Grippando is the seventh winner of the Prize. The award,
authorised by 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.
“I don’t know who’s
happier, James Grippando the writer or James Grippando the lawyer,”
Grippando said. “Winning the 2017 Harper
Lee Prize for Legal Fiction is easily the proudest moment of my dual career.”
Seven years ago, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the
publication of “To Kill a Mockingbird,”
and to honour former Alabama law student and author Harper Lee, The University
of Alabama School of Law and the ABA Journal partnered to create The Harper Lee
Prize for Legal Fiction.
“Gone Again” was
chosen by a distinguished panel of writers. They are: Deborah Johnson, winner
of the 2015 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction and author of “The Secret of Magic”; Cassandra King,
author of “The Same Sweet Girls’ Guide to Life”; Don Noble, host
of Alabama Public Radio’s book review series as well as host of “Bookmark,”
which airs on Alabama Public Television; and Han Nolan, author of “Dancing on the Edge.”
The Selection Committee
honoured Lee’s charge to grant the award to a published work of fiction that
best illuminates the role of lawyers in society and their power to effect
change.
“Jack Swyteck is a lawyer’s lawyer,” Nolan said. “He works within the system, relentlessly
searching for the truth as he races against time to defend a death row inmate.”
Noble agreed. “If I am ever in legal trouble, there is no
lawyer I would rather have than Grippando’s Jack Swyteck,” he said. “The man is dedicated to social justice,
resourceful and tireless.”
Grippando will be honoured
with a signed special edition of “To Kill
a Mockingbird” and an article in the ABA Journal.
“Grippando’s book does a masterful, entertaining job exploring the
important topic of the death penalty and actual innocence,” said Molly
McDonough, editor and publisher of the ABA Journal. “In ‘Gone Again,’ attorney
Jack Swyteck focuses on finding the truth while navigating the complexities of
habeas petitions for a despicable client.”
The 2017 prize will be
awarded at The University of Alabama School of Law on Sept. 14. After the award
presentation, the Selection Committee will convene a panel discussion of
Grippando’s “Gone Again” in
relationship to Lee’s “To Kill a
Mockingbird.”
The Boat People by Sharon Bala
Tracy
Crosswhite has spent 20 years questioning the facts surrounding her sister
Sarah’s disappearance and the murder trial that followed. She doesn’t believe
that Edmund House—a convicted rapist and the man condemned for Sarah’s
murder—is the guilty party. Motivated by the opportunity to obtain real
justice, Tracy became a homicide detective with the Seattle PD and dedicated
her life to tracking down killers. When Sarah’s remains are finally discovered
near their hometown in the northern Cascade mountains of Washington State,
Tracy is determined to get the answers she’s been seeking. As she searches for
the real killer, she unearths dark, long-kept secrets that will forever change
her relationship to her past—and open the door to deadly danger.
From
the world’s largest Tiffany clock decorating the 42nd Street entrance to its
spectacular main concourse, Grand Central has been a symbol of beauty and
innovation in New York City for more than 100 years. But “the world’s loveliest
station” is hiding more than just an underground train system. When the body of
a young woman is found in the tower suite of the Waldorf Astoria—one of the
most prestigious hotels in Manhattan—assistant DA Alex Cooper and detectives
Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace find themselves hunting for an elusive killer
whose only signature is carving a carefully drawn symbol into his victims’ bodies,
a symbol that bears a striking resemblance to train tracks.
Regina
Robichard works for Thurgood Marshall, who receives an unusual letter asking
the NAACP to investigate the murder of a returning black war hero. It is signed
by M. P. Calhoun, the most reclusive author in the country. As a child, Regina
was captivated by Calhoun’s The
Secret of Magic, a novel in which white and black children played together
in a magical forest. Once down in Mississippi, Regina finds that nothing in the
South is as it seems. She must navigate the muddy waters of racism,
relationships, and her own tragic past.
