John Grisham named Mississippi State's Alumnus of the Year for 1994

Grisham accepted the university Alumni Association's top award at a Jan. 21 banquet after receiving a similar honor from the College of Business and Industry. He is a 1977 accounting graduate.

The author of The Firm, The Pelican Brief, and The Client recently was named one of Entertainment Weekly's 1993 Entertainers of the Year. His fifth novel, The Chamber, is nearing completion, with the film rights already sold to Universal Studios. The movie version of The Client is in final production.

Responding to his selection, Grisham said: "I was a drifter when I arrived in Starkville in the winter of 1975. This was my third college, and if at that time someone had told me that one day my peers would select me as the alumnus of the year, I would have erupted with laughter.

"I am honored to be recognized in such a noble manner."

Each of Mississippi State's colleges and schools chose an Alumnus of the Year and each of them was nominated for the top award. Nominations also came from university alumni at large. All eight college and school Alumni of the Year were honored at the Friday banquet.

Grisham, 38, has maintained close ties with the university, establishing scholarships and returning frequently to lecture in writing classes. In 1989, he chose Mitchell Memorial Library as the permanent repository of his papers. He was the spring commencement speaker in 1992 and is a regular at Dudy Noble Field for Mississippi State baseball games.

"John Grisham's rise to the top of the publishing world has been phenomenal," said Mississippi State President Donald Zacharias. "We are proud of his accomplishments and excited that he has chosen to remain an active member of the Mississippi State family. He represents his alma mater admirably."

After publication in 1989 of his first novel, A Time to Kill, Grisham gave up a law practice in DeSoto County to concentrate on writing. At the same time, he resigned a seat in the state House of Representatives that he had held for two terms.

Grisham came to national prominence in 1991 when his second book, The Firm, remained on the fiction best seller list for 47 weeks, longer than any other book that year, and reached No. 2.

The Firm was still on the hardback best seller list when it was issued in paperback--the first time in five years that a work of fiction had been on both lists at the same time. The book has been published in at least 15 foreign languages. The movie version, released in 1993, starred Tom Cruise.

Grisham's third novel, The Pelican Brief, debuted in 1992 at No. 1 on the best seller list, while The Firm occupied the top spot on the paperback list. His fourth book, The Client, also reached No. 1 and recently was released in paperback. The movie version of The Pelican Brief opened in December, starring Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington.

Grisham, who now lives and writes in Oxford, is under contract for two more books with Doubleday, the publisher of his last three novels. His forthcoming thriller, The Chamber, involves a young Mississippi lawyer who is trying to win freedom for his grandfather, a death-row inmate charged with a Ku Klux Klan bombing.

Also presented at the banquet were Distinguished Service Awards and J.E. "Red" Ruffin Awards for volunteer support to the Annual Giving Program, as well as awards to the top alumni chapters.