From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. John Ray Grisham, Jr. (born February 8, 1955)  is an American author, best known for his popular legal thrillers. John Grisham graduated from Mississippi State University before attending the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981 and practiced criminal law for about a decade. He also served in the House of Representatives in Mississippi from January 1984 to September 1990.  Beginning writing in 1984, he had his first novel A Time To Kill published in June 1989. As of 2008, his books had sold over 250 million copies worldwide. A Galaxy British Book Awards winner, Grisham is one of only three authors to sell two million copies on a first printing, the others being Tom Clancy and J. K. Rowling. Grisham's first best seller was The Firm. Released in 1991, it sold more than seven million copies. The book was adapted as a feature film. In addition, seven more of his novels: The Chamber, The Client, A Painted House, The Pelican Brief, The Rainmaker, The Runaway Jury, and A Time to Kill, were adapted as movies. His books have been translated into 29 languages and published worldwide.  His other best-selling books include The Testament, The Summons and The Broker. Description above from the Wikipedia article John Grisham , licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.