To Kill a Mockingbird author Harper Lee has died aged 89, publisher Harper Collins has confirmed.
The Pulitzer prize-winning writer died in her hometown of Monroeville in Alabama.
The news was first reported by local news website AL.com. The Mayor's Office of Monroeville also confirmed the news.
To Kill a Mockingbird, published 1960, was an immediate success and is widely considered a classic of American literature.
Lee's only other novel, an early draft of Mockingbird called Go Set a Watchman, was published last year.
Born April 28, 1926, she was the youngest of four children of lawyer Amasa Coleman Lee and Frances Cunningham Finch Lee.
The writer, who was known as Nelle by those close to her, had lived for several years in a nursing home less than a mile from the house she had grown up in.
In a blog post, Spencer Madrie, owner of Ol’ Curiosities and Book Shoppe, a small, independent book store in Lee’s hometown that focuses largely on Lee’s works, said: “The world has lost a brilliant mind and a great writer.
“We will remember Harper Lee for her candor, her talent, and the truths she gave the world, perhaps before the world was ready.
"We are grateful to have had a connection to an author who offered so much. There will always be something missing from Monroeville and the world at large in the absence of Harper Lee.”
Publisher Random House tweeted: “Today we lost a beautiful writer. RIP Harper Lee.”
This story is being updated.
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