John Grisham is the author of 38 books, including his latest novel, Camino Island.

“A Time to Kill didn’t sell. It just didn’t sell. There was never any talk of going back for a second printing. No talk of paper back. No foreign deal. It was a flop. And I told my wife, I said, ‘Look, I’m gonna do it one more time. I’m gonna write one more book…hopefully something more commercial, more accessible, more popular. If this doesn’t work, forget this career. Forget this hobby. I’m just gonna be a lawyer and get on with it.”

Thanks to Casper, Squarespace, and MailChimp for sponsoring this week's episode.

@JohnGrisham

jgrisham.com

[00:30] The Firm (Dell • 2009)

[00:30] The Pelican Brief: A Novel (Dell • 2010)

[00:30] The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town (Dell • 2012)

[01:30] Wesley Lowery on the Longform Podcast

[01:30] Heather Havrilesky on the Longform Podcast

[01:30] Hua Hsu on the Longform Podcast

[01:45] Luke Dittrich on the Longform Podcast

[01:45] Krista Tippett on the Longform Podcast

[02:15] readthissummer.com

[08:00] A Time to Kill: A Novel (Dell • 2009)

[15:15] The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald • Scribner • 2004)

[15:15] The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck • Penguin Classics • 2006)

[19:45] The Firm

[23:00] Camino Island: A Novel (Doubleday • 2017)

[28:45] "The Law-School Scam" (Paul Campos • Atlantic • Sep 2014)

[36:45] Book Tour with John Grisham

[49:30] Stoner

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices