Bama Bug Fest

Bama Bug Fest will feature a variety of creepy-crawlies: Tuscaloosa News – July 15

A new event will have Tuscaloosa buzzing. The Bama Bug Fest, organized and sponsored by the Alabama Museum of Natural History, is set for 4-8 p.m. July 27 at the Mildred Warner Westervelt Transportation Museum, 1901 Jack Warner Parkway. Admission is free. Displays will feature a wide variety of creepy-crawlies, from ants to scorpions, along with fun events like a cockroach pull.

History and Archaeology

Local history and archaeology conference to begin Thursday: The Gadsden Times – July 15

A conference focused on local history and archaeology will be held over the course of two days this week at The University of Alabama’s Gadsden Center. The “Honoring Our People” conference Thursday and Friday will bring in speakers to discuss a variety of local and regional topics. Thursday’s events will focus on local history, with topics ranging from African-American housing in 1950s Gadsden to using online resources and maps in historical research. Friday’s archaeology-focused lectures will range from rescuing and documenting specific cemeteries and understanding the archaeology and social dynamics of pauper cemeteries.

How to Own Your Truth

Jayla Groom penned book after seeing her mom’s ‘wanted’ mugshot on Crimestoppers: Birmingham Times – July 18

When Jayla Groom went on Facebook last year and saw her mother’s mugshot on Crime Stoppers with a “Wanted” caption she said to herself, “What is going on?” “I felt like, ‘I can’t take this anymore. I don’t know what to do,” recalled Groom, whose mother has been in and out of jail throughout Groom’s entire life. “She’ll go for like two years and come home,” said Groom, 20, who is second to the youngest in a family of six children. Groom, from Hueytown and a rising junior at The University of Alabama (UA), has penned a book about her experiences – “I AM: How to Own Your Truth and Go from Shame to Freedom,” which was published in March 2019. The book is about everything she has been through, including her mother being in and out of prison.

Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction

Debut author wins 2019 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction with refugees’ story: ABA Journal – July 18

“The Boat People” is a spellbinding and timely novel that provokes a deeply compassionate lens through which to view the current refugee crisis,” according to Doubleday, the publisher of the debut novel by author Sharon Bala. The book is also the winner of the 2019 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction, The University of Alabama School of Law and ABA Journal announced on Thursday. “It’s an absolute honor to learn that The Boat People has won the 2019 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction,” Bala said in the news release. “Writing this novel was a meditation on empathy. My greatest hope is that it has the same effect on readers.” The Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction was established in 2011 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the publication of To Kill a Mockingbird. It is awarded annually to a book-length work of fiction that best illuminates the role of lawyers in society and their power to effect change.