John Grisham, best known for his courtroom dramas with the two-word titles, such as The Firm and The Client, spent hours in the courtroom before he decided to write about it. Born in Arkansas and raised in Mississippi, Grisham is a product of the Southern United States and brings his insights -- both as a lawyer and as a southerner--to his writing.
Early Years
Grisham was born in 1955, one of five children to a construction worker and a homemaker. When he was young, the Grisham family relocated to Mississippi, where John spent his childhood. He graduated from Mississippi State University and went on to finish law school there. He was a trial lawyer in Southaven, Mississippi for almost ten years before embarking on his writing career. In addition, John Grisham was elected to the Mississippi State House of Representatives and served six years there.
Writing Career
Mr. Grisham's writing career began as a hobby, even, one might say, an obsessive one. The busy lawyer would get up well before dawn to work on his novel, a book that would eventually be titled, A Time to Kill. The book explored a variation from a real court case of his: what if the father of a young rape victim had killed the accused? How would he, as a lawyer, defend the father?
After many rejections, A Time to Kill was published in 1988 by Wynwood Press, with an initial run of 5000 copies. Real success didn't strike Grisham until he sold his second novel, the story of a hot-shot young lawyer disillusioned by the true nature of the law firm he goes to work for after law school. Grisham sold the film rights to that novel, The Firm, before he found a publisher for the novel. That deal, reported to be worth around $600,000, made Grisham a full-time author.
John Grisham Trivia
- Mr. Grisham divides his time between a farm in Mississippi and a plantation near Charlottesville, Virginia.
- Mr. Grisham is married and he and his wife have two children.
- John Grisham has stated in several interviews that his favorite author is John Le Carre.
- The Grishams have six baseball fields on their property that they use for charity games and disadvantaged children.
What's Next for John Grisham?
John Grisham's latest novel, Playing for Pizza, was published in September of 2007. It's a slight departure from his courtroom dramas and deals with a struggling professional quarterback, who finds work in Parma, Italy. His next courtroom novel, The Appeal, is scheduled to be released in January of 2008.
Bibliography
- A Time to Kill (1989)
- The Firm (1991)
- The Pelican Brief (1992)
- The Client (1993)
- The Chamber (1994)
- The Rainmaker (1995)
- The Runaway Jury (1996)
- The Partner (1997)
- The Street Lawyer (1998)
- The Testament (1999)
- The Brethren (2000)
- A Painted House (2001)
- Skipping Christmas (2001)
- The Summons (2002)
- The King of Torts (2003)
- Bleachers (2003)
- The Last Juror (2004)
- The Broker (2005)
- The Innocent Man (2006)
- Playing for Pizza (2007)
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