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'{{other uses}} {{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] --> | image = Nicholas-Sparks-Autograph-1-4-06.jpg | caption = Sparks signing autographs in 2006 | imagesize = | name = Nicholas Sparks | birth_name = Nicholas Charles Sparks | birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1965|12|31}} | birth_place = [[Omaha, Nebraska]], United States | alma_mater = [[University of Notre Dame]] | occupation = [[Novelist]]<br>[[Screenwriter]]<br>[[Film producer|Producer]] | genre = [[Romantic fiction]]<br>[[Romantic drama film|Romantic drama]] | spouse = {{Marriage|Cathy Cote|1989|2015|reason=divorced}} | children = 5 | movement = | influences = Luis Felipe Santos Nabarro | influenced = | website = {{URL|http://www.nicholassparks.com}} }} '''Nicholas Charles Sparks''' (born December 31, 1965) is an American [[Romance novel|romance]] [[novelist]], [[screenwriter]] and [[Film producer|producer]]. He has published nineteen novels and two [[non-fiction]] books. Several of his novels have become international bestsellers, and eleven of his [[Romantic drama|romantic-drama]] novels have been [[Film adaptation|adapted to film]] all with multimillion-dollar box office grosses.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/franchises/chart/?id=nicholassparks.htm|title=Nicholas Sparks Movies at the Box Office - Box Office Mojo|publisher=}}</ref> Sparks was born in [[Omaha, Nebraska]] and wrote his first novel, ''The Passing'', in 1985, while a student at the [[University of Notre Dame]]. His first published work came in 1990, when he co-wrote with [[Billy Mills]] ''Wokini: A Lakota Journey to Happiness and Self-Understanding'', which sold approximated 50,000 copies in its first year. In 1993, Sparks wrote his breakthrough novel ''[[The Notebook (novel)|The Notebook]]'' in his spare time while selling [[pharmaceutical]]s in [[Washington, D.C.]]. Two years later, his novel was discovered by literary agent [[Theresa Park]] who offered to represent him. The novel was published in October 1996 and made the ''[[New York Times]]'' best-seller list in its first week of release. ==Early life== Nicholas Sparks was born on December 31, 1965 in [[Omaha, Nebraska]] to Patrick Michael Sparks, a future professor of [[business]], and Jill Emma Marie Sparks ([[née]] Thoene), a homemaker and an [[optometrist]]'s assistant. Nicholas was the second of three children, with an older brother, Michael Earl "Micah" Sparks (1964–present), and a younger sister, Danielle "Dana" Sparks (1966–2000), who died at the age of 33 from a brain tumor. Sparks has said that she was the inspiration for the main character in his novel ''[[A Walk to Remember]]''. Sparks was raised in the [[Roman Catholic]] faith,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.themiscellany.org/index.php/news-archives/75-1999/982-author-nicholas-sparks-remembers-his-catholic-roots |title=Author Nicholas Spark remembers his Catholic roots |publisher=Catholic-doc.org |date=1999-11-04 |accessdate=2009-08-09 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100922044637/http://www.themiscellany.org/index.php/news-archives/75-1999/982-author-nicholas-sparks-remembers-his-catholic-roots |archivedate=September 22, 2010 }}</ref> and is of [[German people|German]], [[Czech people|Czech]], [[English people|English]], and [[Irish people|Irish]] ancestry. He and his ex-wife are Catholics and are raising their children in the Catholic faith.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.catholiceducation.org/en/culture/art/morality-in-hollywood-an-interview-with-author-nicholas-sparks.html|title=Morality in Hollywood: An Interview with Author Nicholas Sparks }}</ref> His father pursued graduate studies at [[University of Minnesota]] and [[University of Southern California]], one reason for his family's frequent moves. By the time Sparks was eight, he had lived in [[Watertown, Minnesota]]; [[Inglewood, California]]; [[Playa del Rey, Los Angeles|Playa Del Rey, California]] and his mother's hometown of [[Grand Island, Nebraska]] for a year, during which his parents were [[Legal separation|separated]]. By 1974 his father became a professor of business at [[California State University, Sacramento]], and the family settled in [[Fair Oaks, California]]. The family remained there