John Grisham

John Ray Grisham Jr. is an American novelist, lawyer, and former member of the <a href="/facts/Mississippi_House_of_Representatives/Whx10CGW">Mississippi House of Representatives</a>, known for his best-selling <a href="/facts/Legal_thriller/FHIoDXyd">legal thrillers</a>. According to the <a href="/facts/Academy_of_Achievement/JLFsXAjM">American Academy of Achievement</a>, Grisham has written 37 consecutive number-one fiction bestsellers, and his books have sold 300 million copies worldwide. Along with <a href="/facts/Tom_Clancy/tGdyML3z">Tom Clancy</a> and <a href="/facts/J._K._Rowling/hdgs1Nv3">J. K. Rowling</a>, Grisham is one of only three anglophone authors to have sold two million copies on the first printing.
Grisham graduated from <a href="/facts/Mississippi_State_University/HBEl3EnK">Mississippi State University</a> and earned a <a href="/facts/Juris_Doctor/IcnGQNTB">Juris Doctor</a> from the <a href="/facts/University_of_Mississippi_School_of_Law/peEPu17V">University of Mississippi School of Law</a> in 1981. He practiced criminal law for about a decade and served in the <a href="/facts/Mississippi_House_of_Representatives/Whx10CGW">Mississippi House of Representatives</a> from 1983 to 1990. Grisham's first novel, <a href="/facts/A_Time_to_Kill_(Grisham_novel)/BJggUp1r">A Time to Kill</a>, was published in June 1989, four years after he began writing it. It was later adapted into the 1996 feature film of the <a href="/facts/A_Time_to_Kill_(1996_film)/shyDDGjo">same name</a>. Grisham's first <a href="/facts/Bestseller/VJsQmASN">bestseller</a>, <a href="/facts/The_Firm_(novel)/2ezeoN3U">The Firm</a>, sold more than seven million copies, and was also adapted into a 1993 feature film of the <a href="/facts/The_Firm_(1993_film)/NGblVubz">same name</a>, starring <a href="/facts/Tom_Cruise/kBgAITKE">Tom Cruise</a>, and a <a href="/facts/The_Firm_(2012_TV_series)/TTHrvHdE">2012 TV series</a> that continues the story ten years after the events of the film and novel. Seven of his other novels have also been adapted into films: <a href="/facts/The_Chamber_(novel)/4CwbL4xj">The Chamber</a>, <a href="/facts/The_Client_(novel)/pYr338au">The Client</a>, <a href="/facts/A_Painted_House/Yl1NxpJk">A Painted House</a>, <a href="/facts/The_Pelican_Brief/MDoLJMmg">The Pelican Brief</a>, <a href="/facts/The_Rainmaker_(novel)/e26ff5t2">The Rainmaker</a>, <a href="/facts/The_Runaway_Jury/MTjeVn1H">The Runaway Jury</a>, and <a href="/facts/Skipping_Christmas/tDTwcffS">Skipping Christmas</a>.

John Grisham open-in-new

John Grisham