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. more...

Home
Building Toys
Classic Toys
Educational
Electronic, Battery, Wind-Up
Model RR, Trains
G Scale
HO Scale
Accurail
AHM/Rivarossi
Athearn
Atlas
Bachmann
Bowser
Branchline
Brass Imports
Buildings, Track, Access.
Craftsman Building Kits
Other
Plastic, Resin Kits
Buildings, Structures
Figures, People
Other
Scenery, Trees
Track
Concor
Fleischmann
Hornby
IHC
Intermountain
Kadee/Model Power
Kato
Life-Like
Lima
Lionel
Mantua
Marklin
Marx
Merten
Other Manufacturers
Roco
Roundhouse
Stewart
Tyco
Varney
Walthers
Mixed Lots, Magazines
N Scale
O Scale
OO Scale
Other Scales
S Scale
Standard Scale
Z Scale
Models, Kits
Outdoor Toys, Structures
Pretend Play, Preschool
Puzzles
Radio Control
Robots, Monsters, Space Toys
Stuffed Animals
TV, Movie, Character Toys
Toy Soldiers
Vintage, Antique Toys

Biography

Hornby was born in Redhill, Surrey. Owing to the success of his (absent) 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, is about his fanatical support of Arsenal Football Club. It was an instant success; the author won the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award. In 1997 the book was adapted for film in the UK and in 2005 an American Remake was released featuring the Boston Red Sox. 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 2002 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).

Read more at Wikipedia.org