiographical account of his irrational love for Arsenal and it was adapted into a UK film first and then later on into an American movie in 2005. The book earned innumerable commendation and continued to be sold long after its first release.

In 1995, Hornby published his first novella called ‘High Fidelity’. The book was a success and was considered a charming account of a record shop owner whose only love is for the pop music. It is lighthearted and politically incorrect story. The book was later adapted into a movie starring the famous American actor, John Cusack, in 2000 and later in 2005 it was turned into a Broadway musical.

In 1998, his second novel called ‘About a Boy’ came out. He said that the ‘badly behaved adolescents especially the girls’ inspired him to construct this story, encounters he experienced when he was a grade school teacher. The story revolves around the odd relationship between a rich and immature bachelor, Will, and a troubled preadolescent, Marcus.

Hornby’s books have been turned into famous Hollywood movies in which famous actors like Colin Firth, John Cusack, Hugh Grant, Jimmy Fallon, Drew Barrymore, etc have acted.

Famous American actor Johnny Depp bought the film rights to his book ‘A Long Way Down’ even before it was published.

In 2012, he discussed his bouts of depression with the media on the BBC Radio 4.

‘About a Boy’ fetched Hornby the E.M. Forster Awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.