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nicholas sparks​

Bestselling Author of Safe Haven & The Notebook. Sparks’s books and films are a cultural phenomenon, drawing large turnouts everywhere he speaks. His personal story of hard work, rejection, anxiety, and triumph can teach audiences about the importance of perseverance . Sparks is among our generation’s most prolific and news-worthy authors, with a new book or movie adaptation happening almost every year. 

Meet Nicholas Sparks 

In 1994, rejected from both publishers and law schools, Nicholas Sparks was a job-jumping salesman who wrote in the evenings. In early 1995, and against all odds, his manuscript was discovered in the slush pile. By October, Warner Books famously paid a million dollars for an unknown story about a notebook. The rest, as they say, is history. Now with almost 80 million copies of his books in print, literary sensation Nicholas Sparks is the author of 17 New York Times #1 best-selling books and a cultural phenomenon in his own right. 

Sparks’ latest book, The Longest Ride, was released in September 2013. The New York Times best-seller—centered on college senior Sophia Danko’s chance meeting with a professional bull rider named Luke—is filled with everything readers look for in Sparks’ books — heart, romance, irresistible characters, a rich plot with unexpected pleasures and some surprises. The Longest Ride is also Sparks’ latest book to be adapted for the big screen; the film will star Clint Eastwood’s son, Scott Eastwood, and is expected to hit theaters in 2015.

Sparks wrote his second novel in 1989, though it wasn’t published. He worked a variety of jobs over the next three years, including real estate appraisal, waiting tables, selling dental products by phone, and started his own small manufacturing business which struggled from the beginning.

In 1994, at the age of 28, he wrote The Notebook over a period of six months. In October 1995, rights to The Notebook were sold to Warner Books. He followed that with 16 novels, including Message in a Bottle (1998), A Walk to Remember (1999), Nights in Rodanthe (2002), Dear John (2006), The Last Song (2009), and The Best of Me (2011), to name a few—all with Warner Books/Grand Central Publishing. All of his books were domestic and international best-sellers, with almost 80 million copies sold worldwide and translated into more than 45 languages.

Coupled with the undeniable success of his many books, the movie adaptations of Sparks’ books have become the most iconic romantic feature films for a whole new generation. Beginning with Message in a Bottle in 1999, Sparks’ novels continued to grace the silver screen with adaptations of A Walk to Remember (2002), The Notebook (2004), and Nights in Rodanthe, starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane (2008). Dear John, starring Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried, and The Last Song, starring Miley Cyrus and Greg Kinnear, were released in 2010 to great box office success. Sparks continued to dominate the box office with the release of The Lucky One starring Zac Efron in April 2012.  His latest blockbuster hit, Safe Haven, starring Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel, was released on February 14th, 2013.

Sparks contributes to a variety of local and national charities, and is a major contributor to the Creative Writing Program (MFA) at the University of Notre Dame. Along with his wife, he founded The Epiphany School in New Bern, North Carolina, and he spent five years coaching track and field athletes at the local public high school.

Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Sparks graduated valedictorian of his California high school in 1984, and received a full track scholarship to the University of Notre Dame. After breaking the Notre Dame school record as part of a relay team in 1985 as a freshman, he was injured and spent the summer recovering. During that summer, he wrote his first novel, though it was never published. He majored in Business Finance and graduated with high honors in 1988.

Nicholas lives in North Carolina with his wife and family.

As a Speaker Sparks takes audiences deeper into the sleepy towns and poignant relationships that ignite the pages of his romantic page turners. Drawing large and appreciative crowds of fans, Sparks in person displays the traits that make his books so beloved: great storytelling, a unique voice, and a charm that connects through the power of words. His relatable talks weave his own personal story of hard work, rejection, anxiety, and triumph for inspiring authors — and romantics — everywhere.