Nick Hornby | Biography, Books and Facts
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Nick Hornby
Nick Hornby is an English writer, essayist, screenwriter and lyricist born on 17th April 1957 in Surrey, England. He went to Maidenhead Grammar School in Maidenhead, where he grew up. He studied English from Jesus College, Cambridge. His first authored book was an autobiographical story named ‘ Fever Pitch ’ published in 1992. It received the ‘William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award’. Following the success of the book, Hornby began publishing his articles in ‘Sunday Times’, ‘Times Literary Supplement’ and ‘Time Out’ as well as writing music reviews for ‘ The New Yorker ’. His second work was a novel titled ‘ High Fidelity ’ published in 1995. This novel was made into a film adaptation starring John Cusack in 2000 and a Broadway musical in 2006.
His novel ‘ About a Boy ’, also adapted into a film starring Hughes Grant, came out in 1998. This is a story that explores the lives of two ‘boys’; Marcus, a young awkward but charming teen with a single parent and Will, a thirty something carefree and immature man. The novel describes how their lives intertwined making both of them better people and good friends in the end. Nick Hornby’s third novel was ‘ How to be Good ’, published in 2001. This book won the ‘W.H Smith Award for Fiction’ in 2002. His next book was ‘ Speaking with the Angel ’ (2002) which was also well received. It is a collection of various stories contributed by his friends and fellow writers. His own story ‘NippleJesus’ is also included in it.
In 2003 Hornby wrote some essays on songs that carried emotional connotation in a collection called ‘ 31 Songs ’. The same year he was given the ‘London Award’. He has written many other essays mostly on music. He also writes a book review column by the name ‘ Stuff I’ve Been Reading ’ for the magazine ‘The Believer’. Hornby’s novel ‘ A Long Way Down ’ (2005) was shortlisted for the ‘Whitbread Novel Award’. His works as an editor include ‘My Favorite Year’ and ‘The Picador Book of Sports Writing’. His book, published in 2007 called ‘ Slam ’ was recognized as ‘Best Book for Young Adults’ in 2008 by Young Adult Literary Services Association. Hornby’s most recent novel is called ‘ Juliet Naked ’ and it was released in 2009. Hornby adapted his screenplay ‘An Education’ from an autobiographical memoir by Lynn Barber who is a journalist. He received a nomination for an Oscar for this screenplay. Hornby’s short story collection includes ‘Faith’ (1998), ‘Not a Star’ (2000) and ‘Otherwise Pandemonium’ (2005).
Nick Hornby’s novels show significance of music and it is most probably evolved from the importance of music in his own life. He has been in collaboration with a rock band named ‘ Marah ’. He toured America and Europe with them also reading out his essays on various performers of music who have influenced him in one way or the other. He also wrote songs for the album called ‘Lonely Avenue’ by the singer Ben Folds.
Nick Hornby has also been given many awards for his contribution to English Literature which include the ‘Los Angeles Times Book Prize (2006) and ‘Commonwealth Writers Prize’ (2006). He has been given the name ‘The maestro of the male confessional’ for the brilliant portrayal of his male characters in his early novels.
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