It looked like any other lunch hour at Turnrow Book Co., but as the regulars settled in for salad and sandwiches, three students from Leflore County were talking sports and swapping stories with a world-renowned author and Mississippi native.
John Grisham had come to Greenwood to sign copies of his latest book, “The Confession,” which was released in late October. Although he doesn’t do book tours, Grisham — whose books have sold more than 250 million copies — has a set of six bookstores, including Turnrow, where he signs as a way of saying thanks to those who helped him during his early writing career.
This visit to Greenwood was special. Grisham had agreed to help with an essay contest held by Turnrow in conjunction with the his first children’s book, “Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer.” The book, which was released earlier this year, follows a young boy who thinks he is a lawyer and gets mixed up with a key witness in a major murder trial.
For the contest, students had to write their own mystery essays for the chance to meet and eat lunch with Grisham.
The winners were Steele Robbins V, son of Steele and Boyce Robbins; Baylor Pillow, son of Stephen and Kim Pillow; and Jasmine Murphy, daughter of Isaac Murphy.
“I enjoyed meeting him very much,” said Robbins, 9. “I loved that he took precious time out of his schedule to eat with us.”
A third-grader at Pillow Academy, Robbins wrote about what he knows best — his life at school. But instead of writing about a typical day, he wrote about something he thought “would be cool if it happened.”
The result: His teacher, Gina Hutson, was the suspected murderer in his story, “Something Smells Fishy.”
“It was a lot of effort,” said Robbins. “I love writing, and meeting Mr. Grisham inspired me.”
Grisham’s words also inspired Murphy to keep writing and keep pushing even when no one seems to be listening, or, in a writer’s case, reading.
“His first book was rejected by multiple publishers,” said the Leflore County High School freshman. “This is the first time I have ever really been recognized for what I love to do. So I think I am having some of the same feelings he did.”
Murphy. 14. entered the contest on a whim after she saw one of her friends writing a story. “She told me she was writing a story called ‘Nightmare on Elmo Street’ for a contest,” Murphy said.
Murphy approached her friend’s English teacher, Jamie Doak, to find out more about the competition. “I entered the contest because I have always been amazing at English,” said Murphy. “Writing is my life.”
She sees it as a form of expression and an opportunity to live in a different world for a while.
“I’m always spacing out,” said Murphy. “I’m always thinking about ideas for stories. Mr. Grisham had a lot of good advice about finding stories and that sometimes they just hit him.”
Although Murphy was ecstatic to join the author for lunch, she didn’t say much.
“I wanted to hear what he had to say,” said Murphy. “He told us we need to listen to what our teachers are saying because it will improve our writing. He also said there is a story in everything.”
Murphy is already working on her next piece. This time it’s something a little closer to home.
“For the contest, I wanted to create a story that was kind of a dreamy and far from my ordinary life,” she said. “I want my next one to be about a shy girl’s days in high school. It is what I know.”
Baylor Pillow, 10, also wrote about what he knows in his story, “The Super Car Story,” about a Chrysler that looks like a Bentley.
“I’ve always loved cars,” said Pillow, who’s a fifth-grader at Pillow Academy
He even talked about his interest in cars with Grisham during lunch.
“It was an amazing experience to meet someone people all over America recognize and read,” he said. “He talked about how he writes and just asked us questions about ourselves to get to know us.”
Pillow says he learned that writers have to capture and audience from the beginning.
“I think now I know how to write better,” he said.
Grisham said the essays were diverse, creative and enjoyable to read.
“I asked myself if I could have written that when I was 8,” he said, laughing a little.
Although Grisham says most authors aren’t published before 25 or 30 years old, he hopes writing opportunities like this competition will inspire them to keep practicing their skills and, of course, to get them reading.
“I don’t know any writer who doesn’t love to read,” said Grisham.
Before publishing his children’s book, Grisham neither had time nor really wanted to read a collection of children’s books, so he consulted the fifth-grade class in Raleigh, N.C. that his daughter teaches.
“Back in January I read several chapters to her class to get their response,” he said. “It was terrifying reading to kids because they will say anything or ask anything.”
In Greenwood, however, the hardest questions Grisham faced from the students were about where he gets his ideas and some of his tips and techniques.
Grisham plans to turn his kid lawyer Theo Boone into a series and is already working on the second installment.
“It is a diversion for me,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot about children’s literature. I hope each Theo will educate kids a little bit about the law.”
• Contact Andrea Hall at ahall@gwcommonwealth.com.
