Perspectives

Author’s background

Nick Hornby (b. 1957) is a British author and screenwriter and the author of the novel About a Boy. He studied English at Cambridge University and after graduating, he worked as a teacher. In 1992, Hornby published his first novel, Fever Pitch. This book explored the deep connection between sports and personal identity. It was a commercial success and it was later adapted into a film starring Colin Firth in 1997, for which Hornby also wrote the screenplay. The novel received a second adaptation in 2005 starring Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore.

Hornby’s 1995 novel High Fidelity boosted his literary career and marked him as a well-known author. The book focuses on the life and loves of a record store owner and was also later made into a popular movie starring John Cusack. The novel was also adapted into a Broadway musical and in 2020 into a TV show as well.

Hornby has also written several successful screenplays, including for the film An Education (2009), based on the memoir by Lynn Barber, and the film adaptation of Colm Tóibín’s novel Brooklyn (2015). Hornby has received an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for both of those films. Other notable novels of H...