Nick Hornby

{{Infobox writer | image = Nick Hornby 01 (cropped).jpg | imagesize = | name = Nick Hornby | caption = Hornby in 2009 | pseudonym = | birth_date = | birth_place = Redhill, Surrey, England | death_date = | death_place = | occupation = Writer, editor, screenwriter | notablework = High FidelityAbout a Boy | period = 1992–present | genre = Fiction, non-fiction | relatives = Derek Hornby (father) Johnny Hornby (half-brother) Robert Harris (brother-in-law) | subject = | movement = | signature = | website = | alma_mater = Jesus College, Cambridge | spouse = Amanda Posey | children = 3 }} Nicholas Peter John Hornby (born 17 April 1957) is an English writer and lyricist. He is best known for his memoir Fever Pitch (1992) and novels High Fidelity and About a Boy, all of which were adapted into feature films. Hornby's 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 2018. In a 2004 poll for the BBC, Hornby was named the 29th most influential person in British culture. He has received two Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay nominations for An Education (2009), and Brooklyn (2015). Early life and education Hornby was born in Redhill, Surrey, the son of Sir Derek Hornby, the chairman of London and Continental Railways, and Margaret Audrey Withers. He was brought up in Maidenhead, and educated at Maidenhead Grammar School and Jesus College, Cambridge, where he read English. His parents divorced when he was eleven. Prior to his career as a novelist, Hornby worked for a time as a secondary-school English teacher. Career Hornby published his first book in 1992, a collection of essays about American writers such as Tobias Wolff and Ann Beattie, titled Contemporary American Fiction. Hornby's second book, Fever Pitch, also published in 1992, 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.