2019 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction Goes to Sharon Bala

Debut novelist Sharon Bala has won the 2019 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction for her novel The Boat People:

"The Boat People follows the story of Mahindan and other Sri Lankan refugees who escaped a civil war in their country only to arrive on Vancouver Island’s shores to face accusations of terrorism and the threat of deportation. Mahindan’s lawyer, Priya, a second-generation Sri Lankan Canadian, and Grace, a third-generation Japanese Canadian adjudicator, also feature prominently in the story."

The prize, which is sponsored by ABA Journal and the University of Alabama School of Law, 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."

It was established in 2011 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the publication of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

The 2019 jury was composed of the following people:

• Claire Hamner Matturro, University of Alabama School of Law graduate and author
• Robert Barnes, U.S. Supreme Court reporter for The Washington Post
• Steven Hobbs, Tom Bevill Chairholder of Law at the University of Alabama School of Law
• Utz McKnight, chair of the department of gender and race studies and political science professor at the University of Alabama
• Gin Phillips, author of Fierce Kingdom