When it comes a time to talk about the most aspiring authors of all time, you cannot leave out John Grisham. Grisham, who was born on February 8, 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, has become an international phenomenon for his legal novels. "Frequently moving from town to town, Grisham and his family finally settled in Southaven, Mississippi in 1967." (The Hall of Arts).
"Until Grisham embarked on his professional career, he never had an interest in writing." (The Hall of Arts) He attended three different colleges in his first two years in college. Grisham soon found out that his professional baseball career was falling apart, and then continued to get an accounting degree from Mississippi State University. He then proceeded to get a degree as a tax lawyer from the University of Mississippi Law School. "After graduating, he opened a private practice in his hometown of Southaven. He then was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives in 1983 and served there until 1991 eventually holding the Vice Chairmanship of the Apportionment and Elections Committee, as well as memberships on the Insurance, Judiciary A, and Military Affairs Committee." (The Hall of Arts).
After learning that his experience with the criminal justice system was not that valuable, he then proceeded to write his first novel, A Time to Kill from a case that he had observed in a Mississippi courthouse. This first novel was rejected by 28 different publishers before Grisham finally found Wynwood Press, which published the novel in June 1988. This first novel only sold 5,000 copies, when he decided to work on his second work, The Firm. "This novel spent 47 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list in 1991." (Grisham Biography) From this point on, John Grisham has become a legend in the world of authors. After The Firm, his other novels, The Pelican Brief, The Client, The Chamber, The Rainmaker, The Runaway Jury, The Partner, and The Street Lawyer all have spent time on the bestseller list.