A small-town defense attorney turned best-selling author of pulp suspense novels involving the legal profession, John Grisham published his first book, "A Time to Kill", in 1989 after it was rejected by 25 publishers. The film version, which he co-produced, was released in the summer of 1996. Directed by Joel Schumacher, it featured Samuel L Jackson, Sandra Bullock and Matthew McConaughey and centered on the case of a black man accused of murdering the men who raped and killed his young daughter.

A son of the South, Grisham practiced law in Mississippi for nearly ten years, handling mostly criminal defense and personal injury cases. He was also elected to the state legislature, serving from 1983 until 1990. He didn't begin writing until 1984, and it took five years before his efforts first saw print.

"The Firm", a 1991 best-seller, was the first of his novels to be filmed. Directed by Sydney Pollack, the 1993 feature starred Tom Cruise as a young lawyer working for a large law office that had ties to the Mafia. Its success led to other Grisham novels being turned into celluloid. "The Pelican Brief" (1993) starred Julia Roberts as a law student whose theory about the murders of two Supreme Court justices puts her in danger while "The Client" (1994), featured Susan Sarandon as a lawyer representing a teenager (Brad Renfro) who has vital information about a political murder. The latter was also adapted into a 1995-96 CBS TV series, with JoBeth Williams assuming the Sarandon role.

Though not all of Grisham's screen adaptations have been box-office hits, his novels have continued to sell to readers and film studios alike. He has no illusions about literature, admitting happily that his books are simply "good, solid, commercial fiction." Grisham received a reported $3.75 million for the screen rights to his 1994 novel "The Chamber". Released in 1996, it co-starred Gene Hackman as a Klansman on death row and Chris O'Donnell as the lawyer trying to save his life. Grisham got $6 million--and casting approval--for the rights to "A Time to Kill". He both wrote and produced "The Rainmaker" (1997), adapted from his 1995 medical malpractice novel. Featuring a high-powered cast, including Claire Danes, Matt Damon, Jon Voight and Danny Glover, the film was directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Grisham also contributed to his first original screenplay, "The Gingerbread Man" (1998), directed by Robert Altman and starring Kenneth Branagh and Embeth Davidtz but ended up with only a story credit as Altman had substantially rewritten the script.

Since 1991, the prolific Grisham has turned out a novel per year. In 1996, he returned to his law practice to try a hometown wrongful death case, which he won and entered a verbal fray with director Oliver Stone over the violent content of Stone's "Natural Born Killers" (1994). Grisham has also served as publisher of OXFORD AMERICAN magazine.