According to information from the ABA, finalists have been named in the 2019 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction and the public will have a chance to pick from three books. The nominated books and authors are:
- 'The Boat People' by Sharon Bala
- 'The Widows of Malabar Hill' by Sujata Massey
- 'Class Action' by Steven B. Frank
There were 25 initial entries, whittled down to three, according to the ABA. The public will carry a vote equal in weight to five other judges to determine the award winner. Molly McDonough, ABA Journal editor and publisher, said this year’s slate is particularly challenging to judge. “The finalists represent the diversity of this year’s submissions, from a novel about Sri Lankan refugees seeking a new start to the story of a trailblazing woman lawyer fighting for her clients in 1920s India and finally a charming middle school book featuring a spunky student who goes to court after he’s suspended for protesting homework.”
The prize, now being handed out for a ninth year, is given to a book best illuminating lawyers’ role in society and their ability to influence change. It was authorized by the late Lee, who was a law student at the University of Alabama, and commemorates the 50th anniversary of her classic novel “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
The selection committee consists of:
- Robert Barnes, The Washington Post’s U.S. Supreme Court reporter
- Steven Hobbs, Tom Bevill Chairholder of Law at the Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr. School of Law
- Claire Matturro, alumna of the Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr. School of Law
- Utz McKnight, chair of the department of gender and race studies and professor of political science at the University of Alabama
- Gin Phillips, author of “Fierce Kingdom.”
The ceremony will be held Thursday, August 29, in tandem with the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. Per the ABA, the winner gets a signed copy of Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
Grisham Headlines List of Past Winners
The Alabama Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr. School of Law notes the winner will also get to participate in the Harper Lee Prize podcast as well as the prize ceremony. “An excerpt from the winning book may be published in the ABA Journal,” according to the law school. “The book may be sold on the ABABooks.com website if it is selected as a finalist or winner.”
Previous winners include John Grisham, who Ranker lists as the 30th best-selling fictional author of all time. Grisham sold an estimated 250 million books, coming in three spots ahead of J.R.R. Tolkien, according to the ranking.
From 2011 to 2016, Grisham won twice. Per the law school, other winners include:
- 2011: John Grisham, The Confession
- 2012: Michael Connelly, The Fifth Witness
- 2013: Paul Goldstein, Havana Requiem
- 2014: John Grisham, Sycamore Row
- 2015: Deborah Johnson, The Secret of Magic
- 2016: Attica Locke, Pleasantville