Ace Atkins to receive Harper Lee Awards

The Monroeville Literary Festival will present the 2026 Harper Lee Award to best-selling novelist and Alabama native Ace Atkins at the Old Courthouse Museum in Monroeville on Feb. 27, 2026. This annual award recognizes the lifetime achievement of a writer either born in Alabama or strongly connected to the state. It is one of the top Southern literature awards, and previous winners include E.O. Wilson, Winston Groom, Rick Bragg and Fannie Flagg.

Ace Atkins is an award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty novels and numerous short stories. A former college football player at Auburn and newspaper reporter, he’s a recent recipient of the Richard Wright Award for excellence in Southern Literature and a member of the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame. He lives with his wife Angela and two children in Oxford, Mississippi.

“I'm beyond honored and thrilled to be receiving this award. Harper Lee and To Kill a Mockingbird have always represented ordinary Southerners standing up and doing the right thing to fight for social justice,” Atkins said “From my books Wicked City, inspired by the true tale of Phenix City, Ala.; to my stories about Quinn Colson and fictional Tibbehah County, Mississippi; these are ideas and themes I always wanted to embrace in my work.”

Atkins was a featured writer at the festival in 2008 and 2010. “Returning to Monroeville is a special time for me,” he added. “Visiting the courthouse and museum is a potent reminder of how important novels can be, and the obligations we Southerners have to make our voices heard against injustice.”

Atkins’ award will be presented on Friday afternoon, Feb. 27, 2026. He and other award winners will be honored at a reception/dinner that evening. Tickets for the dinner will be available beginning November 2025.

The festival, a project of the Monroe County Museum, will bring best-selling writers and readers together in the Literary Capital of Alabama Thursday, Feb. 26 through Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. Most events take place in the courtroom of the Old Courthouse Museum, famous as the setting of To Kill a Mockingbird. All readings, discussions and award ceremonies are free, but advanced paid tickets are required for the awards dinner and Saturday lunch.

A full schedule of events and registration details will be announced later at MonroevilleLiteraryFestival.com. For more information call the museum at 251-575-7433 or by email at info@MonroevilleLiteraryFestival.com.