Richard Paul Evans

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.

Richard Paul Evans
Born (1962-10-11) October 11, 1962
Salt Lake City, Utah
CitizenshipAmerican
EducationCottonwood High School (Murray, Utah)
Alma materUniversity of Utah
GenreNovels
Notable worksMichael Vey series, The Christmas Box
SpouseKeri Evans

Biography

Evans graduated from Cottonwood High School in Murray City, Utah. He graduated with a B.A. degree from the University of Utah 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 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 bestseller list, inciting an auction for the publishing rights among the world's top publishing houses. Evans signed a publishing deal with Simon & Schuster, who paid him $4.2 million in an advance.[1]

Released in hardcover 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 of the same title, starring Richard Thomas and Maureen O'Hara.

Evans has subsequently written 36 nationally best-selling books,[2] including some for children, with conservative Christian themes and appealing to family values. His 1996 book Timepiece was made into a television movie featuring Naomi Watts, James Earl Jones, and Ellen Burstyn, as were The Locket (1998), which starred Vanessa Redgrave; A Perfect Day (2006), which starred Rob Lowe and Christopher Lloyd; The Mistletoe Promise (2016), which starred Jaime King and Luke Macfarlane; and The Mistletoe Inn (2017), which starred Alicia Witt and David Alpay.

During 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 have been served by Christmas Box House facilities.[3]

Evans, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with his wife Keri, five children, and one grandson.[2]

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.[4]

Sexual harassment allegations

In 2018, allegations were made against Evans that he had sexually harassed women at the Utah-based FanX Convention. [5][6]

In an interview that aired Tuesday on KUTV-Channel 2 in Salt Lake City, Evans criticized some in the #metoo movement, stating, "These trends tend to swing too far the other way where innocent men are being caught up in, and we’re in a culture where it’s a war on men.” He told reporter Chris Jones that “there is a war on men" and that men are under attack, oppressed by a changing culture, victims of an extremist feminist agenda, adding, "There are books written that say, again, that men should be taken out, that they should account for no more than 10 percent of the population. Well, that makes men feel like Jews in Nazi Germany."[7][8][9]

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)

Series

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)
  • Noel Street (2019)
  • The Noel Letters (2020)

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)
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References
  1. Woo, Elaine (October 13, 2011). "Margaret Tante Burk obituary: The co-founder of the Round Table West literary group was 93". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
  2. "KUTV 2News "Person 2 Person: Richard Paul Evans"". KUTV 2News Utah. June 14, 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  3. "Richard Paul Evans". Simon & Schuster. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  4. Hardy, Benjamin P. (18 August 2017). "TRIBE OF KYNGS: A Refuge for Men to Have Friends, Connections, and Purpose". Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  5. "Bestselling Author Richard Paul Evans, Accused of Sexual Harassment, Says Men Are Under Attack… Like the Jews in Nazi Germany". Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  6. "Handling of harassment claim shakes up Utah comic convention". 2018-05-22. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  7. "Utah author Richard Paul Evans, accused of sexual harassment, apologizes for 'stupid comparison' between white men in America to 'Jews in Nazi Germany'". Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  8. "Bestselling Author Richard Paul Evans, Accused of Sexual Harassment, Says Men Are Under Attack… Like the Jews in Nazi Germany". Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  9. "Handling of harassment claim shakes up Utah comic convention". 2018-05-22. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  10. Hunt for Jade Dragon (official website) http://michaelvey.com
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