They saw Political Parties like we had today they would think that away. If they so seniority in the senate they would think that away, women voting they would think that away and africanamerican president they did not expect the future to be frozen in 1787. I think that we should stop arguing about what the men who wrote the constitution meant for what they wanted to Start Talking about what we want and need. I think that is the perfect way on which to end this discussion. It was a pleasure to talk you. Thank you. Thank you. I enjoyed it clicks that was afterwards, Signature Program in which authors of the latest nonfiction books are a jew by journalists, but and others familiar with the material. Very every weekend on book tv at ten pm on saturday, 12 and nine pm on sunday, and 12 am on monday. You can also watch online. Go to booktv. Org and click on afterwards in the book tv series and topics list of the upper right side of the page. John grisham what are you doing in new york city . Clicks it happens every year signs about this morning. A lot of fun. Carl highs in and i interviewed each other on stage for about an hour. We hour. We could have gone for three. A lot of fun. Really funny. About four years ago i did the Breakfast Show speech with john stewart which was terrifying. Be on stage with jon stewart. I did be a one year in chicago many years ago. My first was in miami 22 years ago. I love the energy and excitement of being proud of books and publishers. When you see all this what do you think about the future of the publishing world . It is going to be here. I dont know what shape it will be in. I think pretty good. Pretty good. People were never stop reading and buying books. So it is in pretty good shape to have been through you know in the last 15 years we have launched 3000 3,000 bookstores. Thats a lot of bookstores. I was in france two months ago doing a book festival. France has the same number of bookstores we do. We have five times the population. We have lost so many great bookstores. That is difficult. It makes it tough on everybody. Fewer outlets, sales, numbers are down. The numbers are down. At the same time ebooks are very popular. Very profitable especially with publishers because they will have to print anything. It has anything. It has been a real surge for publishers and last five years. So good and bad. Every year we get together and talk about the future was going to happen. The great thing is every year you got brandnew authors. Every year on the hot book for was the buzz. Its fun to speculate on our books how books get started, charisma started. Its always exciting. Clicks you have a book out right now new book. I have a book that came out two weeks ago the Theodore Boone series. I series. I signed this morning and ask for my next novel comes out october. Im not quite finished with it. I should not declare it television because im supposed to be done. Almost done. It is in copyediting. Almost of of it. It will come out october. So is my latest effort at fiction and i really enjoyed writing the book clicks one nonfiction to your name. Clicks one nonfiction. Five of the kids books for one collection stories my two books about football one book about baseball one book for my comic my comic novel about christmas, skipping christmas, childhood memoir called painted house command and probably about 20 legal thrillers, i guess. The the total number is around 3435. Im trying to catch stephen king. Hes written 60 books, and i can catch them. You work too hard. See a friend of years . Clicks yeah clicks how did you get to know him . Exit is a funny story. In 1991 the firm came out and became a bestseller. I got a note one day from my publisher, stephen king wants to say hello. He called me. Given my phone number. Have you ever been to the National Book awards . I set my never been invited and probably not going to be. She said for well they didnt invite me either. Not our crowd. But im going to buy table this year for 10,000 bucks a National Book awards command i want to bucks for a National Book awards command i want to invite a bunch of commercial authors, a bunch of popular authors to come sit with me and stink up the place. Are you in . I said how can you resist that . So we went to the National Book awards, not really our crowd. I had a great time and got so many buddies. After that buddies. After that he came to mississippi for a book festival down there and then he went to virginia, he visited there. We had an event my fundraiser one night. He is very generous. We correspond all we correspond all the time. He is a red sox fan and im not. Im a cardinal fan. We both we both hate the yankees. We have some Common Ground somewhere. A lot of talk to my gossipy talk about other writers. Hes a buddy. John grisham, you mentioned ebooks and the advent of the popularity now. As a writer to you profit off of an ebook selling . Not as much as i should. It has a very nice feel i have a very nice deal with random house. Its house. Its a better deal than most writers have. Most writers dont get enough of the royalties with a ebooks. Im not complaining. But is something that writers are continually looking at. How these but that by with an ebook . What is a fair breakdown . What should amazon get . What should the publisher get . What should the writer get . And amazon once more for the writers want more. So it is an ongoing battle that has not been decided yet. But personally i cant complain. Most writers are not getting enough. Amazon to make a very strong argument that they should it should get more because it created the market. Think thats true. Think thats true. We would not have the market without amazon. They they sell the vast majority of ebooks. Pause for a second. We are seeing ebooks level off. So many people still they want the real book. They want the real hardback paperback. Right now when greenmount came out october for my last book month through christmas and 30 of all books are sold at christmas time. Thats why went from a march 1 publication to october 20 publication every year to get the christmas market. But for the first three months we were