PHOTO VIA NICHOLAS SPARKS FACEBOOK PAGE
Nicholas Sparks (Website), the bestselling author known for novels such as The Notebook and A Walk to Remember, will appear at Steinmetz Hall on January 17, 2026, as part of the Orange County Library System’s Lillian Louise Pharr Signature Author Series. The event, hosted at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, will feature a conversation about Sparks’ career, writing process, and recent creative projects, including his new collaboration with filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan.
Sparks and Shyamalan recently teamed up on Remain, a project that bridges their two disparate worlds of storytelling. The book, written by Sparks with input from Shyamalan, explores themes of love, loss, and mystery, blending Sparks’ “kissing in the rain” emotional realism with Shyamalan’s signature “I see dead people” tension and supernatural mumbo jumbo.
In Remain, architect Tate Donovan arrives in Cape Cod to design a summer home for his best friend, seeking a fresh start after being released from a psychiatric facility and still grappling with the death of his sister. He checks into a historic bed-and-breakfast and encounters Wren, a young woman whose mysterious presence unsettles yet fascinates him. Queue sexy sci-fi romance on the beach.
As stated in the video above, a companion film based on the same story is also in development, marking one of the most unusual, but totally welcome, author-director collaborations in recent years.
During the January event, Sparks is expected to discuss the inspiration behind the partnership and how his approach to writing has evolved after decades of crafting some of the most recognizable love stories in modern fiction. The library system describes the evening as a chance for readers to hear directly from one of the world’s most widely read authors in an intimate setting.
Tickets for the Steinmetz Hall appearance are available to purchase HERE, and will likely sell out.
