Deadline Approaching For Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The deadline for authors and publishers to enter a novel to win the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction is April 8. The ABA Journal and The University of Alabama School of Law created the prize to celebrate the 50th anniversary of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” and to honor former Alabama law student Harper Lee for the role model she created.

The prize will be given annually to a book-length work of fiction that best exemplifies the role of lawyers in society, and their power to effect change. Only works first published in 2010 qualify. Completed entry forms must be submitted by the publisher prior to April 8. There is no entry fee.

Members of the Harper Lee Prize Selection Committee, who are responsible for choosing this year’s winner, are:

• Best-selling author David Baldacci

• Morris Dees, co-founder, Southern Poverty Law Center

• Best-selling crime novelist and former prosecutor Linda Fairstein

• Robert J. Grey Jr., partner, Hunton & Williams, past president of the American Bar Association

• CNN Senior Analyst Jeffrey Toobin

Visit www.HarperLeePrize.org for more information or to download an entry form.

The University of Alabama, a student-centered research university, is experiencing significant growth in both enrollment and academic quality. This growth, which is positively impacting the campus and the state's economy, is in keeping with UA's vision to be the university of choice for the best and brightest students. UA, the state's flagship university, is an academic community united in its commitment to enhancing the quality of life for all Alabamians.

CONTACT: Rebecca Walden, UA School of Law, 205/348-5195, rwalden@law.ua.edu or Allen Pusey, ABA Journal, 312/988-6214, Allen.Pusey@americanbar.org