John Grisham
Long before his name became synonymous with the modern legal thriller, he was working 60-70 hours a week at a small Southaven, Mississippi, law practice, squeezing in time before going to the office and during courtroom recesses to work on his hobby—writing his first novel.
Born on February 8, 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, to a construction worker and a homemaker, John Grisham as a child dreamed of being a professional baseball player. Realizing he didn’t have the right stuff for a pro career, he shifted gears and majored in accounting at Mississippi State University. After graduating from law school at Ole Miss in 1981, he went on to practice law for nearly a decade in Southaven, specializing in criminal defense and personal injury litigation. In 1983, he was elected to the state House of Representatives and served until 1990.
One day at the DeSoto County courthouse, Grisham overheard the harrowing testimony of a twelve-year-old rape victim and was inspired to start a novel exploring what would have happened if the girl’s father had murdered her assailants. Getting up at 5 a.m. every day to get in several hours of writing time before heading off to work, Grisham spent three years on A Time to Kill and finished it in 1987. Initially rejected by many publishers, it was eventually bought by Wynwood Press, who gave it a modest 5,000 copy printing and published it in June 1988.
That might have put an end to Grisham’s hobby. However, he had already begun his next book, and it would quickly turn that hobby into a new full-time career—and spark one of publishing’s greatest success stories. The day after Grisham completed A Time to Kill, he began work on another novel, the story of a hotshot young attorney lured to an apparently perfect law firm that was not what it appeared. When he sold the film rights to The Firm to Paramount Pictures for $600,000, Grisham suddenly became a hot property among publishers, and book rights were bought by Doubleday. Spending 47 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list, The Firm became the bestselling novel of 1991.
The successes of The Pelican Brief, which hit number one on the New York Times bestseller list, and The Client, which debuted at number one, confirmed Grisham’s reputation as the master of the legal thriller. Grisham’s success even renewed interest in A Time to Kill, which was republished in hardcover by Doubleday and then in paperback by Dell. This time around, it was a bestseller.
Since first publishing A Time to Kill in 1988, Grisham has written one novel a year (his other books are The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Client, The Chamber, The Rainmaker, The Runaway Jury, The Partner, The Street Lawyer, The Testament, The Brethren, A Painted House, Skipping Christmas, The Summons, The King of Torts, Bleachers, The Last Juror, The Broker, Playing for Pizza, The Appeal, and The Associate) and all of them have become international bestsellers. There are currently over 250 million John Grisham books in print worldwide, which have been translated into 29 languages. Nine of his novels have been turned into films (The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Client, A Time to Kill, The Rainmaker, The Chamber, A Painted House, The Runaway Jury, and Skipping Christmas), as was an original screenplay, The Gingerbread Man. The Innocent Man (October 2006) marked his first foray into non-fiction, and Ford County (November 2009) was his first short story collection.
Grisham lives with his wife Renee and their two children Ty and Shea. The family splits their time between their Victorian home on a farm in Mississippi and a plantation near Charlottesville, VA.
Grisham took time off from writing for several months in 1996 to return, after a five-year hiatus, to the courtroom. He was honoring a commitment made before he had retired from the law to become a full-time writer: representing the family of a railroad brakeman killed when he was pinned between two cars. Preparing his case with the same passion and dedication as his books’ protagonists, Grisham successfully argued his clients’ case, earning them a jury award of $683,500—the biggest verdict of his career.
When he’s not writing, Grisham devotes time to charitable causes, including most recently his Rebuild The Coast Fund, which raised 8.8 million dollars for Gulf Coast relief in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. He also keeps up with his greatest passion: baseball. The man who dreamed of being a professional baseball player now serves as the local Little League commissioner. The six ballfields he built on his property have played host to over 350 kids on 26 Little League teams.
Books
OpenLibrary works by this author.
