Nicholas Sparks: Living in New Bern, Writing for the World

Internationally known, he has authored 20 New York Times bestsellers in the last 20 years. Father of five children, philanthropist with his own foundation, and resident of New Bern, NC, Nicholas Sparks has his latest book, Two By Two in bookstores everywhere. Published in early October, 2016 and on the New York list just 12 weeks, the Sparks book is already #5. Eleven of his books have been made into movies with the 12th in production, The Guardian.

In addition to being a romanticist, Sparks is a local hero here in New Bern; he has formerly been a volunteer head track and field coach at New Bern High School for four years and donated a new track. He also founded and funded a Christian college-prep school, Epiphany School of Global Studies (grades K-12). Recently Epiphany and the Nicholas Sparks Foundation has partnered to provide scholarships to low-income students coming from rural areas. The foundation since its beginning has distributed 15 million dollars to various charities with the Sparks family covering all operational expenses. 100% of donations go direct to charities. New Bern isn’t the only benefactor of his generosity. He gives annual scholarships, internships and fellowships for creative writing to his alma mater, The University of Notre Dame.

This local author has received and given back much. While Sparks has called New Bern home for many years, eastern North Carolina has been many background settings for his bestsellers. For more information on him, go to his web page, www.nicholassparks.com.