running about 5050 ebook and hardback. So its a big market. A big market, but you have to Pay Attention to it. Back to the issues, who gets how much much, is still up in the air we are negotiating. Clicks for you popular in france . Is it fun to see your books written in french . I got to tell you when the firm we sold the farm to doubleday in 1990. And and you know, we sold the film rights, book rights and i was in shock. And then we watch the book just kind of march around the world language by language. And its hard to believe. Its hard to believe your and 45 languages. And in the book came out in the books have been coming out. The books are translated now everywhere and is still hard to believe you can write one book one time in your language and it goes around the world in other languages and finds a market. You can do very well in the uk obviously. Great publisher in the uk. The German Market is next. Germans are voracious readers and of huge curiosity about american popular culture, music books, tv, film even sports. For me the italians in french or next. Big markets. The dutch for a small country like shes readers and they can read in english and dutch. So the foreign markets a fascinating. Fallen off quite a bit measure. The japanese market has shrunk considerably. The spanish market has economically, you know, when times are tough you dont sell as many books. But it is still fascinating to see a copy. Every contracts as i get five copies of every book in whatever language and. So i get these big boxes of books that come in three or four times a year from estonia, latvia greece, turkish, korea you name it. Whatever you think i whatever you think, i cant name of linkages. I have a contract last year a letter with a contract for my latest language one number 4445. Okay. Was it what is it . Marathoner marathon emeriti. Its one of the 13 official languages of india that is spoken by 95 Million People in india. They are translated now under that language. So its kind of overwhelming to think that the books by language of never heard of before. Ive been lucky clicks do you work on your own contracts . No. Its pretty pushbutton. After 25 years and a lot of contracts not much changes. Ebooks, we had to find in the language. We i mean the big contracts had to be because they cover copyright litigation in all these things. Lawyers love to put them in contract. I have really, really good lawyers. Being a lawyer i appreciate what they do but but i have been with the same word after 20 years. Hes one of the leading literary lawyers in new york i trust the i trust the guy with everything. My agent have been with 20 years. He reviews the contracts. By the time i get the big thick stack of contracts, contracts, i know what is in them. John grisham, how is a law professor changed in the 25 years you have been writing about it . How is law profession changed . My first day of law school in august of 197936 years ago 78. We had sold to thought we were told the profession was overcrowded, we would not needed. You lucky to find jobs. There were too many of us. I was the first day of law school. There are still too many lawyers. The professions overcrowded. And a lot of lawyers are not needed. Theres just too many of them in the private sector. We need far more lawyers in the Public Sector nonprofits on the Public Interest lawyers we need more lawyers who are willing to work for nonprofits will work for inmates were wrongfully convicted. There are thousands of innocent people in prison no access to lawyers for the cases are helpless. A lot of need for lawyers in our society with those jobs dont attract a lot of interest usually. The big firms that model big law, you go to work as an associate for the big firms. Put in a hundred hour weeks 70 years and you make partner. That model is still there. Im not sure it is what it once was. One big chains and lastly five years has been the proliferation of Television Advertising that to me is very unseemly. A lot of it borders on not fraud. Fraud is too strong a word, but just sleazy, just begging for cases i dont like that. It has changed a lot and lastly five years. You know something to change, something seven. Are those changes reflected in your book . Do you include some of the always. Im always watching the profession for changes. Always watching trends in Litigation Trends and law firms structure trends and application for law school that are way down by the way i am always watching trials. Not up close but in the media or issues you know you know, the Supreme Court and gay marriage is a hot issue. They will soon. What is going to happen. So i keep up with the Supreme Court some of the cases they hear. That is my that is my curiosity, what i enjoy doing, what i understand. And and when i take that, i find something really good and hes in a novel. That is where the stories come from. Im always on the prowl for something i can take and steal and create a novel out of. A a oneoff question, do you think the Supreme Court should be televised . I dont know if you ever even thought about that. I dont like cameras and courtrooms because i really despise cameras and courtrooms because it just to me cheapens the process turns it gives a bias to so many people who should not care. Allows the lawyers to you know to, you know act often times embellish. Create stars out of judges. I just dont like cameras and courtrooms. At the same time i think its pretty cool to be able to watch the Supreme Court with things are very formal lawyers are going to behave take down and then wants the justices interact for all of us to see. See. I am intrigued by that. I would like to see a trial you know once or twice a big case. I think the country would be glued to initially. Not every case, but maybe just the big case the supremes let them pick the cases. Wouldnt you like to watch that . They would go crazy over that. I was hoping for the endorsement, but we did not get that. John grisham, what is your writing have it . Where you write how do you write . Do you do your own research . Clicks the structure is pretty disciplined when i am writing. I start i start a new book each