2019 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction Shortlist

The shortlist for the 2019 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction has been announced by the University of Alabama and the American Bar Journal. The following books from the 25 entries were chosen:

1.) The Boat People by Sharon

Bala;

2.) Class Action by Steven B.

Frank; and,

3.) The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey

This is the first year in which I do not know any of the authors.

In the release on the shortlist there is the following comment:

"This year's Harper Lee Prize was particularly difficult to

judge," said Molly McDonoug, editor and publisher of the

ABA Journal. "We were evaluating so many gripping and

compelling reads."

I would have been interested to know which books were on the long list but that information has not been released each year.

The judging panel for 2019 will be:

Robert Barnes, a journalist with the Washington Post; Steven Hobbs, Tom Bevill chairholder of Law at UA; Claire Matturro, a UA law school alumna; Utz McKnight, chair of the UA department of gender and race studies and professor of political science; and author Gin Phillips.

Of that group I know Claire Matturro having read her books featuring the obsessive and funny Southern attorney, Rose Lily Belle Cleary.

As with the Award in recent years readers of the ABA Journal will form a 5th voter for the Award.

The Award will be presented again at the Library of Congress during the National Book Festival.

Following my reading practice I plan to read the shortlist and provide posts on each book and my thoughts on the winner.