February 8th is the birthday of one of the Oxford American’s most prestigious contributors, John Grisham. In celebration of our former publisher, we’ve gathered some of his best writing for the magazine in a limited-edition bundle, including the original publication of A Painted House, serialized in Issues 31-36. The bundle also includes Issue 34, the 4th annual Southern Music Issue, an extremely rare edition featuring Dolly Parton on the cover. 

"This is not a legal thriller,” John Grisham said. "In fact, there is not a single lawyer, dead or alive, in this story."

Issue 31: A Painted House, Part One. Essay by Anthony Walton and fiction by Nicola Mason. Interviews with Toni Murden and John Howard. Poetry by Billy Collins and Michael Chitwood.

Issue 32: A Painted House, Part Two. Features by Tim Gautreaux and Matthew Teague. Fiction by Carrie Brown. Interviews with Denise Giardina and Ernest Gaines.

Issue 33: A Painted House, Part Three. Features by John Jeremiah Sullivan and Gary White. Fiction by John McManus.

Issue 34: A Painted House, Part Four. Fiction by Cynthia Shearer. Sam Stephenson on Ronnie Free; Ron Carolson on Dean Martin; Larry Brown on Alejandro Escovedo; Rick Cornell on Judybats; Anthony Walton on Randy Newman; Michael McCall on Ronnie Milsap; and more. INCLUDES COMPANION CD. 

Issue 35: A Painted House, Part Five. Essays by William Gay, Diane Roberts, and Matthew Teague. Fiction by James Carlos Blake. Interviews with John Logue and Gary McCalla. Poetry by Lynn Bishop and Walt McDonald.

Issue 36: A Painted House, the finale. Essays by Frank Beacham and Marianne Gingher. Fiction by Jean Ross Justice. Poetry by Claude Wilkinson and Ron Rash. 

Issue 6: Featuring "The Birthday," a short story by John Grisham—how fitting!