AUTHOR JOHN GRISHAM, FOOTBALL COACH SAM WYCHE TO SPEAK AT THE 7TH ANNUAL UPSTATE DIAMOND CLASSIC

Novelist John Grishan will be the featured speak at the 7th annual Upstate Diamond Classic to be held January 21 at the Greenville Hyatt Regency.      

Tickets for the 7th annual Upstate Diamond Classic are $70 per person, which includes dinner.  For those interested in attending both the dinner and a private reception for the author that begins at 5 p.m., tickets are $110.  A table for 10 can also be purchased for $600, which includes two tickets to the reception.  Tickets can be reserved by calling the Furman Baseball office at 864-294-2146.      

In addition to Grisham, Furman graduate and former National Football League player and coach Sam Wyche will also serve as a guest speaker.  All proceeds from the Upstate Diamond Classic will benefit the Furman baseball team.      

Before becoming a best-selling author, Grisham, who graduated from Mississippi State University and the University of Mississippi Law School, practiced law for nearly a decade.  In 1983, he was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives and served until 1990.      

He began writing in his spare time, and his first novel, A Time to Kill was published in 1989 to modest success.  But his second book, The Firm, spent 47 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list and became the best-selling novel of 1991.  It was also made into a film by Paramount Pictures.      

His next books confirmed Grisham's reputation as the master of the legal thriller.  The Pelican Brief hit number one on the Times bestseller list, and The Client debuted at number one.  His other books include The Chamber, The Rainmaker, The Runaway Jury, The Partner, The Street Lawyer, The Testament, The Brethren, A Painted House, Skipping Christmas, The Summons, and The King of Torts, all of which have become bestsellers.  His latest novel, Bleachers, was published in September of 2003.      

There are currently more than 60 million Grisham books in print that have been translated into 29 languages, leading Publishers Weekly to declare him "the best-selling novelist of the 90s."  Seven of his novels have also been made into films.      

Grisham lives with his wife Renee and their two children, Ty and Shea. The family splits their time between their Victorian home on a farm in Mississippi and a plantation near Charlottesville, Va.  

When he's not writing, he devotes time to charitable causes, including taking mission trips with his church group.