Since I first posted about this award, three finalists have been selected for the 2012 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction: Michael Connelly’s The Fifth Witness, Robert Dugoni’s Murder One and David Ellis’ Breach of Trust.
The annual Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction is given to a book-length fictional work that “best exemplifies the role of lawyers in society, and their power to effect change.” John Grisham won last year’s inaugural prize for his book, The Confession. The prize is sponsored by the University of Alabama School of Law and the ABA Journal.
You can help select this year’s winner by voting on the ABA Journal’s website. The public vote will count as a vote along with those from the 2012 Selection Committee, which includes New York Times bestselling novelist Linda Fairstein; former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; New York Times bestselling novelist Lisa Scottoline; NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg; and FOX News political analyst Juan Williams.
The 2012 Harper Lee Prize winner will be announced in August. On September 20, 2012, a ceremony and panel discussion will be hosted by the Selection Committee at the National Press Club in Washington. The event will coincide with the 2012 Library of Congress National Book Festival which will be held September 22 and 23 on the National Mall.
Stay tuned for the announcement of the winner! Who did you vote for?