Richard Paul Evans (born October 11, 1962) is an American author, best known for writing ''
The Christmas Box'' and, more recently, the Michael Vey series.
Biography
Evans graduated from
Cottonwood High School in Murray City, Utah. He graduated with a
B.A. degree from the
University of Utah
The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...
in 1984.
While working as an advertising executive he wrote a Christmas story for his children. Unable to find a publisher or an agent, he self-published the work in 1993 as a paperback
novella
A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most novelettes and short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) ...
entitled ''The Christmas Box''. He distributed it to bookstores in his community. The book became a local bestseller, prompting Evans to publish the book in this region.
The next year ''The Christmas Box'' hit #2 on
''The New York Times'' Best Seller list, inciting an auction for the publishing rights among the world's top publishing houses. Evans signed a publishing deal with
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...
, who paid him $4.2 million in an advance.
Released in
hardcover
A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as casebound (At p. 247.)) book is one bookbinding, bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other clo ...
in 1995, ''The Christmas Box'' became the first book to simultaneously reach the number-one position on the ''New York Times'' bestseller list for both paperback and hardcover editions. That same year, the book was made into a
television movie
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...
of the same title, starring
Richard Thomas and
Maureen O'Hara.
Evans has subsequently written 36 nationally best-selling books,
including some for children, with conservative
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
themes and appealing to
family values
Family values, sometimes referred to as familial values, are traditional or cultural values that pertain to the family's structure, function, roles, beliefs, attitudes, and ideals. Additionally, the concept of family values may be understood ...
. His 1996 book ''Timepiece'' was made into a television movie featuring
Naomi Watts,
James Earl Jones, and
Ellen Burstyn
Ellen Burstyn (born Edna Rae Gillooly; December 7, 1932) is an American actress. Known for her portrayals of complex women in dramas, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Emmy A ...
, as were ''The Locket'' (1998), which starred
Vanessa Redgrave; ''A Perfect Day'' (2006), which starred
Rob Lowe
Robert Hepler Lowe (born March 17, 1964) is an American actor, filmmaker, and entertainment host. Following numerous television roles in the early 1980s, he came to prominence as a teen idol and member of the Brat Pack with starring roles in ...
and
Christopher Lloyd; ''The Mistletoe Promise'' (2016), which starred
Jaime King
Jaime Barbara King (born April 23, 1979) is an American actress and model best known for her roles in TV series '' Hart of Dixie'' (2011–2015) and ''Black Summer'' (2019–2021), and films such as ''Pearl Harbor'' (2001), ''Slackers'' (200 ...
and
Luke Macfarlane; and ''The Mistletoe Inn'' (2017), which starred
Alicia Witt and
David Alpay.
In the spring of 1997, Evans founded Christmas Box House International, an organization devoted to building shelters and providing services for abused and neglected children. As of 2017, more than 35,000 children had been served by Christmas Box House facilities.
Evans, a member of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...
, lives in
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...
,
Utah
Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
with his wife Keri, five children, and one grandson.
He founded the group "Tribe of Kyngs" to combat feelings of isolation among men and the belief that "masculinity is no longer valued". Initiation into the group includes a coronation ceremony.
Sexual harassment allegations
In 2018, allegations were made against Evans (and relayed by author
Shannon Hale, among other allegations) that he had sexually harassed an author (Hale) at a convention. Accusations included repeatedly hugging, groping, and kissing her without consent at the Utah-based FanX Convention.
Bibliography
Non-fiction
*''The Christmas Box Miracle: My Spiritual Journey of Destiny, Healing, and Hope'' (2001)
*''The Five Lessons a Millionaire Taught Me: About Life and Wealth'' (2004)
*''The Five Lessons a Millionaire Taught Me for Women'' (2009)
*''The Four Doors'' (2014)
*''Sharing Too Much'' (2024)
Series
* The Christmas Box
*#''
The Christmas Box'' (1995)
*#''Timepiece'' (1996)
*#''The Letter'' (1996)
* The Locket
*#''The Locket'' (1998)
*#''The Looking Glass'' (1999)
*#''The Carousel'' (2001)
* The Walk
*#''The Walk'' (2009)
*#''Miles to Go'' (2011)
*#''The Road To Grace'' (2012)
*#''A Step of Faith'' (2013)
*#''Walking on Water'' (2014)
*The Broken Road
*#''The Broken Road'' (2017)
*#''The Forgotten Road'' (2018)
*#''The Road Home'' (2019)
* Michael Vey
*#''
Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25'' (2011)
*#''Michael Vey: Rise of the Elgen'' (2012)
*#''
Michael Vey: Battle of the Ampere'' (2013)
*#''
Michael Vey: Hunt for Jade Dragon'' (2014)
*#''
Michael Vey: Storm of Lightning'' (2015)
*#''Michael Vey: Fall of Hades'' (2016)
*#''Michael Vey: The Final Spark'' (2017)
*#''Michael Vey: The Parasite'' (2022)
*#''Michael Vey: The Traitor'' (2023)
*#''Michael Vey: The Colony'' (2024)
Novels
*''Christmas Every Day'', adapted from the
William Dean Howells short story (1996)
*''The First Gift of Christmas'' (1996)
*''The Last Promise'' (2002)
*''A Perfect Day'' (2003)
*''The Sunflower'' (2005)
*''Finding Noel'' (2006)
*''The Gift'' (2007)
*''Grace'' (2008), re-released as ''If Only'' (2015)
*''The Christmas List'' (2009)
*''Promise Me'' (2010)
*''Lost December'' (2011)
*''A Winter Dream'' (2012)
*''The Mistletoe Promise'' (2014)
*''The Mistletoe Inn'' (2015)
*''The Mistletoe Secret'' (2016)
*''The Noel Diary'' (2017)
*''The Noel Stranger'' (2018)
*''The Noel Street'' (2019)
*''The Noel Letters'' (2020)
*''The Christmas Promise'' (2021)
*''A Christmas Memory'' (2022)
Children's books
*''The Christmas Candle'' (1998)
*''The Dance'' (1999)
*''The Spyglass: A Book About Faith'' (2000)
*''The Tower'' (2001)
*''The Light of Christmas'' (2002)
References
External links
*
The Christmas Box Internationalcharity subsite
Richard Paul Evansat Wattpad.com
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Richard Paul
1962 births
American children's writers
Latter Day Saints from Utah
20th-century American novelists
Living people
University of Utah alumni
Writers from Salt Lake City
21st-century American novelists
American male novelists
20th-century American male writers
21st-century American male writers
Novelists from Utah
Cottonwood High School (Murray, Utah) alumni