The Firm (adaptation)
The Pelican Brief (adaptation)
4 Novels (Client / Firm / Pelican Brief / Time to Kill)
Abduction
Abduction
Abduction
Accused
Accused
Accused
Accused
Achter gesloten deuren
A Confraria
Activist
Activist
Adalet Pesinde
Advocaat van de duivel
Advocaat Van De Duivel
A Intimação
Ajuste de cuentas
Anklage (German Edition)
A Painted House
A Painted House
A Painted House
A Painted House
A Painted House First Edition Near Fine Condition
Appeal
Appeal
Appeal
Appeal, the
Associate
A Time for Mercy
A Time for Mercy
A Time for Mercy
A Time to Kill
A Time to Kill
A Time To Kill
A TIME TO KILL
A Time to Kill (adaptation)
Avocaat Van De Duivel
Baishin hyoketsu [Japanese Edition] (Volume # 1)
Bar Pod Kogutem
Bei Kong Xia de Mu Ji Zhe
Berufung
Berufung
Best Sellers
Bleachers
Bleachers
Bleachers
Bleachers
Blood Drive (Storycuts)
Boyal. Die Farm.
Boys from Biloxi
Boys from Biloxi
Boys from Biloxi
Boys from Biloxi 8-Copy Floor Display
Boys from Biloxi - Limited Edition
Brethren
Brethren
Brethren
Brethren 25c Hc/Cas Flr
Brödraskapet
Broker
Broker
Broker
Broker
Bu Cun Zai de Zheng Ren
Calico Joe
Calico Joe
Calico Joe
Calico Joe
Calico Joe
CAMARA DE GAS
Cámara de gas
Camino Ghosts
Camino Ghosts
Camino Ghosts - Limited Edition
Camino Ghosts (Spanish Edition)
Camino Island
Camino Island
Camino Island
Camino Island
Camino Island (el Caso Fitzgerald)
Camino Saar
Camino Series. 3 Books Collection Set. Camino Ghosts, Camino Island, Camino Winds by John Grisham
Camino Winds
Camino Winds
Camino Winds
Camino Winds (el Manuscrito)
Cancelled Title
Casino (Storycuts)
Causa justa
Chamber
Chamber
Chamber
Chamber, The
Chamber; The Rainmaker
Chroniques de Ford County
Cinarli Yol
Client
Collected John Grisham
CONFESION, LA
Confession
CONFESSION
Confissao (Em Portugues do Brasil)
Contrat
Dalavere
Das Talent
Das Testament :
Das Testament :
Davaci
Davet
De aanklacht
De afperser
De beschuldiging
De broederschap
De broederschap
De broederschap
De broederschap
De claim
De gevangene
De jury
Der Coach
Der Gefangene
Der Gefangene.
Der Regenmacher.
De verdediging
Die Akte. Roman
Die Bruderschaft / the Brethren by John Grisham (2002-01-31)
Die Erbin
Die Erbin (German Edition)
Die Farm
Die Farm
Die Liste
Die Wächter
Dods-Cellen
Domarens brev (Swedish Edition) [Imported]
Domen
Dossie Pelicano (Em Portugues do Brasil)
El caso Fitzgerald
El caso Fitzgerald
El Cliente
El estafador
El estafador
El Estafador
El informe pelícano
El intercambio
El intermediario
EL INTERMEDIARIO
El jurado
El manuscrito
El profesional
El proyecto Williamson
El proyecto Williamson
EL PROYECTO WILLIAMSON
El rey de los pleitos/ The King of Torts (Spanish Edition)
El secreto de Gray Mountain
El soborno
El socio
El socio
El sueño de Sooley
El último jurado
EL ULTIMO PARTIDO
Exchange
Exchange
Exchange 8-Copy Floor Display
Exchange - Limited Edition
Fetching Raymond (Storycuts)
Firm
Firm
Firm,2 Books Collection Set,the Firm,the Exchange
Firmah
Firm Dumpbin X 36
Fish Files (Storycuts)
Ford County
Ford County
Ford County
Ford County
Fourteen Days
Framed
Framed
FRAMED 8-Copy Floor Display
Framed - Limited Edition
Fugitive
Funny Boy (Storycuts)
GENERIC Sparring Partners 8-Copy Floor Display
Gran Estafa
Gray Mountain
Gray Mountain
Grisham SP21 Mixed Backlist 12c MM Prepack with Shelftalker
Grisham Spring-Summer 2019 12c PPK with Shelftalker
GUARDIANES, LOS
ha-Aḥaṿah
ha-Broḳer
Ḥaf mi-peshaʻ
