Richard Paul Evans, #1 New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal best-selling author, celebrates his birthday on Oct. 11, 1962, in Salt Lake City. He is best known for his Christmas stories and Michael Vey series.
Evans graduated from the University of Utah with a B.A. degree in 1984. He went to work as an advertising executive, and during this time, wrote his book, “The Christmas Box,” which he self-published since no one would publish it for him. When it became a hit, companies tried to publish it for him, and Simon & Schuster paid Evans $4.2 million in an advance. In 1995, it became the first self-published book to reach the #1 position on the New York Times best-seller list for both paperback and hard cover editions at the same time. This self-published book became a word-of-mouth success. More than 8 million copies of “The Christmas Box” have been printed. It was made into a television movie the same year.
Evans never planned on being an author, and he wrote “The Christmas Box” for his two daughters, publishing a few copies to give to family and
