Nick Hornby is an English writer who was born in 1957. At the age of 11, Hornby visited Highbury Stadium with his father and subsequently became a lifelong Arsenal supporter whose fandom became an obsession. After earning a degree in English from Jesus College at Cambridge, Hornby worked as an English teacher for several years, but he later quit to concentrate on writing full time. His memoir Fever Pitch details his obsession with Arsenal Football Club over the years of 1968 to 1992. Fever Pitch won the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award and was adapted into two feature films, one in the United Kingdom, and one in the United States. Hornby’s first novel, High Fidelity, published in 1995, was also adapted into a feature film, as was his second novel, About a Boy, published in 1998.

Derek Hornby, Nick Hornby’s father, was the British chairman of London and Continental Railways. Throughout Fever Pitch, Nick never mentions his father’s business career or by name, but he was so successful that he was knighted in 1990. Nick’s mentions of his father pertain only to his role as the person who introduced him to the game of football at the age of 11.