TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama School of Law and the ABA Journal have named the finalists for the 2014 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction. The three books chosen to compete for the prize are: “Once We Were Brothers” by Ronald H. Balson, “Sycamore Row” by John Grisham, and “The Burgess Boys” by Elizabeth Strout. The prize, authorized by Harper Lee, is given annually to a book-length work of fiction that best illuminates the role of lawyers in society and their power to effect change.
The public is invited to cast its votes on the ABA Journal website [www.abajournal.com] to help determine who the winning finalist will be. The public will act as the sixth judge, contributing a vote equal in weight to the selection committee members. The 2014 prize will be awarded in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 28, in conjunction with the Library of Congress National Book Festival. The winner will be announced during the ceremony, which will take place in the Madison Building of the Library of Congress starting at 5 p.m. The winning author will receive a copy of “To Kill a Mockingbird” signed by Harper Lee. To vote, visit http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/2014_harper_lee_voting/.
The 2014 Harper Lee Prize selection committee includes Kevin Blackistone, sports columnist, ESPN panelist and University of Maryland professor; Fannie Flagg, New York Times bestselling author of “Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café” and screenplay of the Academy Award-nominated “Fried Green Tomatoes;” Dan Kornstein partner at Kornstein, Veisz, Wexler & Pollard and former Harper Lee panelist; Adam Liptak, journalist, lawyer and Supreme Court correspondent for the New York Times; and Marianne Szegedy-Maszak, journalist, author and former Harper Lee panelist.
One of America’s leading public law schools, and the “#1 Best Value Law School” in the nation according to the National Jurist for two years in a row (2012 and 2013), The University of Alabama School of Law offers a challenging curriculum with over 150 electives, several dual enrollment opportunities, Master of Laws degrees, and a J.S.D. With a student-to-faculty ratio of approximately 11:1, the Law School offers students a rigorous, hands-on learning experience, with strong student engagement in clinical programs, law review, moot court, and trial advocacy. Within nine months of graduation, 92% of the Class of 2012 was employed in J.D.-required or -preferred positions or attending graduate school. The Alabama bar passage rate for the Class of 2013 is 97.8%. 2013 marks the fifth consecutive year that 10 or more Alabama Law graduates have been placed in federal clerkships. Alumni include U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo L. Black; Morris Dees, co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center; former ABA Presidents Tommy Wells and Lee Cooper; Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Judge Frank Johnson; Habitat for Humanity Founder Millard Fuller, and U.S. Senators Howell Heflin, Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions.
Contact
Monique Fields, manager of communications, The University of Alabama School of Law, 205/348-5195, mfields@law.ua.edu