1. Meet the Author: Harper Lee
To Kill a Mockingbird

2. Background Info: Born in Monroeville, AL April 28, 1926
Father: Newspaper Owner/Editor, Senator, and Lawyer
Harper Lee Studied Law at U. of Alabama, but edited the newspaper
Studied at Oxford University
Went to NY to start literary career
To Kill a Mockingbird was Harper Lee’s 1st published novel
Worked on National Council of the Arts for President Johnson
Retreated from Public Life- still lives in NYC and Monroeville, AL

3. Book Info: Won Pulitzer Prize in 1961 International Bestseller 1962
Characters and Setting based on Harper Lee’s Life
Horton Foote wrote the screenplay film adaptation
Won 8 Academy Award nominations
Gregory Peck won Best Actor- Atticus

4. Friends Truman Capote- Rising Literary Star
Friend from AL
Reunited in NYC
Michael Martin Brown- Broadway composer and lyricist
Supported Harper Lee for a year so that she could write full time
Helped her find an agent, Maurice Crain- published TKAM

5. Other Works Worked on Truman Capote’s non-fiction masterpiece
In Cold Blood
She helped interviewed community, suspects, and took notes on crime, victims, and trial.
Capote never acknowledged Lee’s contributions to the work
Published Go Set a Watchman July 2015.
Much controversy over its publication and characters.