John Grisham was born in Jonesborough, Arkansas on February 8, 1955. His parents were strict Baptists. As a child, Grisham wanted to become a professional baseball player. He soon realized that he did not have the talent to go professional in the game and switched attention to his education.
In 1967, Grisham moved to Southaven, Mississippi, where he obtained an undergraduate degree in accounting from Mississippi State University. Grisham decided to change direction and pursue a law degree at the University of Mississippi. He was awarded his law degree in 1981. John Grisham practiced law in a small office in Southaven for nearly ten years, specializing in criminal law and personal injury cases. In 1983, he ran for public office and was elected to the House of Representatives where he served until 1990.
It was at this time that John Grisham began what started out as a hobby and later blossomed into a career: writing novels. One day, while in the Desoto County courthouse, Grisham overheard a case that inspired him to begin writing his first novel. He would write early in the morning, getting up at 5:00 a.m. to write before going to work. It took him 3 years to finish “A Time to Kill”, his first novel. He finally completed it in 1987. It was not well accepted, and the first printing ran only 5,000 copies when it was published in 1988. Although his first book was not successful, he began his second novel immediately. Grisham sold the film rights to his next novel, The Firm, to Paramount Pictures for $600,000, and his career was off and running.
Since then, Grisham has written a novel every year, nine of which have been made into movies.
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