ha-Hodaʼah
ha-Laḳoaḥ
ha-Meyatsgim
ha-Mushba' ha-aḥaron
ha-Shutaf
ha-Ta
ha-Tsaṿaʾah
Hesaplaşma
Het laatste jurylid
Het laatste jurylid / druk 1
Het testament
Het testament
Het testament
Het testament
Het vonnis (Zwarte beertjes Thriller)
ʻEt la-harog
I confratelli
Il Cliente (Italian Edition)
Il professionista
Il Re dei torti
Il tempo della clemenza
Innocent Man
Innocent Man
Innocent Man
Intercambio : Después de la Tapadera / the Exchange : the Exchange
INTERMEDIARIO, EL-POCKET
Itiraf
I͡Urist
Jack Cristil
John Grisham Boxed Set
John Grisham CD Audiobook Bundle #2
Joven Abogado / Kid Lawyer
Judge's List
Judge's List
Judge's List
Judge's List
JULFRITT
Juri
Kacirilan Kiz
Kaledu nebus
Ḳaliḳo G'o
Kancelaria
KART) CLIENTE,EL
Kid Lawyer
Kid Lawyer
King of Torts
King of Torts
King of Torts
King of Torts
Klient
Król afer
KSIĄŻKI WYBRANE
Kucuk Avukat
L'accusato. Theodore Boone
L'accusé
L'Accuse (French Edition)
La dernière récolte
La Dernière Récolte
L'affaire Pélican
L'Affaire Pelican (French Edition)
La Firme (French Edition)
La Giuria
La gran estafa
La gran estafa
La herencia
La herencia
La Herencia
La hermandad
La lista del juez
La Lista Del Juez / The Judge's List
L'Allee Du Sycomore (French Edition)
La ragazza scomparsa. Theodore Boone
La resa dei conti
La sentence
L'associe (Thriller) (French Edition)
Last Juror
Last Juror
Last Juror
La tapadera
La Tapadera
La trampa
La trampa
La trampa (Spanish Edition)
La transaction
L'avvocato canaglia
L'avvocato canaglia (Rogue Lawyer / Partners)
L'avvocato di strada
Le cas Fitzgerald
Le Cas Fitzgerald (Thrillers) (French Edition)
Le contrat
Le couloir de la mort
Le couloir de la mort
Le Couloir De LA Mort (French Edition)
Le Dernier Juré
Le Dernier Jure (French Edition)
Le droit de tuer
Legal Briefs
Le Maitre Du Jeu
Le manipulateur
Les partenaires
Level 4
Level 4
Level 6
L'héritage
L'héritage
L'Heritage (French Edition)
L'idéaliste
L'idéaliste
L'informatore
Litigators
Litigators
Los Chicos de Biloxi
Los litigantes
Los litigantes
Los Litigantes
Maden
Masum Adam
Meḥoz Ford
Melekh ha-neziḳin
Michael's Room (Storycuts)
Miśḥaḳ ha-mushbaʻim
Morid ha-geshem
Muhbir
MÜŞTERİ
Mysterious Bookshop Presents the Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2025
New John Grisham Legal Thriller
Niewinny
Non coupable
Novels (Appeal / Chamber / Firm)
Novels (Brethren / Chamber)
Novels (Brethren / Summons)
Novels (Broker / Last Juror)
Novels (Chamber / Client / Pelican Brief / Time to Kill)
Novels (Chamber / Firm)
Novels (Chamber / Rainmaker)
Novels (Chamber / Time to Kill)
Novels (Client / Firm)
Novels (Client / King of Torts)
Novels (Client / Street Lawyer)
Novels (Firm / Pelican Brief)
Novels (Firm / Pelican Brief / Time to Kill)
Novels (Firm / Time to Kill)
Novels (King of Torts / Last Juror)
Novels (King of Torts / Time to Kill)
Novels (Partner / Runaway Jury)
Novels (Partner / Street Lawyer / Time to Kill)
Novels (Pelican Brief / Time to Kill)
O Juri (Em Portugues do Brasil)
O Manipulador
Ominąć święta
Ostatni sprawiedliwy
Painted House
Painted House
Painted House
Partner
Partner
Partners
Partners
Partner, The X36 Dumpbin
Peguin Readers 5
Peguin Readers 5
Peguin Readers 5
Peguin Readers 6
Pelikan Dosyasi
Pelikanu lieta
PENGUIN ACTIVE READING 2
Penguin Collection
PENGUIN READERS 4
PENGUIN READERS 5
PENGUIN READERS 6
PENGUIN READERS 6
Playing for pizza
Playing for Pizza
Playing for Pizza
Playing for Pizza
