Nicholas Charles Sparks (born December 31, 1965) is an American novelist, screenwriter, and film producer. He has published twenty-three novels, all New York Times bestsellers,[1] and two works of nonfiction, with over 115 million copies sold worldwide in more than 50 languages.[2] Among his works are The Notebook, A Walk to Remember, and Message in a Bottle all of which, along with eight other books, have been adapted as feature films.[3]
Sparks lives in North Carolina, where many of his novels are set.[4]
Sparks' first published book was Wokini: A Lakota Journey to Happiness and Self-Understanding,[12] a nonfiction book co-written by Billy Mills about Lakota spiritual beliefs and practices, published by Feather Publishing. The book sold 50,000 copies in its first year after release.[13]
In 1995, literary agent Theresa Park secured a $1 million advance for The Notebook from Time Warner Book Group, the book that became Spark's breakthrough novel.[14] Published in October 1996, the novel made The New York Times bestseller list in its first week of release and eventually spent fifty-six weeks there.
Including The Notebook, fifteen of Sparks's novels have been No. 1 New York Times Best Sellers, and all of his novels have been both New York Times and international bestsellers.[16] Sparks has also often been listed on Forbes annual highest-paid authors lists.[17]
In September 2020, Sparks published his twenty-first novel The Return and followed that up with The Wish in 2021 and Dreamland in 2022, each of which were optioned as films.[18]
Personal life
Sparks lives in New Bern, North Carolina. He has three sons and twin daughters. In 2015, he divorced Cathy Cote, his wife of 25 years.[19][20]
Philanthropy
In 2008, Sparks donated nearly $900,000[21] for a new, all-weather tartan track to New Bern High School, where he has also volunteered to coach.[22] The same year, he also donated "close to $10 million" to start a private school, The Epiphany School of Global Studies.[23][24] Sparks has also funded scholarships, internships, and annual fellowships at the University of Notre Dame Creative Writing Program. In 2012, he founded The Nicholas Sparks Foundation, a nonprofit that funds global education experiences for students, which has donated more than $15 million to charities, scholarship programs, and other projects.[25]
In April 2021, it was announced that a film adaptation of The Return was in development. Tom Dean joined the production as director, with the project developed by Bisous Pictures, and MRC Films, while MRC will serve as distributing company. Sparks will serve as a producer alongside Elizabeth Cantillon, and Theresa Park.[31][32] In May of the same year, it was announced that three additional films based on novels by the author were in development for distribution by Universal Pictures. The company signed a first-look deal with Sparks, with intentions being that a long-term working relationship follow; the three movies will be joint-venture productions between Universal Pictures and Anonymous Content. The Wish will be the first book to be developed by the studio, followed by Dreamland, and an as-of-yet unspecified third adaptation. The Wish will see Sparks serve as producer, alongside Park, and Zack Hayden.[33][34][35][36]
