Profits from best sellers allow novelist to promote literacy

by Joan Tupponce
Virginia Business
June 2005

David Baldacci finds nothing more mesmerizing than a well-turned phrase or an intriguing tale. He’s been fascinated with both since childhood when he spent hours in the Nine Mile Road public library, poring over the pages of his favorite books. Little did he know that one day his own words would hold the same allure for others.

Baldacci is not yet a member of the Virginia 100 but look for him in the future. He is included in the small percentage of authors whose books regularly top the charts. Forty million copies of his 10 consecutive New York Times bestsellers are in print in 87 countries. His 11th novel — “The Camel Club” — is scheduled for release in October. He also has written seven screenplays and has seen his first novel, “Absolute Power,” turned into a film. This summer begins a new chapter for a writer best known for producing thrillers: the release of Baldacci’s first children’s book, “Freddie and the French Fries.”

The novelist, 45, is a devoted Virginian. “It will always be home,” he says. Baldacci grew up in the Richmond’s east end and went to Henrico High School. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science from Virginia Commonwealth University before going to the University of Virginia for a law degree. He and his family live in Northern Virginia where Baldacci practiced corporate and trial law for a decade before publishing his first novel.

He credits his parents with fostering his love of reading. During all those trips to the library, he discovered writers such as Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie who nourished his passion for books and sparked his sense of creativity. “I wanted to captivate people with words like they captivated me,” he says.

Baldacci began writing between classes at high school. “You have to be descriptive and try to recreate things on the page ... master the creation of characters,” he says. He finished his first novel years later while still a partner at Washington, D.C., law firm Holland and Knight. His first book signing, at a Borders bookstore in New York, was “thrilling,” he recalls. “All those years trying to make it happen and then to see the book on the shelves … It was so gratifying.”

Also gratifying for Baldacci is giving back to the community. He promotes literacy through The Wish You Well Foundation, a family foundation he created in 2002 that has awarded about 50 grants to literacy organizations. In Virginia, he serves on the board of the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, the Central Virginia Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society and the VCU Board of Visitors. He credits VCU President Dr. Eugene Trani for elevating his alma mater’s status, bringing “VCU to the forefront of universities.” Baldacci has contributed thousands to the school’s Alumni House, libraries, and the Center for Public Policy. He recently pledged $112,000 to create the school’s First Novelist Award.

Despite his success, Baldacci remains down-to-earth. “Being a lawyer and having practiced for 10 years gave me the ability to deal with success better than some,” he explains. His first big purchase as an author: “A camcorder so we could record the events in our first child’s life.”

Refer to him as “an overnight success” and Baldacci will point out that it took him “6,000 nights to get there,” — a reference to the time he spent writing before being published. Success is an honor, he adds. “It makes you humble. I feel privileged to do this as a living.”