'A Time to Kill' Turns 20

And to think it almost wasn't published. After spending three years writing A Time to Kill—his first novel—then-lawyer John Grisham suffered rejection after rejection until he found an agent to represent him, and eventually a publisher. This year marks the 20th anniversary of that mega-bestselling legal thriller's publication. Today, more than 245 million copies of Grisham's 22 books are in print, translated into 29 languages—and Grisham's post as king of the legal thriller genre is undisputed. To celebrate the milestone, Dell is releasing an anniversary edition of the novel, with a new introduction by Grisham. And in a new book to be published later this year, Ford County Stories, Grisham returns to A Time to Kill's fictional Mississippi setting.