John Grisham

Bio

John Grisham was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas, on February 8, 1955. He took up residence in Southaven, Mississippi, in 1967. He received an undergraduate degree in accounting from Mississippi State University in 1977 and then attended law school at the University of Mississippi, where he earned a law degree in 1981. That same year, he married Renee Jones. He established a law practice in Southaven, where he practiced both criminal and civil law. In 1983, he was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives, and in 1989 he published his first novel, A TIME TO KILL. The book received some good reviews but sold only moderately well. His next book, however, would be a different story. Completed in 1988, THE FIRM would be his breakout hit. In 1990, before the novel was published, Paramount Pictures purchased the film rights for $600,000. That same year, he left the House of Representatives and bought a farm near Oxford, Mississippi.

Since then, Grisham has gone on to be recognized as one of the world's bestselling novelists. In addition to A TIME TO KILL and THE FIRM, his titles include THE PELICAN BRIEF, THE CLIENT, THE CHAMBER, and THE RAINMAKER, each of which has been scripted into immensely successful film versions. Other novels are THE PARTNER (1997) THE STREET LAWYER (1998), THE TESTAMENT (1999), and THE BRETHEREN (2000).

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