John Grisham is a prolific American author best known for his legal thrillers. Born February 8th, 1955, in Jonesboro, Arkansas, Grisham initially pursued a legal career for years before becoming a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives. His legal background has an important influence on his writing, which often features protagonists who are lawyers or individuals grappling with legal challenges.

His first novel, A Time to Kill (1989), follows attorney Jake Brigance as he defends a Black man who killed two white men after they brutally assaulted his daughter. Grisham’s first bestseller was The Firm (1991), in which young lawyer Mitch McDeere joins a prestigious Memphis law firm, only to then learn it operates as a front for illegal activities. Major themes in these novels and most other works by Grisham include persistence, corruption, and the struggle for integrity within flawed legal and societal systems.

Playing for Pizza represents a significant departure from Grisham’s legal thrillers, though it also features characters struggling to maintain integrity and persistence. The novel is based on Grisham’s personal experience watching the Parma Panthers, a real American football team he discovered while on a research trip in Italy.