Renee took this photo in August of 1989 as I was working late one night trying to finish The Firm.   There was no room for a proper office in our small home so I squeezed an old desk into the storage closet behind the garage.  My high-tech word processor was an early Olivetti that I was proud of.   I had written my first book, A Time To Kill,  by hand, on legal pads, and needed something a little more modern.

I finished the first draft around Labor Day of 1989 and sent it to my agent in New York.   Two years earlier he had seen a summary of the story and thought it might have potential.  He kept pushing me to finish it.

Renee was pushing too. She had always liked the story and we had discussed it several times. We agreed that the title – The Firm – was too dull and simple and would never last if, and when, some editor up in New York actually wanted to publish the book.

Just two months earlier, A Time To Kill,  had been released and went straight to the bottom of the charts, a total bust.  The publisher was a small unknown start-up with no money for promotion or anything else, and the book never had a chance.  It was frustrating, but I knew that the experience was not unusual for rookie authors. I was determined to write another novel, to try one more time.

Once my agent received the manuscript (this was before the internet), he read it and saw some problems.  He wanted me to make changes that I didn’t want to make.  We bickered for a few months as the book languished.  He showed it to a couple of publishers and they passed.  He called me around Christmas and said he had a plan for the upcoming year.  He was still a little miffed because I refused to make the changes he wanted, and I suspected he was losing interest in the book.  It was a low point in a fledgling career that seemed to be going nowhere.

And then……The Lucky Break!!

Film studios and production companies have scouts who poke around the publishing houses in New York and look for upcoming books that might make good movies.  A certain scout heard about The Firm,  though it certainly had not been sold to a publisher, and decided to get a copy of the manuscript. I’ve never understood why anyone would have been saying nice things about the book when no one wanted to publish it.

At any rate, this scout sent the manuscript to a colleague in Hollywood, who read it, liked it, and decided to have some fun.  He sent copies to the studios and pretended to be my representative. I’d never met him, never heard of him.  He was delighted when the studios called him back.

In New York, my veteran agent knew nothing about this.

Way down in Mississippi, I didn’t have a clue. I was still dreaming of getting a nice book deal, though those dreams were fading.  It was January of 1990, and nothing happens in publishing so early in the year.

Meanwhile, out in Hollywood, the studios started bidding against each other for the film rights. At some point my agent got wind of the excitement and went charging in.  Threats were made, folks were yelling, it turned into an ugly mess. But, I was blissfully ignorant.

They reached a truce and got back to work.  As the money grew, some of the studios backed out.  Only three kept bidding.  Just before the final round, someone with good sense finally asked,  “What about the author?  Will Grisham approve?”

My agent hurried to the phone, and on a Sunday morning in January of 1990  called the house and turned everything upside down.  I was being offered more money for the film rights than I grossed in ten years as a lawyer, a profession that was suddenly boring.

Two weeks later, David Gernert, a young editor at Doubleday, bought the publishing rights.  Renee and I loaded up our credit cards and flew to New York for our first visit.  We had lunch with David and a long friendship began.  A year later, in February of 1991, he and the Doubleday team published The Firm beautifully. As they say, the rest is history.

I look at this photo now with a great deal of nostalgia. I had no idea what I was doing or what was about to happen.  But I knew I could write and tell stories, and with Renee’s encouragement I kept believing.  I look back at those wonderful years and I’m very grateful to her, to David, to the team at Doubleday, and to the readers who’ve made it happen. 

John Grisham

April 2026