through Sparks' [[high school]] days, and in 1984, he graduated as the [[valedictorian]] of [[Bella Vista High School]]. After being offered a full sports scholarship for [[track and field]], at the [[University of Notre Dame]], Sparks accepted and enrolled, majoring in [[business finance]]. In 1988, while on spring break, he met his future wife, Cathy Cote of [[New Hampshire]], and then concluded his early academic work by graduating from Notre Dame with [[latin honors|honors]]. Sparks and Cote would be married on July 22, 1989, and the moved to [[New Bern, North Carolina]]. Prior to those milestones, however, Sparks had begun writing in his early college years. ==Career== Sparks decided to start writing based on a simple remark from his mother when he was 19 years old that introduced him to the possibility: <blockquote>'"Your problem is that you're bored. You need to find something to do..." Then she looked at me and said the words that would eventually change my life: "Write a book." Until that moment, I had never considered writing. Granted, I read all the time, but actually sitting down and coming up with a story on my own? ...I was nineteen years old and had become an accidental author.<ref>Nicholas Sparks mother and Nicholas Sparks as quoted in: ''[[Three Weeks with My Brother]]'', pp. 183-184</ref></blockquote> In 1985, while at home for the summer between his freshman and sophomore years at Notre Dame, Sparks penned his first – though never published – novel entitled ''The Passing''. He wrote another novel in 1989, also unpublished called ''The Royal Murders''. After college, Sparks sought both work with publishers, and applied to law school, but was rejected in both attempts. He then spent the next three years trying other careers, including [[real estate appraisal]], waiting tables, selling dental products by phone and starting his own manufacturing business. In 1990, Sparks co-wrote a book with [[Billy Mills]] entitled ''Wokini: A Lakota Journey to Happiness and Self-Understanding'',<ref name=Wokini>{{cite book|author=Billy Mills|author2=Nicholas Sparks |publisher=[[Hay House]]|isbn=978-1-56170-660-0|date=July 1999|page=176|title=Wokini: A Lakota Journey to Happiness and Self-Understanding}}</ref> a nonfiction book about a three-week trip Sparks and his brother took around the around the world, as well as their personal growth experiences during that time, and the influence of Lakota spiritual beliefs and practices. The book was published by Feather Publishing, [[Random House]], and [[Hay House]], and sales for this first book approximated 50,000 copies in its first year after release.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nicholas Sparks |url=http://www.ferrum.edu/thanlon/profwrit/nicholassparksbio.htm |publisher=[[Ferrum College]] |accessdate=August 3, 2014 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151125064406/http://www2.ferrum.edu/thanlon//profwrit/nicholassparksbio.htm |archivedate=November 25, 2015 |df= }}</ref> In 1992, Sparks began selling [[pharmaceutical]]s, and in 1993 was transferred to [[Washington, D.C.]]. It was there that he wrote another novel in his spare time, ''[[The Notebook (novel)|The Notebook]]''.<ref>{{cite web | title= Biography for Nicholas Sparks | work= Book Browse |url=http://www.bookbrowse.com/biographies/index.cfm/author_number/310/nicholas-sparks|accessdate= March 26, 2006}}</ref> Two years later, he was discovered by literary agent [[Theresa Park]], who picked ''The Notebook'' out of her agency's [[slush pile]], liked it, and offered to represent him. In October 1995, Park secured a $1 million advance for ''The Notebook'' from [[Time Warner Book Group]]. The novel was published in October 1996 and made the ''[[New York Times]]'' best-seller list in its first week of release. With the success of his first novel, he moved to [[New Bern, North Carolina]]. He subsequently wrote several international bestsellers, and several of his novels have been adapted as films: ''[[Message in a Bottle (film)|Message in a Bottle]]'' (1999), ''[[A Walk to Remember]]'' (2002), ''[[The Notebook]]'' (2004), ''[[Nights in Rodanthe]]'' (2008), '' [[Dear John (2010 film)|Dear John]]'' (2010), ''[[The Last Song (film)|The Last Song]]'' (2010), ''[[The Lucky One (film)|The Lucky One]]'' (2012), ''[[Safe Haven (film)|Safe Haven]]'' (2013), ''[[The Best of Me (film)|The Best of Me]]'' (2014), ''[[The Longest Ride (film)|The Longest Ride]]'' (2015), and ''[[The Choice (2016 film)|The Choice]]'' (2016). He has also sold the screenplay adaptations of ''True Believer'' and ''At First Sight''. His 2016 novel, ''Two by Two'', sold about 98,000 copies during the first week after release.