Break out those bifocals, bookworms.

For the first time ever, Howard County adults will get the chance to compete in the popular “Battle of the Books” reading competition this fall.

The annual event has long been considered a rite of passage for local fifth graders who, each spring, pack the Merriweather Post Pavilion to answer trivia questions about books they’ve read throughout the year. It’s part reading-incentive program, organized by the Howard County library and school systems, part rave, with outrageous outfits, a live DJ and dancing.

Kids “just go bonkers,” said Nana Owusu-Nkwantabisa, board chair of the Friends & Foundation of Howard County Library System, which sponsors the purchase of books for the competition each year.

Some adults who staff the event as coaches and judges often remarked that they, too, would jump at the chance to compete. After all, why should the kids have all the fun?

That’s the pitch the foundation is making for its coming “Adult Battle of the Books” fundraiser spanning three weekends in October. And enthusiasm is already high.

Registration doesn’t open on the foundation’s website until 12:01 a.m. Sunday, June 15, but more than 160 people have expressed interest in competing in one of three separate battles scheduled throughout October at Oscar’s Ale House in Marriottsville and Game On in Columbia.

Organizers originally planned two dates but added a third due to demand, said Rita Hamlet, a library staffer who works closely with the Friends & Foundation.

The competition is capped at 61 teams of three to five adults ages 21 and older. Each group must pay an $85 registration fee that will help support coming author events, the summer reading program, Project Literacy graduation and the youth Battle of the Books in 2026.

The foundation won’t release the titles of the six books until registration opens, but officials said competitors will be responsible for supplying their own copies. Local bookstores Queen Takes Book, Backwater Books and The Last Word have agreed to donate a percentage of the purchase price for selected titles to the foundation’s fundraiser.

Battles will consist of four rounds with 10 questions each. Complete rules and guidelines for the competition are posted on the foundation’s website.

Organizers started planning the event in March and consulted with Carroll County Public Library, which has hosted an adult “Battle of the Books” for the past three years.

Hamlet said Carroll officials suggested picking book titles that are available in paperback and making sure both digital and physical copies are in the library’s circulation to help mitigate the cost for participants. They also suggested mixing up the types of questions, such as fill-in-the blank or multiple choice.

Although team costumes are encouraged, they will not be judged like they are for the kids’ “Battle of the Books.”

“They’re adults,” Hamlet said. “If they want to go all out and do it, let them do it.”

The real brilliance of an event like “Battle of the Books,” Hamlet said, is that it exposes readers to new titles and genres they would not have otherwise explored.

Howard County has seen the magic of what happens when kids come together to read, Hamlet said. “And the adults have said, ‘We want to do this, too.’”