A Pulitzer Prize-winning classic will be the featured work for Missouri Southern’s Literary Lions Book Club.

The book club will make To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee the focus of book club discussions this semester. The discussions on To Kill a Mockingbird will consist of a series of three meetings that will be held in University Java at 6:30 p.m.

The first meeting will be held March 13 and will give background on the book and author. Dr. Jude Meche, assistant professor of English at Missouri Southern State University, will serve as mediator. Participants will be given questions to think about for the second meeting to be held on March 27.

“It’s an opportunity to meet with other people who are interested in reading and talk about their thoughts and theories on the book,” said Wendy McGrane, library director.

Literary Lions will wrap up To Kill a Mockingbird on April 10, with a showing of the movie, which stars Gregory Peck.

“It’s a great chance for camaraderie,” McGrane said. “It’s an individual perspective brought to bear on whatever story we are reading.”

Each semester, Literary Lions are polled to decide which book they would like to discuss next.

“Discussions are capped off at 15 participants, which is a good basis for discussion,” McGrane said. “The last two or three groups have been maxed out.”

Literary Lions is a joint project in conjunction with the Alumni Outreach Program to put materials on shelves for students. After the Literary Lions are finished, the books are donated to the library and kept on the first floor for students to enjoy.

To Kill a Mockingbird has sold more than 30 million copies since its original publication.

“This would be a great discussion to participate in because it’s definitely a classic,” McGrane said. “It’s one of those stories it doesn’t matter if you read it in the seventh grade or in your 70s; it is still an enjoyable book.”

The cost is $25 and $15 for Friends of the Spiva Library.