year on january the first. The goal is to finish by july the first. Clicks do you pick the topic . The topics are always rattling around. I just finished a book this year little bit early son thinking about next year to read i i have two or three ideas, notes files, stories about issues or whatever. I will leave that out through the falls and thinking. By january the first have a pretty good outline. I write in the mornings, 730 until 11 sometimes 12. After you. Have to you write for four hours nonstop your brain is pretty well much. At the same place, same desk lesson cup of strong coffee plus. A dark room without was like, no phone fax internet. The best time is 730 to 930 in the morning in the morning, this first few hours, everything shut out. I get a lot of work done. That is the structure. Finish the book. The goal is for 500 pages, 100,000 words, the 20,000. Finish finish charted in july the first. Editing takes another month. By late august am pretty much shut down and then i get bored and start running a kids book or baseball book or football book or something else. A big role in two different ways. I bounce ideas off for. We will be watching a new show for something about a trial or issue. What if you do this and that all whatever and twisted little bit. Wouldnt that be compelling . Wouldnt that be maybe maybe maybe, maybe not. Sometimes she says yes and sometimes she says no. Once. Once i am writing all sure the first hundred pages. She goes through. She does not she does not really at it but she has a good eye and ear for what is working and was not. She will say, this email character is really weak, okay . I cant stand this character, whatever. Or the subplot the subplot is not needed for that subplot is ridiculous to read i mean, i mean and she can say anything. So we go through the process she is the first reader. I have to get it by her or cycling to work. I have been a couple times and 25 years i was writing a book one time i really love about the story was great. I cant stand these people. Okay. Ill show it to my agent. He read it. I cant stand his people. Not going both of them. She read. If you read it. If you publish this on your career. Your career will be over. Okay. Ill show you. Ill send it to my agent. Gone john, this will ruin your career. Okay. Im not going to publish the book. Between the three of us me renee, and david garin my garin, my agent called we have been together for 25 years. And they can say anything. There is no anything goes. They dont like something they can say it and i listen. Im lucky. I i am lucky to have like that. Clicks recently the firm was replayed on the movie channels are one of the cable channels. How much control do you have when the movie is being made of your book back. Well, with the firm 01 none whatsoever clicks were you happy with the result . Clicks it was a fun movie to watch. Im glad we did it. To the movie 20 some years ago because of tom cruise and gmac it still the biggest movie to read read about eight or nine films in the firmest of the biggest as far as Domestic Box Office gross and foreign gross, the firm is still by far the biggest. Biggest. The excitement of having it made in such a big way far overshadowed any reservations i had about the story. The story was difficult the film. Overall i been very lucky with hollywood. Very lucky. Almost all the movies of an fun to watch. So i dont get involved. Its very hard its very hard to make a movie nowadays. My typical deal now is it we have somebody who really wants to make the movie they will show us how enthusiastic they are over time. They will convince us that they are sincere and have talent and then we will reach a. We say, okay, go by the screenplay. Ill take it off the market. You get six months to write the screenplay. I trust screenplay. I trust you enough to write the screenplay. You pay to have it done. Bring us the screenplay. If i like the screenplay at that time will do a a deal and you make the movie. If i dont like the screenplay the deal is off. You have wasted six months not much money. That is kind of a we do. So at that level i am really involved. I have seen so many bad screenplays that i know i better be careful of the story of front. And so once i approve the screenplay that is basically the story. Excuse me. You have to feel good about that. I get that involved. I dont go hang out a on set. Up until the director was doing. Hang your in a movie set is just i cant stand it. Its nice to go meet the actors know that kind of stuff and then go home. To your politics turn up in your book . Quakes yes. At a certain level. I am very much aware of the fact that i have a big pulpit that cannot be abused because a lot of my readers dont shop politics. I i dont want to read another persons book if theres a bunch of politics i disagree with. You know, this is entertainment this popular fiction. I want to write for as broad an audience as possible. Having said that when you cannot read my books and not realize that i am opposed to the Death Penalty opposed to so many things the are wrong for criminal justice system, opposed to environmental disasters or whatever. A lot of things you know, that i am opposed i am opposed to our favor of. You have to read my books and say this guy is a pretty a pretty moderate democrat. Is the way i describe myself clicks how much Nonfiction Research goes and yearbooks . Besides just looking at the court cases that we talked about earlier i mean, you have written about the environment about the Death Penalty. A fair amount. A great amount. I read probably read probably ten books on coal mining. All nonfiction obviously. Almost all very readable very good books. Ive got a dozen books are criminal justice reform. Not too exciting. Prison of the population the juvenile justice system, you know, those are nonfiction. Like my own little library. I keep a lot of those books i collect them because i might even one day theres a fair amount of nonfiction reading and research that goes and every book you know the books of fiction stories fiction stories of friction, you got to be on solid ground legally factually. I dont care if y