'High Fidelity' Connections: Nick Hornby Hits High Note at Dickinson
Acclaimed writer Nick Hornby (front row, center) and creative-writing students and faculty on the steps of Old West, reenacting a photo of legendary poet Robert Frost’s 1959 visit to Dickinson. Photo by Dan Loh.
Celebrated writer imparts professional advice
by MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson
Before he was an award-winning British novelist, screenwriter, memoirist and essayist, Nick Hornby was a fledgling writer, struggling to discover his voice. One day, revelation struck, as he read the work of the great American writer Raymond Carver. “I realized I wanted my characters to speak directly to readers, and that turned everything around for me,” remembers Hornby, who went on to pen vivid, relatable prose in a style all his own.
This was only one of the enlightening nuggets the star writer offered students during his Feb. 20-21 residency at Dickinson. The results of that brief and intense visit are already deeply felt.
What can’t he do?
Hornby is the 17th major literary figure to come to campus through the Harold and Ethel L. Stellfox Visiting Scholars and Writers Program, which brings students together with celebrated writers who can speak directly about their work and share professional advice. The residency includes small-group meetings with students and professors, classroom visits and a public reading, book signing and Q&A. Honorees also accept Dickinson’s Stellfox Award.
This year’s award-winner is best known for his 1992 book Fever Pitch, which inspired a U.K. movie starring Colin Firth and a U.S. movie starring Jimmy Fallon; High Fidelity (later a movie starring John Cusack, a Broadway production and then a Hulu series starring Zoe Kravitz), and About a Boy (later a movie starring Hugh Grant and Nicholas Hoult). Hornby’s additional novels include the W.H. Smith Award-winning How to Be Good (2001), and the 2005 novel Long Way Down, adapted into a 2014 movie starring Pierce Brosnan. Hornby is also a respected essayist, critic and screenwriter, renowned for his adaptation of Cheryl Strayed's Wild and his Oscar-nominated works An Education and Brooklyn.
Building excitement
"Any form of art is a collaborative process ... let it go the moment it's in presentable shape and let the professionals shape it," said Nick Hornby, speaking of the tension between perfectionism and creative productivity. Photo by Dan Loh.
Stellfox student-assistant Amelia D'Addieco ’26 has seen enthusiasm build across campus as students read Hornby’s works and RSVP’d for special Stellfox events. And as she prepared to attend Wednesday’s small-group lunch and public reading, her own excitement grew too. “The opportunity to discuss writing with someone who has accomplished so much is invaluable,” said D’Addieco, who plans to declare a major in psychology with minors in English and creative writing. “There’s so much I want to learn.”
Molly Gun ’24 (French & Francophone studies) is also a creative-writing minor who attended the reading, luncheon and reception, as well as a session on Hornby’s classic High Fidelity. She soaked up Hornby's tips during her Advanced Screenwriting class. “It is such a rare and amazing opportunity to be able to sit down with someone of his caliber,” said Gun, adding that she was grateful for the writer’s expertise and attentiveness. “This definitely has got to be one of my top Dickinson experiences.”
The key to that success is an honoree who’s inspiring not only on the page but in person. Hornby delivered the goods, as a writer “in that rare sweet spot where critical acclaim meets commercial success,” who’s also generous with his talent and time, said Professor of Creative Writing Susan Perabo.
“A student came up to me with tears in her eyes and said, ‘I think I want to be a writer,’ ” Perabo said. “That’s the power of Stellfox, and of our 2024 recipient, Nick Hornby.”
The Harold and Ethel L. Stellfox Visiting Scholars and Writers Program is named in honor of the parents of Jean Louise Stellfox '60. Jean met the poet Robert Frost during his 1959 visit to campus. Inspired by that experience, she became an English teacher and left the bulk of her estate to Dickinson to make similar experiences available to current and future students. Last year’s Stellfox Awardee was U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limon; view the full list of past recipients.
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Published February 22, 2024