If local bookworms want a novel about hope, family and resiliency, the Lawrence Public Library has just the ticket.

The library announced Monday that “Housekeeping,” by Pulitzer Prize winner Marilynne Robinson, is the 2014 Read Across Lawrence book. The program is designed to create a community conversation about literature by encouraging residents to read the same book and attend library-sponsored events to discuss it.

Robinson will visit Plymouth Congregational Church on March 6 to discuss the novel.

“Housekeeping” focuses on two girls raised by a series of relatives in a fictional Idaho town. The book, published in 1980, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Robinson later took home the award for 2004’s “Gilead.”

The library will begin passing out 500 free copies during an early February event featuring Shane Lopez, author of “Making Hope Happen.” More information regarding dates, times and event descriptions will be available in mid-January.