New Grisham book has stores recalling long-lines for signings

In the 1990s, going to a book signing for a John Grisham book was a lot like going to a festival or standing in line for concert tickets.

Folks would stand in line for hours waiting for a book store to open just to get a short face-to-face with Grisham and hope that he would inscribe their newly bought book with a short note.

A review of Grisham's new book: John Grisham’s latest is the long-awaited sequel to the 1991 bestseller ‘The Firm’

While "A Time To Kill" was Grisham's first book, it was "The Firm" that started the rock-star type of following for Grisham in Mississippi. Now, 32 years after "The Firm" and 30 years after Tom Cruise an Gene Hackman signed on for the movie, Grisham has published the sequel titled, "The Exchange."

Jack Reed Jr., former Tupelo mayor and owner of Reed's Department Store, which is the home of Gumtree Bookstore, recalls the days when Grisham sold 44 copies of "A Time To Kill" out of his trunk in Tupelo for his first-ever book signing.

"Those were heady days," Reed said. "At the time (of "A Time To Kill"), this was just another unknown fella with a book. I sent out some postcards to the local Bar Association and hoped a few people would come out. It turned out that it was the biggest book signing we had ever had to that point. He sold 44 books. ... Needless to say, they got bigger."

Copies of those books can now be sold for nearly $4,000 on the open market. Grisham remembered the core group of independent book stores of Gumtree, Lemuria in Jackson and Square Books in Oxford that allowed him to come and have that first signing. He made them a priority as time went along and shunned the big box book stores that didn't give him an initial chance.

"For 'The Firm,' we had an original book signing and then when the movie came out, we had two more book signings because we just kept selling out," said Reed, adding that even now Grisham sends 1,500 signed copies for every book he writes. "But it was crazy in those early days. There were people showing up at midnight with tents and sleeping bags to be first in line for the next day."

He said fans lined up around the corner and down the street for every book signing for nearly a decade.

"He would write anything you wanted in the book, pretty much whatever people asked," Reed said. "That's until one lady asked him to write, 'I'll always remember that night in Oxford.'"

Reed said Grisham smiled and said, "Oh no, hell no, I'm not doing that."

After "The Firm," Grisham was recognized as one of the most bankable authors anywhere, right there with people like Steven King.

Reed said he still has a couple of hundred signed copies this this latest book.

"The fact is he just loves writing which is why he wrote this book," Reed said. "He doesn't have to keep doing it. He just loves it. He is very very serious researching his topics and that includes on this book and many others."

The one thing Reed said Grisham won't write about is sex. He said Grisham relayed a story to him once that he had written a sex scene and showed his wife.

"(Grisham) said his wife told him that was terrible," Reed joked as that particular part of the book never saw the light of day. "So, from then on Grisham said he would never write anything that he wouldn't want his grandmother to read."

Reed said the public still finds Grisham's works relatable and come back time and again to read it.

"There is definitely a core group that is going to buy his books, not even knowing what the context of the book is," Reed said. "It's wonderful for us, because it helps small independent book stores like us make our year. There is still a place for a good local bookstore, and we are grateful author's like John help support us."

Ross Reily can be reached by email at rreily@gannett.com or at 601-573-2952. You can follow him on Twitter @GreenOkra1.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: New Grisham book has stores recalling long-lines for signings