James (Jim) Horner was raised on a small farm near Elderslie and attended the local primary school before qualifying for entry to the Hobart High School in 1929. In 1932 he gained the Intermediate Certificate, but could not continue schooling because of the Depression. He worked as a farm-hand for several years but was determined to continue his education and become a teacher. He was appointed to Wivenhoe State School as a provisional temporary teacher in 1936 and then returned to Hobart High School as a probationary student in 1937. He completed Matriculation in one year and undertook teacher training at the Hobart Teachers College for eighteen months. At the outbreak of World War II, he enlisted in the R.A.A.F, trained as a navigator and served in the Mediterranean, Middle East and Burma.
At the end of the war, Horner completed an Honours Degree in English and served as Head Teacher of several Tasmanian schools, at the same time writing an MA thesis on the Australian novel. In 1955 he worked with the Adult Education Board and travelled to New Guinea in 1956 to lecture in English with the Public Service Institute. He resumed his career with the Tasmanian Education Department in 1957, taught at Hobart High School from 1958 and was appointed Master of the Subject Department of English there in 1961.
In 1965, Horner became the Department's first Supervisor of English and served in that role until his retirement in 1981. He was held in high regard as a teacher of English and as a mentor to his colleagues. He was a foundation member of the Australian Association for the Teaching of English and was president of the State Association for a number of years. He was also an active member and sometime secretary and president of the Tasmanian Fellowship of Australian Writers from the 1950s.
