John Grisham, one of today’s best-selling authors, was working at a law firm many years ago when he first discovered his future success. He first worked as a lawyer in Mississippi before starting to write his legal thrillers, and as a “hobby,” he would write stories during lunch breaks. In the present, his books are best-sellers, and he is a well-known author. The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Broker, The Appeal, The Theodore Boon series, and The Client are just a few of his well-known books. These publications have solidified Grisham’s position as the leading author of legal thrillers. He has written countless novels over the course of his twenty-year career, and more than 250 million copies of them have been sold worldwide. Some of his books have even spawned successful Hollywood movies, and others are still being written. This well-known author meticulously plots out each of his books. According to him, some of the outlines “take longer to write than the manuscript itself.” Grisham is largely a self-taught writer, compelled by unimpeachable instinct and a critical reading habit, influenced by the works of Mark Twain, John Steinbeck, Pay Conroy, and John LeCarre. Writing apart, he is also an active member of ‘The Innocence Project. To learn more about this interesting personality, scroll further for more.
Early Childhood & Life
The second of John Grisham and Wanda Grisham’s five children, John Ray Grisham Jr. was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas. At the age of four, the family moved to DeSoto County, Mississippi.
His early career goals were to play baseball, but as he started to concentrate on his studies while attending Northwest Mississippi Community College, his goals quickly altered.
He did a variety of odd jobs while still a teen, such as watering bushes, helping out on the asphalt crew, and working as a salesperson in a department store. He worked so many jobs that he reached a state of “lunacy,” at which point he resolved to take college seriously.
He later transferred to Delta State University before earning a BS in Accounting from Mississippi State University in 1977.
He pursued civil litigation at the University of Mississippi School of Law after graduation, where he earned a JD in 1983.
John Grisham’s Career
In 1983, he was elected as a Democrat to the Mississippi House of Representatives while also maintaining a ten-year legal practice. From 1983 to 1990, he served in the Mississippi state legislature. He was a member of numerous committees and served as vice-chairman of the Apportionment and Elections Committee.
His first book, “Time to Kill,” which took three years to complete, was inspired by an incident involving the rape of a 12-year-old girl in 1984.
When the book was finished, Grisham struggled to find publishers. In June 1989, “Wynwood Press” finally released his writing. He started writing his second book, “The Firm,” which was released two years after he wrote his first.
The Pelican Brief, The Client, The Chamber, The Rainmaker, The Runaway Jury, The Partner, and The Street Lawyer are just a few of the best-selling books he published between 1992 and 1998.
Since the turn of the millennium, in 2001, he has strayed from the legal genre and published “A Painted House” and “Skipping Christmas” in the same year. He wrote “The Summons,” “The King of Torts,” and “Bleachers” during the course of the following two years.
He published a variety of best-sellers over the years 2004 to 2008, including “The Last Juror,” “The Broker,” “Playing for Pizza,” and “The Appeal.” Since “Playing for Pizza” was based on American football, he tried out a different genre.
He once again strayed from writing legal thrillers in 2010, but this time, he wrote books for a completely different audience: kids. In the four-part “Theodore Boone” series, a 13-year-old boy counsels his friends on legal matters.
Along with the “Theodore Boone” series, he also wrote “The Litigators,” “Calico Joe,” “The Racketeer,” and his most recent book, “Sycamore Row,” which has not yet been published, between 2011 and 2013.
Jon’s Bigger Works
In 1991, he published “The Firm,” which went on to sell more than seven million copies worldwide. It is regarded as his most well-known novel and the first best-seller of the year 1991. Tom Cruise and Gene Hackman starred in the feature film adaptation of the book of the same name. 2011 saw a television adaptation of it as well. His books have been translated into 29 different languages.
His third book, “The Pelican Brief,” hit the international bestseller list in 1993. The same year, a movie based on the book starring Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts was released.
The Client, his fourth book, was released in 1993 and became a huge success. The novel was so well-received that it was made into a movie the very following year, starring Susan Sarandon. The movie was a huge success and inspired a television series that aired from 1995 to 1995.
Recognition & Achievements
The “Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award” was given to him in 2005.
Additionally, he received the Galaxy British Book Awards’ “Lifetime Achievement Award.”
Personal Legacy & Life
On May 8, 1981, he married Renee Jones, and the two of them have two kids. The family alternates between their residences in Oxford, Mississippi, and Charlottesville, Virginia, during their free time.
He serves on the board of directors of “The Innocence Nonprofit,” a project that seeks to exonerate criminal defendants who have received wrongful sentences as a result of DNA testing.
The University of Mississippi has a “John Grisham Room” where all of Grisham’s writings are kept.
He produced the 2004 baseball movie “Mickey” and supports the Mississippi State University baseball team because he is an avid baseball fan.
Estimated Net Worth
American author John Grisham is a successful businessman with a $400 million fortune. Grisham receives $50–80 million a year in advances and book/movie royalties. Over 300 million copies of John Grisham’s books have been sold worldwide during the course of his career.
For his legal thrillers, he is well renowned. He published his first novel, “A Time to Kill,” in 1989; since then, he has produced 28 straight number-one blockbusters, with 300 million copies of his books having been sold.
Trivia
This well-known author is the only other author to sell 2 million copies on the first printing, aside from J.K. Rowling and Tom Clancy.