Deborah Johnson has won the 2015 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction for her novel The Secret of Magic (Berkley). Co-sponsored by the University of Alabama School of Law and the ABA Journal, the prize is given annually to a work of fiction that "best illuminates the role of lawyers in society and their power to effect change." Johnson is the first woman and African-American to win the prize.
Mary McDonagh Murphy, one of the judges, commented on The Secret of Magic: "Unforgettable characters, suspense that builds straight to the last pages and straight plain prose, all the necessary ingredients to win a prize named for Harper Lee. Deborah Johnson does a lovely job."
Johnson will be honored during a ceremony on at 5 p.m. on September 3 at the Library of Congress during the National Book Festival. Following the presentation, a panel will discuss The Secret of Magic and To Kill a Mockingbird.
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A longlist has been released for the Center for Fiction's $10,000 First Novel Prize. The shortlist will be announced September 15, with a winner named December 8 in New York City. Until 2014, the award was called the Flaherty-Dunnan Prize. You can see the complete longlist here.