John Grisham
John Grisham (John Ray Grisham) was born on February 8th, 1955 and is currently 69 years old. John Grisham was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas, USA. Grisham attended University of Mississippi School of Law where he received a Juris Doctorate Degree and Mississippi State University where he received a B.S. in Accounting.
John Grisham (John Ray Grisham) is probably best known for his Standalone Novels. There are currently 29 novels available. The first standalone was released in 1992 with the novel The Pelican Brief. The most recently released novel was The Boys from Biloxi which was released in 2022. There are no upcoming standalone novels by John at this time.
John Grisham has also written Theodore Boone series which has 7 books including Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer / Young Lawyer and The Abduction.
Grisham has been on the
Kono Mystery ga Sugoi! list in Japan one time. His novel
The Firm was ranked #9 on the 1993 list. John Grisham was awarded the Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award in 2005 after the original winner, Tony Hillerman, became ill and was not able to accept the award.
Grisham is a member of The Nielsen Bestseller Award's 21st Century Platinum Hall of Fame.
The Rooster Bar was named one of the
Best Legal Thrillers of 2017 according to the website
The Real Book Spy.
In a 2006 interview on the Charlie Rose show, Grisham said it usually takes him only six months to write a book, and his favorite author is John le Carré.
John Grisham: Awards & Accolades
John Grisham has won multiple awards including: The Helmerich Award, Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award, in 2005, British Book Awards, Outstanding Achievement, in 2007, Library of Congress Prizes, Creative Achievement Award Fiction, in 2009, Library of Virginia, Lifetime Achievement Award, in 2009 and Theakston's Old Peculier, Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction, in 2018.
Grisham's book, The Whistler won the Nielsen Awards, Silver Bestseller, in 2018.
John Grisham books have also been nominated for multiple awards, The Runaway Jury was nominated for the Audie Award, Best Fiction, in 1997. The Testament was nominated for the Audie Award, Best Fiction, in 2000. The Associate was nominated for the Goodreads Awards, Best Mystery and Thriller, in 2009. Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer / Young Lawyer was nominated for the Agatha Award, Best Children’s/Young Adult, in 2010. Ford County was nominated for the Audie Award, Best Short Stories or Collections, in 2011. Sycamore Row was nominated for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Best Mystery/Thriller, in 2013. Framed was nominated for the Goodreads Awards, Best Nonfiction, in 2024.
John Grisham: Lists & Other Mentions
- The Pelican Brief was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 1992.
- The Client was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 1993.
- The Chamber was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 1994.
- The Rainmaker was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 1995.
- The Runaway Jury was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 1996.
- The Partner was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 1997.
- Skipping Christmas was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2001 and 2002.
- A Painted House was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2001.
- The Summons was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2002.
- The King of Torts was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2003.
- Bleachers was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2003.
- The Last Juror was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2004.
- The Broker was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2005.
- Playing for Pizza was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2007.
- The Appeal was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2008.
- The Associate was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2009.
- Ford County was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2009.
- The Confession was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2010.
- The Litigators was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2011.
- The Racketeer was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2012 and 2013.
- Sycamore Row was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2013 and 2014.
- Gray Mountain was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2014 and 2015.
- Rogue Lawyer was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2015 and 2016.
- The Whistler was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2017.
- The Rooster Bar was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2017.
- Camino Island was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2017.
- The Reckoning was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2018 and 2019.
- The Guardians was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2019.
- A Time for Mercy was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2020 and 2021.
- Camino Winds was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2020.
- The Judge's List was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2021 and 2022.
- Sparring Partners was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2022.
- Camino Ghosts was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2024.
John Grisham: TV/Movies Based on Books
John Grisham has had a few of his novels adapted into TV series.
The Client was a one season TV series launched in 1995. It had 20 episodes and aired on CBS. As a note, the premiere was like a movie and was two hours long. It starred Jon Heard and JoBeth Williams.
The Street Lawyer had a TV pilot starring Eddie Cibrian and Mario Van Peebles. Unfortunately it was never picked up. This was in 2003.
