Somerville residents are encouraged to read “The Witches,” the selected 2016 book, and discuss the novel at a series of events this fall.

The 2016 “Somerville Reads” campaign kicks off this September with the book The Witches, by Stacy Schiff. Somerville Reads is a program that promotes literacy and community engagement by encouraging all Somerville residents to read and discuss the same book.

From a synopsis on Goodreads:

“It began in 1692, over an exceptionally raw Massachusetts winter, when a minister’s daughter began to scream and convulse. It ended less than a year later, but not before 19 men and women had been hanged and an elderly man crushed to death.  As psychologically thrilling as it is historically seminal, The Witches is Stacy Schiff’s account of this fantastical story-the first great American mystery unveiled fully for the first time by one of our most acclaimed historians.”

Copies of the book in a variety of formats are available at all Somerville Public Library locations and via the library’s online catalog.

A series of events and discussions is planned for September and October, as follows:

• Monday, Sept. 19, 7 p.m.: Book Discussion
• Thursday, Oct. 6, 7 p.m.: “Slander & Scandal in the Quarterly Court:” an interactive exploration of the 17^th century records of the Essex County Quarterly Court with Bethany Groff Durau of Historic New England
• Saturday, Oct. 8, 2 p.m.: “I am No Witch,” the Story of Bridget Bishop, First Victim of the Salem Witch Trials: a talk with historian Marilynne K. Roach
• Wednesday, Oct. 19, 6:30 p.m.: Movie screening of “The Crucible”

All events will be held in the Central Library at 79 Highland Ave. For more information or questions about non-print versions of the book, please call (617) 623-5000, x2955.

Individuals with disabilities who need auxiliary aids and services for effective communication, written materials in alternative formats, or reasonable modifications in policies and procedures, in order to access the programs and activities of the City of Somerville or to attend meetings, should contact the City’s ADA Coordinator, Betsy Allen, at 617-625-6600 x2323 or BAllen@somervillema.gov.