John Farris was born in Jefferson City, Missouri, to parents John Linder Farris (1909–1982) and Eleanor Carter Farris (1905–1984). Raised in Tennessee, he graduated from Central High School in Memphis and attended Southwestern College (now Rhodes College), also in Memphis.
His first wife, Kathleen,(deceased) was the mother of Julie Marie, John and Jeff Farris; his second wife, Mary Ann Pasante, is the mother of Peter John Farris.
Apart from his substantial body of fiction, his work includes motion picture screenplays of his own books (i.e., The Fury), original scripts and adaptations of the works of others (such as Alfred Bester‘s The Demolished Man). He also wrote and directed the film Dear Dead Delilah in 1973. He has had several plays produced off-Broadway, and also paints and writes poetry. At various times he has made his home in New York, southern California, Puerto Rico, and most recently near Atlanta, Georgia.
Four of his best -selling novels have been made into film: first Harrison High became Because They’re Young (1960), followed by When Michael Calls (1972), the The Fury (1978) which was directed by Brian De Palma and in 2017, No Sin Unpunished.