<ref>''Good Morning America'' ABC TV, interview about the book "Two By Two", October 3, 2016</ref><ref>"King of the love story turns to divorce". ''Toronto Star'', October 21, 2016. page E6</ref> 11 of Nicholas Sparks' novels have been #1 New York Times Best Sellers. ==Personal life== Sparks and his then-wife Cathy lived together in [[New Bern, North Carolina]] with their three sons and twin daughters until 2014. On January 6, 2015, Sparks announced that he and Cathy had amicably separated. They subsequently divorced.<ref>{{cite web|last=Nudd|first=Tim|title=Nicholas Sparks and Wife Separate|date=6 January 2015|publisher=''[[People (magazine)|People]]''|url=http://www.people.com/article/nicholas-sparks-wife-cathy-separate}}</ref> Sparks donated $9,000,000 for a new, all-weather [[tartan track]] to [[New Bern High School]] along with his time to help coach the New Bern High School track team and a local club track team as a volunteer head coach.<ref>Buckley Cohen, Adam. "Nicholas Sparks." ''Runner's World'' 43.12 (2008): 70-71. Web. 29 Sept. 2012.</ref> Sparks contributes to other local and national charities, as well, including the [[Creative Writing]] Program (MFA) at the [[University of Notre Dame]] by funding scholarships, internships and annual fellowships. In 2008, ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' reported that Sparks and his then-wife had donated "close to $10 million" to start a Christian, international, college-prep [[private school]], The Epiphany School of Global Studies, which emphasizes travel and lifelong learning.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20230339,00.html|title=True Believer The chemistry of Nicholas Sparks -- ''The Notebook'' and ''Nights in Rodanthe'' scribe has penned 14 bestsellers in 14 years|last=Valby|first=Karen|date=October 10, 2008|publisher=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|accessdate=2009-09-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://epiphany-nb.org/517464.ihtml |title=The Epiphany School: Welcome |accessdate=2011-09-27 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110923141610/http://epiphany-nb.org/517464.ihtml |archivedate=September 23, 2011}}</ref> He was later sued by the headmaster of this school who accused Sparks of homophobia, racism and anti-semitism.<ref>{{citation/core|Surname1=Amanda Holpuch|Periodical=The Guardian|Title=Lawsuit accuses Nicholas Sparks of racism, antisemitism and homophobia|ISSN=0261-3077|Date=2014-10-02|URL=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/oct/02/nicholas-sparks-racism-homophobic-jewish-lawsuit|AccessDate=2017-08-26 }}</ref> In his spare time, Sparks volunteers at his local retirement home. ==Published works== ===List=== {{Div col}} * ''[[Wokini: A Lakota Journey to Happiness and Self-Understanding]]'' (1990), Nicholas Sparks and [[Billy Mills]]. * ''[[The Notebook (novel)|The Notebook]]'' (October 1996) * ''[[Message in a Bottle (novel)|Message in a Bottle]]'' (April 1998) * ''[[A Walk to Remember (novel)|A Walk to Remember]]'' (October 1999) * ''[[The Rescue (Sparks novel)|The Rescue]]'' (September 2000) * ''[[A Bend in the Road]]'' (September 2001) * ''[[Nights in Rodanthe (novel)|Nights in Rodanthe]]'' (September 2002) * ''[[The Guardian (novel)|The Guardian]]'' (April 2003) * ''[[The Wedding (Sparks novel)|The Wedding]]'' (September 2003) * ''[[Three Weeks with My Brother]]'' (April 2004), Nicholas Sparks and Micah Sparks * ''[[True Believer (Sparks novel)|True Believer]]'' (April 2005) * ''[[At First Sight (novel)|At First Sight]]'' (October 2005) * ''[[Dear John (novel)|Dear John]]'' (October 2006) * ''[[The Choice (novel)|The Choice]]'' (September 2007) * ''[[The Lucky One (novel)|The Lucky One]]'' (September 2008) * ''[[The Last Song (novel)|The Last Song]]'' (September 2009) * ''[[Safe Haven (novel)|Safe Haven]]'' (September 2010) * ''[[The Best of Me (novel)|The Best of Me]]'' (October 2011) * ''[[The Longest Ride]]'' (September 2013) * ''[[See Me (novel)|See