The novelist Harper Lee and her impact on literature and popular culture over the last 50 years will be the focus of an event next week in Portland’s Congress Square.

The Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance, the Portland Public Library and Longfellow Books will host an outdoor celebration July 14 to coincide with the release of Lee’s second book, “Go Set a Watchman.”

"Go Set a Watchman" is set in the same rural South as "To Kill a Mockingbird" but 20 years later, in the 1950s

Lee’s first book, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” came out in 1960 and is one of the most influential and well-loved novels of the last half-century.

“Go Set a Watchman” features characters from “To Kill a Mockingbird,” but 20 years later. It was the novel Lee first submitted for publication, but it was not released. It had widely been thought to have been lost, but the manuscript was discovered in 2014.

The event, scheduled from 6:30 to 8 p.m. July 14, will feature two readings by local actors, one from each of Lee’s novels. There will be a panel discussion about Lee and her books by Maine authors Lewis Robinson, Megan Frazier and Frank O Smith.

Local blues musicians will provide music. Lee’s new book will be for sale, and the library’s bookmobile will be parked near Congress Square, which is at the corner of Congress and High streets.

“We just all thought we should do something to celebrate the release,” said Rachael Harkness, programming manager for the library. “‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ is such an important book to so many people, and that creates so much excitement for this book.”

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