Playing for Pizza
Playing for Pizza 1st (first) edition Text Only
Prentice Hall Literature--Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes--Silver Level
Prestuplenie bez nakazanii͡a
PR Library Pack Level 4
Quiet Haven (Storycuts)
Racketeer
Racketeer
Rain maker
Rainmaker
Rainmaker
Rainmaker
reader's digest
Reader's Digest Condensed Books
Readers Digest Condensed Books
Readers Digest Condensed Books
Reader's Digest Condensed Books--Volume 1 1995
Reader's Digest Condensed Books--Volume 3 1991
Reader's Digest Condensed Books--Volume 4 1993
Reader's Digest Condensed Books--Volume 5 1992
Reader's Digest Condensed Books--Volume 5 1995
Reader's Digest--Volume 1 1997
Reader's Digest--Volume 5 1997
Reckoning
Ritorno a Ford County. Storie del Mississippi
rogue lawyer
Rogue Lawyer
Rogue Lawyer
Rogue Lawyer
Rogue Lawyer (Large Print)
Runaway Jury
Runaway Jury
Runaway Jury
Runaway Jury
Sakin Cennet
SANIK
Scandal
Scandal
SECRETO DE GRAY MOUNTAIN, EL-POCKET
Select editions
SelectEditions--Volume 4 1998
SelectEditions--Volume 4 1999
Selections from Reader's Digest Condensed Books
Shi Zong de N© Tong Xue
Shui Zai Zuo Bi?
Siete vidas
Sirket
Skipping Christmas
Skipping Christmas
Son Juri Uyesi
Sooley
Sooley
Sooley
Sooley
Sooley
Sooley
Sooley - Limited Edition
Sooley (Spanish Edition)
Sparring Partners
Sparring Partners
Sparring Partners
Sparring Partners
Sparring Partners
Sparring Partners
Sparring Partners / Adversarios
Sparring Partners - Limited Edition
Street Lawyer
Street Lawyer
Street Lawyer
Street Lawyer
Summons
Summons
Svindlaren
Sycamore Row
Sycamore Row
Sycamore Row
Sycamore Row
Sycamore Row by John Grisham Summary
Sycamore Row Large Print
Sycamore Row - Limited Edition
Tempo De Matar - A Time to Kill - Portuguese Edition - John Grisham
Temyiz
Testament
Testament
Testament
Testament
Testament, Level 6
TESTAMENTO, EL
The Accused
the appeal
The Appeal
The Appeal
The Appeal
The Appeal. 1/2
The Appeal. 2/2
The Associate
The Associate
The Associate by John Grisham
The Boys from Biloxi
The brethren
The Brethren
The Brethren
The Brethren
The Brethren
The Brethren
THE BRETHREN AND A PAINTED HOUSE
The Brethren by John Grisham (2000-02-01)
The broker
The Broker
The Broker
The Broker
The Broker
The Broker
the chamber
The Chamber
The Chamber
The Chamber
The Chamber
The Chamber (adaptation)
The Chamber by John Grisham (1995-04-01)
The Chamber [Japanese Edition] (Volume # 1)
The Chamber [Japanese Edition] (Volume # 2)
The Chamber : Written by John Grisham, 1994 Edition, Publisher
The Client
The Client
The Client
The Client (adaptation)
The Client: Level 4 (Pearson English Graded Readers)
The Confession
The Confession
The Exchange
The firm
The Firm
The Firm
The Firm
The Guardians
The Guardians
The Guardians
The innocent man
The innocent man
The Innocent Man
The Innocent Man
The Innocent Man
The John Grisham Value Collection (Client / Firm / Time to Kill)
The Judge's List
The Judge's List - Limited Edition
The King of Torts
The King Of Torts by John Grisham (26-May-2011) Paperback
The last juror
The Last Juror
The Last Juror
The Last Juror
The Last Juror
The Last Juror / The Broker by John Grisham (2007-08-01)
The litigators
The Litigators
Theodore Boone
Theodore Boone
Theodore Boone
Theodore Boone
Theodore Boone
Theodore Boone
Theodore Boone
Theodore Boone
Theodore Boone
Theodore Boone #2 3-copy audio bulk Pack
Theodore Boone 5 India (kids Edition)
