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Stephanie Dray, a New York Times bestselling author of historical fiction, is set to visit Kokomo as part of this year’s Howard County Reads program.

Howard County Reads is an annual tradition that encourages residents in Howard County read a specific book. The program is a partnership between the Kokomo-Howard County Public Library and the Indiana University Kokomo library. A committee made up of library staff and community members choose each year’s book from community nominations.

This year’s top pick is Becoming Madam Secretary, a fictionalized account of Frances Perkins, an American worker rights advocate and the first woman to serve in a presidential cabinet. The novel recounts Perkins’ work with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and her political career.

KHCPL and the Indiana University Kokomo library will host Dray for a public author visit at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, September 16, at IUK. The event is free, but tickets are required. Tickets will be available to pick up starting September 2 at any KHCPL location or the IUK Library.

The event coincides with National Voter Registration Day, and the League of Women Voters will be on site to help attendees register to vote or update their information. KHCPL will host two discussions of the novel this fall, once at KHCPL Main on Wednesday, September 10, and the second at Russiaville on Thursday, October 9. Both discussions require registration, which can be done by calling 765-457-3242 or online at khcpl.org.

Sarah Heath, a professor of history at IUK, will also host a presentation on the life and legacy of Perkins. The discussion will take place at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, September 24, at KHCPL South, 1755 E. Center Road. The event is free and open to the public.

Each year, the Howard County Reads committee also chooses 14 other books to highlight, representing a wide variety of genres and topics. The other titles on this year’s Howard County Reads list are:

• Gather Me, by Glory Edim
• Another Kind, by Cait May and Trevor Bream
• Thornhedge, by T. Kingfisher
• The Apothecary Diaries, by Natsu Hyuga and Touko Shino
• The Frozen River, by Ariel Lawhon
• Never Whistle at Night, compiled and edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.
• All My Rage, by Sabaa Tahir
• The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife, by Anna Johnston
• The Favorites, by Layne Fargo
• This is the Honey, compiled and edited by Kwame Alexander
• The Other Side of Disappearing, by Kate Clayborn
• Twenty-Four Seconds from Now, by Jason Reynolds
• The Road to Roswell, by Connie Willis
• That’s Not My Name, by Megan Lally

Each year, KHCPL also hosts a murder mystery dinner inspired by titles from the top 15 list. This year’s play, titled “Becoming Madam Murder,” will take place at Elite Event Center on Friday, November 14. Tickets will go on sale starting Oct. 14 for $50 each or $450 for a table of 10.

Previous years’ top 15 lists can be found at https://www.khcpl.org/hcr.

Community members are encouraged to nominate titles for next year’s top pick. Specifically, the committee is looking for books that are well-written, character-driven, and interesting to a wide variety of readers. Books should also not be too long, Wheelock said. And it’s a bonus if they’re available in paperback, but it’s not a requirement. To nominate a book, visit https://www.khcpl.org/hcr.