John Ray Grisham, Jr. (/ˈɡrɪʃəm/; born February 8, 1955) is an American lawyer, politician, and author, best known for his popular legal thrillers. His books have been translated into forty-two different languages.

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. He began writing his first novel, A Time to Kill, in 1984, and it was published in June 1989.