Reclusive author Harper Lee has agreed to allow `` To Kill a Mockingbird '' to be released electronically , ending what had until now been a glaring holdout in the digital library of literary masterpieces . Lee announced her decision Monday -- her 88th birthday -- in a statement released by her publisher HarperCollins . `` I 'm still old-fashioned . I love dusty old books and libraries , '' Lee said . `` This is Mockingbird for a new generation . '' Nelle Harper Lee has n't published a work in more than a half-century . She 's made headlines though in steadfastly fighting to keep the rights to her intellectual property protected . In 2013 , the Alabama native sued her hometown of Monroe County Heritage Museum for trademark infringement , saying it was illegally using her fame for its own gain . `` Historical facts belong to the world , '' the suit argued `` but fiction and trademarks are protected by law . '' Lee also once sued a former literary agent for being `` duped '' into signing over the rights to her novel . Inspiring millions . `` To Kill a Mockingbird '' is told through the eyes of Scout , the daughter of a lawyer in Maycomb , Alabama . It deals with a local attorney 's relationship with his children and his community as he defends an African-American man accused of raping a white woman in the 1930s Jim Crow era . Its themes of racial injustice and waning innocence , grounded in characters possessing courage and tolerance , have inspired millions of readers . The 1960 novel -- the only one Lee wrote -- won a Pulitzer Prize and was made into an Academy Award-winning movie . According to HaperCollins , the novel has sold more than 30 million copies in English worldwide . It 's been translated into more than 40 languages , and still sells more than 1 million copies every year . Social buzz . If social media buzz is any indication , there 's considerable excitement about this classic novel coming into the 21st century . `` Thank you Harper Lee ! To Kill a Mockingbird coming to a kindle near you in July ! A present for us on her birthday ! '' wrote Amy Feld in a Facebook post . `` Hot damn ! Harper Lee okays an ebook of THE classic , '' wrote another , Kathy Whitlock . The e-book and digital audio will be released on July 8 , the date of the 54th anniversary of the book 's original publication .
Lee announced her decision on her 88th birthday . The former first lady has been a vocal advocate for the LGBT community and was one of only two women to be invited by President Barack Obama to attend his inauguration in 2009.