John Ray Grisham (born February 8, 1955) is an American author, best known for his popular legal thrillers. Before becoming a writer, he was a successful lawyer and politician. As of 2008, his books have sold over 250 million copies worldwide.

John Grisham, the second oldest of five siblings, was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas, to Southern Baptist parents of modest means. His father worked as a construction worker and a cotton farmer while his mother was a homemaker. After relocating frequently, the family settled in 1967 in the town of Southaven in DeSoto County, Mississippi, where Grisham graduated from Southaven High School. He played as a quarterback for the school football team. Encouraged by his mother, the young Grisham was an avid reader, and was especially influenced by the work of John Steinbeck, whose clarity he admired. His brother Vaughn is one of the nation's main experts on Community Development and is a professor of Public Administration at the University of Mississippi.

During 1977, Grisham received a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Mississippi State University. Grisham tried for the baseball team at Delta State University, but was dismissed by the coach, who was former Boston Red Sox pitcher Dave "Boo" Ferriss. Grisham and Ferris have since teamed to host a fundraiser for Delta State Baseball, at which the two discussed how and why Ferris dismissed Grisham, telling him he should "stick to the books" after Grisham failed miserably in his attempts to hit a college level curve ball. He earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981. During law school Grisham switched interests from tax law to criminal and general civil litigation. Upon graduation he entered a small-town general law practice for nearly a decade in Southaven, where he focused on criminal law and civil law representing a broad spectrum of clients. As a young attorney he spent much of his time in court proceedings.