Noted Author on Campus to Honor Contest Winners

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Winners of the fifth annual “To Kill a Mockingbird” Essay Contest will be honored Friday, Jan. 27, with a luncheon, awards ceremony and reception/book signing with author Harper Lee at The University of Alabama.

Some 50 high school student from throughout the state – all winners of the essay competition in their individual schools – will visit UA that day for a luncheon at the President’s Mansion followed by an awards ceremony there at 1 p.m.

The essay contest was created in honor of “To Kill a Mockingbird” author Harper Lee’s induction into the Alabama Academy of Honor in 2001 and is sponsored by the UA Honors College with the support of the Alabama State Department of Education.

“To Kill a Mockingbird” is one of America’s best-loved novels. It captures the ambiance and conflicts of small-town life in the Deep South during the Depression. Lee, its author and Monroeville native, is one of the most important contributors to literature of the American South, which is known and appreciated worldwide.

The students were invited to submit 600-750 word essays reflecting their perceptions on how life has changed in the South from the time period depicted in the book. These changes could be positive or negative and could relate to such aspects as natural surroundings, social interactions, childhood experiences or political realities. Students were invited to discuss their personal responses to these changes and how they found them relevant to their lives as young Alabamians.

Each participating school chose a winner who received a monetary prize. The statewide winner will receive a $500 prize and a $500 donation will be made to their school.

Contest winners will have lunch with UA President Robert E. Witt before the awards ceremony. A reception/book signing with Harper Lee will follow the ceremony at the W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library in Mary Harmon Bryant Hall on campus.

For further information, contact Dr. Fran Oneal in the UA Honors College at 205/348-5500 or foneal@bama.ua.edu.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Media are invited to the awards ceremony at 1 p.m., Friday, Jan. 27, at the President’s Mansion and the reception/book signing with Harper Lee that follows at the Hoole Special Collections Library on campus in Mary Harmon Bryant Hall.