Author John Grisham awarded 2011 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction

More than 50 years after its publication, Harper Lee’s novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” is still held on a deservingly high pedestal by many writers, said best-selling author David Baldacci.

“For me, Harper Lee is an iconic figure,” Baldacci said. “The book she wrote is one of the classics of literature that has withstood the test of time. ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ certainly influenced me as a writer. In fact, my novel, ‘Wish You Well,’ was my coming of age novel; it was my ‘To Kill a Mockingbird.’”

Last Thursday, UA’s School of Law and the ABA Journal awarded best-selling author John Grisham the 2011 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction, a new literary award, for his work in the novel “The Confession.”

A selection committee that included Baldacci and four other members declared the novel, which explores an attorney’s tireless efforts to save his client from being executed for a crime he did not commit, the prize’s inaugural winner, according to a press release.

“‘The Confession’ stood out because of its readability,” Baldacci said. “It’s a page-turner and I really got into the characters. I always look for that. It’s a very compelling tale.”

Following the award presentation, Baldacci led a panel discussion to focus on the similarities between “The Confession” and “To Kill a Mockingbird,” as well as their influence on society.

“In particular, [we talked about] the role of lawyers in both society and the novels themselves and how it’s changed,” Baldacci said. “In both, a lawyer is dealing with an unjust system and faces the question of, ‘Were they right to work in the confines of that system or should they have stepped out and played another role?’ We’ll also focus on how the role of lawyers in fiction has changed over the years and whether it affects people’s views of lawyers in general.”

Although the prize was announced to coincide with the UA’s 50th Anniversary Celebration of the publication of “To Kill a Mockingbird” last year, it will be given annually “to a published work of fiction that best exemplifies the positive role of lawyers in society and their power to effect change,” according to a press release.

Baldacci said the involvement of UA’s School of Law, where Lee attended during the 1940s, with the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction is critical and speaks highly of where they stand in the literary world.

He also said the prize is a positive one in the field of literature because authors aren’t always viewed upon in the same light as athletes, musicians and celebrities.

“When was the last time you saw an author on the cover of Time magazine?” Baldacci said. “[Today’s popular forms of entertainment] all start with ideas in someone’s head and I think this award really puts the focus back on the authors.”