New York: Doubleday, 1994. First edition. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author to the literary agent who launched his career: "To Jay Garon - Here's to another big one! John Grisham 5/25/94." A Near Fine copy in Very Good+ dust jacket. Some dustsoiling to closed edges of text block. Dust jacket laminate separating from the paper, causing bubbling around the title and author's name on front panel.

Jay Garon (1924 - 1995) was a literary agent best known for his professional partnership with the author John Grisham, which saw the publication of Grisham's first six novels and brought massive commercial success to both men. Their partnership began when Grisham sent unsolicited chapters of his first novel, A Time to Kill, to nearly thirty agents; only Garon saw the potential in the work and called him back. Though the novel did not immediately gain traction – after fifteen publishers rejected the title, Garon finally placed it with the fairly obscure Wynwood Press – Garon continued to champion Grisham's work. Two years later, Garon secured publication with Doubleday for Grisham's second novel, The Firm (1991), which became a massive hit and prompted Doubleday to reissue A Time to Kill in 1993. The Firm began a run of dozens of bestselling novels and numerous film adaptations, including The Pelican Brief (1993), The Client (1994), and A Time to Kill (1996). Garon's advocacy in the early years of Grisham's career was essential, and it was through their partnership that Grisham reached the heights of literary fame that he has seen over the past three and a half decades.

Grisham's fifth novel, The Chamber, is the story of a lawyer tasked with representing a former Klan member in his capital murder trial. The novel explores the morality of the death penalty, the possibility of redemption, and a lawyer's experience defending a client accused of terrible crimes. In the acknowledgements, Grisham writes that, though he never personally represented a client convicted of capital murder, he researched the topic by interviewing other lawyers who had. He writes in his acknowledgements that he came away from the project "still struggling with the moral perplexities of the death penalty, and I suspect [I] always will."

Provenance from the estate of Gary Sullivan, Jay Garon's longtime partner, through Sullivan's acquaintance and fellow Fire Island resident.

"Jay S. Garon; Literary Agent for John Grisham." Los Angeles Times (August 28, 1995).
"J. S. Garon, 71, Literary Agent Who Saw Talent Others Didn't." New York Times (August 25, 1995). Near Fine in Very Good + dust jacket. (Item #8191)