The Selma-Dallas County Public Library will begin its Lunch at the Library fall series on Thursday, Sept. 28.

“Lunch at the Library is an opportunity for people to come together and have fellowship in downtown Selma,” library director Becky Nichols said. “They can enjoy a meal, and we have an author come and visit.”

The first book to be presented this fall will be “Mockingbird Songs: My friendship with Harper Lee” by Dr. Wayne Flynt.

His book is a collection of his correspondences with Harper Lee, the author of “To Kill a Mockingbird”.

“The book is a compilation of their letters written throughout their lives,” Nichols said. “This will make for a very interesting program.”

The event will begin with lunch at noon, and it costs $8.

Reservations will need to be made with the library in order to attend.

Flynt will begin speaking at 12:30 p.m. to discuss his book. After the program is over, the book will be on sale and the author will be available to sign copies.

“It’s a nice one-hour lunch to eat a good meal, meet new folks and enjoy a book,” Nichols said.

This year, the fall line-up of guests is the library’s way of celebrating Alabama’s 200th birthday, according to Nichols.

“This whole Lunch at the Library series is geared to support the bicentennial celebration of our state,” Nichols said.

Each featured guest or their work has a tie to the state. Flynt, for example, is a professor emeritus in the department of history at Auburn University.

He is an honored scholar of Southern history, politics and religion who has also authored more than 11 books.

The majority of his works focus on Alabama’s history.

The Lunch at the Library fall series will meet in the community meeting room.  There will be a meeting once a month through December. Reservations for the first event should be made by calling (334) 874-1725.