Monroe Literary Festival to announce Alabama novelist as winner of 2024 Harper Lee Award

MONROE COUNTY, Ala. (WKRG) — The Monroeville Literary Festival is preparing to present this year’s Harper Lee award to an Alabama novelist and Clarke County native.

According to the Monroe Literary Festiva’s website, presentations of the Alabama Writers Awards are a feature of the festival. In a press release, the Monroeville Literary Festival shared that they are getting ready to present the 2024 Harper Lee Award to novelist Tom Franklin at the Old Courthouse Museum on March 1.

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Franklin, who has been at the last four Monroe festivals, is a New York Times bestselling author. Born and raised in Dickinson, Alabama, Franklin has worked while writing in South Alabama.

“I’m so honored to win this award. I grew up about 45 minutes from Monroeville, in Dickinson, Alabama, and first read To Kill a Mockingbird in my early twenties,” Franklin said. “I couldn’t believe she was from Monroeville. I love that book, and the movie of it, and I love coming to Monroeville whenever I can. This will be an especially exciting trip. I’m such a fan of the writers who’ve won this before. I’m so happy for this honor.”

Some of Franklin’s works include Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter; Hell at the Breech; and Smonk. He teaches at the University of Mississippi’s MFA program.

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