The following is a guest post by Helen White Cauthen, Communications Specialist, Office of Development, University of Alabama School of Law.
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 in the spirit of Atticus Finch.” John Grisham won the inaugural prize for his book, The Confession, and Michael Connelly was awarded the 2012 Harper Lee Prize for The Fifth Witness. 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 2013 Selection Committee, which includes UCLA Law School Professor Emeritus Michael Asimow; New York Times Bestselling Author & 2012 Harper Lee Prize Winner Michael Connelly; syndicated talk show host & Special Correspondent for ABC News Katie Couric; Co-Founder & Chief Trial Counsel for the Southern Poverty Law Center Morris Dees; physician and sister of the University of Alabama alumna Vivian Malone, Jones Dr. Sharon Malone; and New York Times Bestselling Author Richard North Patterson.
The 2013 Harper Lee Prize winner will be announced in August. On September 19, 2013, a ceremony and panel discussion will be hosted by the Selection Committee at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. The event will coincide with the 2013 Library of Congress National Book Festival, which will be held September 21-22.