News about Nick Hornby

Much of parenthood often seems about being in a state of what she terms 'for ever alert', but when I ask Dr Virginia Bovell if she can ever relax these days, she leaps to her feet in her north London living room. 'My phone! I left it in the kitchen. Hold on,' she says. She returns with it, breathing a sigh of relief. 'No messages. We are OK'. And the question is answered. Dr Bovell has one much-loved child, Danny. He is everywhere in this room. Beside the sofa, where he likes to sit crossed-legged ('like Buddha'), is a pile of his picture books and a favourite squishy toy. There are photos of him in frames.

NINA STIBBE is best known for the memoir that became the BBC series Love, Nina. Here's a preview from her latest book. She explains how she 'Grown Up Gap Year' in London. Eva and Alfred, her two children, are in their 20s, have decided to take a break from her marriage and move with novelist Deborah Moggach in Kentish Town. She returns to Cornwall for Christmas after four months... Took The Dog: Took The Dog by Nina Stibbe (Pan Macmillan, £16.99) will be published on November 2 in London. Nina Stibbe 2023, 2023. To buy a copy for £15.29 (offer valid till 30/10/2023; UK P&P is free on orders over £25) go to www.mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937.

Nina Stibbe (left), a London writer, is back in town 20 years after she left London. Here, we feature excerpts from her latest book Moved To London, Took the Dog (inset), based on her diary, and a long-awaited sequel to the laugh-out-loud bestseller Love Nina. Took the Dog by Took The Dog: A Diary by Nina Stibbe (Pan Macmillan, £16.99) will be published on November 2 in London, Took The Dog: A Diary by Nina Stibbe (Pan Macmillan, £16.99) is expected to be published in November 2. Deborah Moggach, who was photographed correctly, is seen here.

EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Prince Harry's heart is on display, but Sentebale, the charity he co-founded as a carefree bachelor in 2006, is committed to combating poverty and AIDS in Lesotho and Botswana. However, it will continue operating without one of the country's most industrious operators, advertising king Johnny Hornby. Hornby, 56, half-brother of About A Boy author Nick Hornby's and brother-in-law Robert Harris, a best-selling thriller writer, has stepped down after 11 years as a trustee, including five years as chairman of Sentebale's board. Yet his intimacy with the Sussexes didn't preclude him from replicating a similarly warm friendship and professional relationship with someone very far removed from the couple's circle - Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Jeremy Clarkson, the host, is a Jeremy Clarkson of the BBC.

I asked a man I know well if there were any romantic comedy books he might recommend. 'I really don't read that stuff,' he spluttered, joking tensely.' And from the pact of his talk, you might imagine that I've pleaded for assistance in scoring drugs on the dark web - or something even more nefarious. However, I think he has read romance comedies. Surely, Martin Amis's The Rachel Papers and Nick Hornby's About A Boy, which he adores, both qualify? Also, an intellectual omission of having never read Pride And Prejudice is nothing to be proud of.

This six-part series based on Nick Hornby's book Funny Girl (pictured bottom center), tells the tale of a beauty queen and a comedienne on television. However, viewers may not know that 'Barbara Parker' was a true story'. Norma Ann Sykes (pictured) was a 16-year-old girl with her blonde curls, tiny 18 in waist, and astonishing 41 in bust, for a short, golden period in the 1950s, Britain's answer to Marilyn Monroe.

Gemma Arterton, the A-lister actress who appeared in Quantum of Solace as a Bond girl, will appear in Nick Hornby's book version of Funny Girl (main). The series also stars an almost unrecognisable Rupert Everett, reuniting with Gemma after they worked together on her first film, St Trinian's (inset)

Women never get to be able to write amusing characters that also get laughs, according to the About A Boy book. Though Lucille Ball paved the way for generations of female comedians in the United States, British actors did not have the same early role models. We didn't have that until Pamela Stephenson and French and Saunders came along,' he said. The book Funny Girl, a young woman attempting to debut herself as a comedian in the 1960s, has been turned into a Sky series starring Gemma Arterton. Sophie [Miss Arterton's character] isn't often allowed to be funny, and even less so in the Sixties, so she's kind of throwing over her beauty in order to mug up and allow herself to be comedic,' he said.

LIZ JONES: I wish I'd listened and learned from what was one of the first self-help books, I'd have saved myself a lifetime of heartache. I'd have been fine, with children, grandchildren, possibly, a loving partner, and a stable house. Women Who Love Too Much, by the wise woman that is Robin Norwood, is the book in question, which has just been updated and reissued. It was first published in the United States, where it became a No.1 bestseller in 25 languages before being released in 25 languages, selling three million copies worldwide. It was one of those books, much like Men Are From Mars and Women Are From Venus, that would have been on Bridget Jones' bookshelf after she smugly brushed it of everything else.

A collection of the best TV shows on fall has been compiled by a weekend magazine. They have compiled a list of the best shows from various genres, including sci-fi and drama. Strictly Come Dancing, I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here (pictured left), Wednesday (pictured right) and This England (pictured top center) are among the shows planned for the forthcoming season.