Nicholas Sparks facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Nicholas Sparks
Sparks in 2006
Born	Nicholas Charles Sparks (1965-12-31) December 31, 1965 (age 59) Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
Occupation	Novelist Screenwriter Producer
Alma mater	University of Notre Dame
Genre	Romantic fiction Romantic drama
Spouse	Cathy Cote ​ ​ (m. 1989; div. 2015)​
Children	5

Nicholas Charles Sparks (born December 31, 1965) is an American writer. He writes novels, movie scripts, and also produces films. He is famous for his romantic stories.

Nicholas Sparks has written 23 novels. All of them have been on The New York Times bestseller list. He has also written two nonfiction books. More than 115 million copies of his books have been sold. They are available in over 50 languages around the world.

Some of his most well-known books include The Notebook, A Walk to Remember, and Message in a Bottle. Many of his books, including these three, have been made into popular movies.

Sparks lives in North Carolina. Many of his stories take place in this state.

Early Life and School Days

Nicholas Sparks was born on December 31, 1965. This happened in Omaha, Nebraska. His father, Patrick Michael Sparks, was a business professor. His mother, Jill Emma Marie Sparks, stayed home and also helped an eye doctor.

Nicholas has German, Czech, English, and Irish family roots. He was the middle child in his family. He had an older brother named Michael. He also had a younger sister named Danielle. Sadly, Danielle passed away at age 33 from a brain tumor. This sad event inspired his book A Walk to Remember.

As a child, Sparks moved a lot with his family. They lived in different places like Minnesota and California. In 1974, his family finally settled in Fair Oaks, California.

In 1984, Nicholas graduated from Bella Vista High School. He was the top student in his class. He went to the University of Notre Dame. He studied business finance there. He also got a scholarship for track and field. He started writing his first novels while in college. He wrote two books, but they were never published.

In 1989, he married Cathy Cote. They moved to New Bern, North Carolina.

Becoming a Famous Writer

Nicholas Sparks' first published book was Wokini. It was a nonfiction book. He wrote it with Billy Mills. The book was about the spiritual beliefs of the Lakota people. It sold 50,000 copies in its first year.

In 1995, a literary agent named Theresa Park helped him. She got a big deal for his novel The Notebook. This book became his first big success. It was published in October 1996. The Notebook quickly became a The New York Times bestseller. It stayed on the list for 56 weeks!

After The Notebook, Sparks wrote Message in a Bottle. This book was made into a movie in 1999. It was the first of his novels to become a film.

Many of his books have been made into movies. In total, eleven of his novels have become feature films. Some of these include:

• Message in a Bottle (1999)
• A Walk to Remember (2002)
• The Notebook (2004)
• Dear John (2010)
• The Last Song (2010)

Fifteen of Sparks' novels have reached the No. 1 spot on The New York Times bestseller list. All of his novels have been bestsellers both in the U.S. and around the world. He has also often appeared on Forbes magazine's list of highest-paid authors.

Nicholas Sparks continues to write new books. In 2020, he published The Return. He followed this with The Wish in 2021 and Dreamland in 2022. All of these books are also planned to become movies.

About His Life

Nicholas Sparks lives in New Bern, North Carolina. He has three sons and twin daughters. He and his wife, Cathy Cote, divorced in 2015. They had been married for 25 years.

Helping Others

Nicholas Sparks is also known for his charity work. In 2008, he gave almost $900,000 to New Bern High School. This money helped build a new running track. He also volunteered to coach there.

In the same year, he gave about $10 million to start a private school. This school is called The Epiphany School of Global Studies. Sparks has also given money for scholarships and programs at the University of Notre Dame.

In 2012, he started The Nicholas Sparks Foundation. This is a nonprofit group. It helps fund global education experiences for students. The foundation has given more than $15 million to different charities and scholarship programs.

Books Made into Movies

Many of Nicholas Sparks' books have been turned into movies. He has produced four of these films himself. These include The Choice and Safe Haven.

Other popular movies based on his books are:

• The Lucky One
• Message in a Bottle
• A Walk to Remember
• The Notebook

Movies based on his novels have earned a lot of money worldwide. The movie The Notebook is often seen as the most popular film based on his work.

In 2021, it was announced that a movie based on his book The Return is being made. Also, three more films based on his novels are being planned by Universal Pictures. The Wish will be the first of these new movies.

Movies Based on His Books

TV Shows Based on His Books

See also

In Spanish: Nicholas Sparks para niños