The Firm was adapted into a TV series in 2012, airing on NBC. It was set as a sequel to the novel and 1993 movie. It took place 10 years after the events of the book. Unfortunately it was canceled after one season.
The Innocent Man had a 6 episode mini-series in 2006. This was a true crime documentary.
Many of John Grisham's novels have been adapted into a movie.
The Firm was the first novel to be adapted into a movie, in 1993. The legal thriller starred Tom Cruise, Gene Hackman, and Ed Harris. Notably, The Firm was the highest-grossing R-rated film of 1993.
In the same year, The Pelican Brief was released as a movie. It starred Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington.
The following year, The Client became a movie. This one starred Susan Sarandon, Tommy Lee Jones and Brad Renfro.
1996 saw two more movies released based on John Grisham novels. A Time to Kill, which had an all-star cast of Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey and Matthew McConaughey. It was directed by Joel Schumacher. And The Chamber, starring Gene Hackman and Chris O'Donnell.
In 1997, The Rainmaker was adapted. The story of underdogs taking on the big insurance company, it starred Matt Damon, Jon Voight, and Danny DeVito.
The Gingerbread Man was released in 1998. This one actually wasn't a book, but it was based on a manuscript that had been discarded by Grisham. It starred Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Berenger.
Runaway Jury was released in 2003, based on the book by the same name. There was a big storyline change in this one however. The novel was based on the big tobacco companies and fighting against them, after someone died from lung cancer. This one was based on a mass shooting, and the villains were the big gun companies. It starred John Cusack, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman and Rachel Weisz.
2003 also saw the release of A Painted House. This was a coming-of-age story which was a TV movie, and starred Robert Sean Leonard and Logan Lerman.
The 2004 comedy Christmas with the Cranks was based on the book Skipping Christmas and starred Tim Allen, Dan Aykroyd and Jamie Lee Curtis.
As an additional note, Mickey was released in 2004. This was not based on a novel but was written by Grisham and starred Harry Connick Jr. As a trivia note, the director was Hugh Wilson and was the last film he directed.
Related Authors
The most common authors followed by users who also follow John Grisham are:
- David Baldacci, author of the Amos Decker Series.
- Michael Connelly, author of the Harry Bosch Series.
- Lee Child, author of the Jack Reacher Series.
- James Patterson, author of the Alex Cross Series.
- Harlan Coben, author of the Myron Bolitar Series.
John Grisham: F.A.Q
When was John Grisham Born? How old is John Grisham?
John Grisham was born on February 8th, 1955. John Grisham is currently 69 years old.
Where was John Grisham Born?
John Grisham was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas, USA and is American.
What awards has John Grisham won?
John Grisham has won the following awards: Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award at the Helmerich Award (2005), Outstanding Achievement at the British Book Awards (2007), Creative Achievement Award Fiction at the Library of Congress Prizes (2009), Lifetime Achievement Award at the Library of Virginia (2009) and the Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction at Theakston's Old Peculier (2018).
What book awards has John Grisham won?
Grisham's book, The Whistler won the award Nielsen Awards, Silver Bestseller, in 2018.
What was the first book John Grisham wrote?
The first book written by John Grisham was A Time to Kill, published in 1989.
What was the most recent book John Grisham wrote?
His most recently released work was Framed on October 15th, 2024.
Will there be any more books by John Grisham?
John Grisham does not have any upcoming books with a set publication date within the next few months at this time.
How many books has John Grisham written?
John Grisham has written 59 books across 12 series, excluding contributions to anthologies.
- 4 books in the Jake Brigance Series
- 2 books in the Mitch McDeere Series
- 7 books in Theodore Boone Series
- 3 books in the Camino Island Series
- 2 books in the Rogue Lawyer Series
- 3 books in The Whistler Series
- 29 Standalone Novels
- 5 Short Stories/Novellas
- 2 Short Story Collections
- 2 Non-Fiction Books