Me]]'' (October 2015) * ''Two by Two'' (October 2016) * ''Every Breath'' (October 2018)<ref>http://top-knig.ru/nikolas-sparks/</ref> {{div col end}} ==Adaptations in other media== ===Film=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- style="background:#b0c4de; text-align:center;"rated ! Year ! Film ! Director ! [[Rotten Tomatoes|RT]] critics'<br />approval rating ! Budget ! Worldwide<br />Gross |- |[[1999 in film|1999]] |''[[Message in a Bottle (film)|Message in a Bottle]]'' |[[Luis Mandoki]] |32% |$80 million |$118,880,016 |- |[[2002 in film|2002]] |''[[A Walk to Remember]]'' |[[Adam Shankman]] |27% |$12 million |$47,494,916 |- |[[2004 in film|2004]] |''[[The Notebook]]'' |[[Nick Cassavetes]] |52% |$29 million |$115,603,229 |- |[[2008 in film|2008]] |''[[Nights in Rodanthe]]'' |[[George C. Wolfe]] |30% |N/A |$84,375,061 |- |rowspan=2|[[2010 in film|2010]] |''[[Dear John (2010 film)|Dear John]]'' |[[Lasse Hallström]] |29% |$25 million |$114,977,104 |- |''[[The Last Song (film)|The Last Song]]'' |[[Julie Anne Robinson]] |20% |$20 million |$89,041,656 |- |[[2012 in film|2012]] |''[[The Lucky One (film)|The Lucky One]]'' |[[Scott Hicks]] |20% |$25 million |$99,357,138 |- |[[2013 in film|2013]] |''[[Safe Haven (film)|Safe Haven]]'' |[[Lasse Hallström]] |12% |$28 million |$97,594,140 |- |[[2014 in film|2014]] |''[[The Best of Me (film)|The Best of Me]]'' |[[Michael Hoffman (American director)|Michael Hoffman]] |8% |$26 million |$35,926,213 |- |[[2015 in film|2015]] |''[[The Longest Ride (film)|The Longest Ride]]'' |[[George Tillman, Jr.]] | 30% | $34 million | $62,944,815 |-° |[[2016 in film|2016]] |''[[The Choice (2016 film)|The Choice]]'' |[[Ross Katz]] | 12% | $10 million | $23,420,878 |- ! colspan="3"| Total/Average ! 24% ! $288 million ! ${{formatnum:{{#expr:118880016+47494916+115603229+84375061+114977104+89041656+99357138+97594140+35926213+62944815+23420878}}}} |} ===TV=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- style="background:#b0c4de; text-align:center;"rated ! Year ! Series ! Credit ! Director/Showrunner ! Network ! [[Rotten Tomatoes|RT]] critics'<br />approval rating |- |2014 |''[[Deliverance Creek]]''<ref name="usmagazine.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/the-notebook-tv-series-in-the-works-at-the-cw-2015118|title=Noah and Allie Forever! The CW Is Developing The Notebook for TV|publisher=}}</ref><ref name="nicholassparks.com">{{cite web|url=http://nicholassparks.com/category/film-tv/|title=Nicholas Sparks|first=The Uprising|last=Creative|publisher=}}</ref> |Executive Producer |[[Jon Amiel]] |[[Lifetime (TV network)|Lifetime]] |50% |- |TBA |[[The Notebook#Television series|Untitled ''The Notebook'' followup]]<ref name="usmagazine.com"/><ref name="nicholassparks.com"/> |Characters based on<br />''[[The Notebook (novel)|The Notebook]]'' |TBA |[[The CW]] |TBD |} ==References== {{Reflist|30em}} ==External links== {{wikiquote}} * {{Official website|http://www.nicholassparks.com}} * {{IMDb name|817023|Nicholas Sparks}} {{Nicholas Sparks}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Sparks, Nicholas}} [[Category:1965 births]] [[Category:20th-century American novelists]] [[Category:21st-century American novelists]] [[Category:American film producers]] [[Category:American male novelists]] [[Category:American male screenwriters]] [[Category:American manufacturing businesspeople]] [[Category:American people of Czech descent]] [[Category:American people of English descent]] [[Category:American people of German descent]] [[Category:American people of Irish descent]] [[Category:American philanthropists]] [[Category:American Roman Catholics]] [[Category:American romantic fiction writers]] [[Category:American romantic fiction novelists]] [[Category:Businesspeople from Omaha, Nebraska]] [[Category:Businesspeople in the pharmaceutical industry]] [[Category:Film producers from California]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's track and field athletes]] [[Category:People from New Bern, North Carolina]] [[Category:Roman Catholic writers]] [[Category:University of Notre Dame alumni]] [[Category:Writers from Nebraska]] [[Category:Novelists from North Carolina]] [[Category:Writers from Sacramento, California]] [[Category:People from Fair Oaks, California]] [[Category:20th-century male writers]] [[Category:21st-century male writers]]'