Theodore Boone 6-Book Box Set
Theodore Boone Aktywista (Polska Wersja Jezykowa)
Theodore Boone box set
Theodore Boone Deluxe Box Set (Accused / Activist / Abduction / Kid Lawyer)
Theodore Boone : el Cómplice / Theodore Boone
Theodore Boone Fugitive KID COVER EXPORT
Theodore Boone, kid lawyer
Theodore Boone - Kid Lawyer
Theodore Boone Mlody prawnik
Theodore Boone. Mlody prawnik (polish)
Theodore Boone, The Abduction
Theodore Boone, The Accomplice
Theodore Boone, the accused
Theodore Boone, The Activist
Theodore Boone : the Fugitive
Theodore Boone, The Fugitive
Theodore Boone - The Scandal
Theodore Boone Untitled 4 India (kids Edition)
Theodore Boone Untitled 6 India (kids Edition)
Theodore Boone Uprowadzenie
the partner
The partner
The Partner
The Partner
The Partner
The Partner [1/2]
The Partner by John Grisham 1997
The Partner by John Grisham (1997-02-26)
[The Partner] [published
The Pelican Brief
THE PELICAN BRIEF
the pelican brief a time to kill
The Pelican Brief / Every Living Thing
The Pelican Brief / Every Living Thing
The Racketeer
The Racketeer
The Racketeer
The rainmaker
The Rainmaker
The Rainmaker
The Rainmaker
The Rainmaker
The Rain Maker
THE RAINMAKER
The Rainmaker. 1/2
The Rainmaker by John Grisham (1995-06-01)
The Rainmaker ('Zao yu ren', in traditional Chinese, NOT in English)
The Reckoning
The Reckoning
The Rooster Bar
The Rooster Bar
The Rooster Bar
The Rooster Bar
THE ROOSTER BAR*
The Runaway Jury
The Runaway Jury
The Runaway Jury
The Runaway Jury
The Runaway Jury
The Runaway Jury
The Runaway Jury
The Runaway Jury by John Grisham (2004-01-01)
The Runaway Jury [Japanese Edition] (Volume # 2)
The Runaway Jury : Written by John Grisham, 1996 Edition, Publisher
The Scandal
The Street Lawrey
The street lawyer
The Street Lawyer
The Street Lawyer
The Street Lawyer
The Street Lawyer
The Street Lawyer
The Street Lawyer
The Street Lawyer
The Street Lawyer by John Grisham 1998 BCA
The Street Lawyer ('Jie to lu shi', in traditional Chinese, NOT in English)
The Summons
The Summons
The Summons
THE SUMMONS AND THE KING OF TORTS
[(The Summons)] [By (author) John Grisham] published on (January, 2003)
The Testament
The Testament
The Testament
The Testament
The Testament (adaptation)
The Testament / A Time To Kill
THE TUMOR A Non-Legal Thriller
The WaveDancer Benefit
The Whistler
The Whistler
The Widow
TIEMPO DE MATAR
Tiempo de Matar / a Time to Kill
Tiempo de perdón
Tiempo de perdón
Tiempo de Perdón / a Time for Mercy
Tiḳ śaḳnai
Time for Mercy
Time for Mercy
Time for Mercy/Grisham MM 12c Solo Floor Display
Time for Mercy - Limited Edition
Time to Kill
Time to Kill
Time to Kill
Time to Kill
Time to Kill
Time to Kill; A Sea of Troubles
Touchdown
Tribuny
Tumor
Tuzak
Un abogado rebelde
Una Navidad diferente
Untitled 13 (Uk Only)
Vasiyetname
Verloren seizoen
Visualizing the Blues
Vurguncu
Wealth Rules. Napoleon Hill [Russian Edition]
Wezwanie
When Truth Is All You Have
Whistler
Whistler Series,2 Books Collection Set,the Whistler,the Whistler by John Grisham
Widow
Widow 8-Copy Floor Display
Widow - Limited Edition
Więzienny prawnik
Wo Shi Tou Hao Xian Yi Ren
Wspólnik
Wyspa Camino
X24 Rainmaker Dumpbin
Yagmurcu
Zolotoĭ dozhdʹ
Zwarte beertjes 3467
בר התרנגול
האי קמינו
המאבק
הנאשם
הסחטן
הערעור
הרי הפחם
השומרים
התחשבנות
מוניטין מפוקפק
עת לחמול
Fetched from OpenLibrary. Some translations may appear as separate works.