Alabama Books

If you think Alabama books there's one title that looms above the rest - Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird". This story explores issues of family, community and race in a compelling voice that stays with you long after you've closed its pages, and the Pulitzer Prize-winner deserves its lofty place and the renewed attention as it celebrated the 60th anniversary of its publication in July 2020, but the state is blessed with an abundance of literary treasures for you to discover too.

To Kill A Mockingbird

Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning literary masterpiece is unforgettable. Capturing an ephemeral moment in Southern history, it explores uncomfortable truths about justice and the human condition.

'Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.'

A lawyer's advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee's classic novel - a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with exuberant humour the irrationality of adult attitudes to race and class in the Deep South of the '30s. The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence, and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina of one man's struggle for justice. But the weight of history will tolerate only so much.

All Over But The Shoutin’ by Rick Bragg

When childhood is complicated by poverty and an abusive, alcoholic father, it becomes focused on survival. Were it not for the dedication and strength of his mother, Rick Bragg may have never left northeast Alabama and become a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter. His memoir captures the essence of the South, explores the bonds and responsibilities of family, and, in the end, celebrates his own coming-of-age.

Ava’s Man Rick Bragg

The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and best-selling author of All Over But the Shoutin' continues his personal history of the Deep South with an evocation of his mother's childhood in the Appalachian foothills during the Great Depression and the inspiring story of the man who raised her.

If you would like to watch films set in Alabama, click here.