John Grisham was born in 1955 to a construction worker and homemaker in Jonesboro, Alabama. Although he wanted to become a professional baseball player in his youth, Grisham decided on an accounting career. He went to Mississippi State University to study accounting, and ultimately graduated with a law degree from the University of Mississippi.
Grisham practiced law in Southaven, Mississippi, for almost 10 years before being elected to the state House of Representatives. He served as a Representative for seven years.
Inspired by the real story of a rape victim, Grisham wrote a book called, A Time to Kill, becoming his first published work. Grisham’s next book became a number one best seller and a Hollywood movie. Paramount Pictures purchased the rights to the book before it was published. Based on the experiences of a lawyer in a not-so-perfect law firm, The Firm launched Grisham’s commercial success. Grisham resigned his position in the legislature the same year.
Since publishing his first novel in 1988, Grisham has published one book a year. Many of them (seven to be exact) became best sellers and eleven were turned into commercially successful movies.
In 2006, Grisham wrote his first non-fiction book, called An Innocent Man. He was named in a libel suit alleging that he defamed the character of some of the people involved in a murder case that his book is based on. The case was dismissed in 2008.
When he’s not writing, Grisham is involved in Rebuild the Coast Fund. a charity that raises funds for Gulf Coast relief after Hurricane Katrina.
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