SBC x Libro.fm Audiobook Walk-A-Thon Recap
Forty Silent Book Club chapters laced up their sneakers on June 13, 2026 and walked through nature preserves and river trails, along beaches and campuses, across Mohawk territory and through Montana mountain air, all to celebrate Audiobook Appreciation Month!
The Walk-A-Thon was the cornerstone of SBC Reads: Audiobooks – our June spotlight campaign celebrating Audiobook Appreciation Month in partnership with Libro.fm and Penguin Random House Audio. All month long, we highlighted four PRH Audio titles through our SBC READS campaign: Our Perfect Storm by Carly Fortune, Midnight Train by Matt Haig, London Falling by Patrick Radden, and Little Wonder by Sophie Chen Keller. The Walk-A-Thon brought those listens into the world while supporting independent bookstores through Libro.fm.
This collective event was nationwide: from Juneau, Alaska to Vero Beach, Florida. From Bozeman, Montana to Snow Hill, Maryland. Small towns and big cities. Blazing Texas heat and cool Pacific mornings. Chapters that have been hosting walks for months and chapters doing it for the very first time. This was the first SBC Audiobook Walk-A-Thon, and it was coast-to-coast in every sense of the phrase.
Here is the full list of chapters who showed up:
A Little Bookish, Ooltewah, TN
Caprichos Books, Snow Hill, MD
Exeter Community Library, Reading, PA
Passages Wine and Books, Chicago, IL
Books on Main, Fort Morgan, CO
SBC Fort Mill, Beyond the Book, SC
SBC Hudson Valley, New Windsor, NY
SBC Hygge House Books, Westborough, MA
SBC Rockville Centre (RVC), NY
SBC Northwest Valley, Peoria, AZ
Scenes from the Walk
SBC Niles, Michigan – Down by the River
Nine people showed up on a Saturday morning in Niles and walked along their local river for an hour. They started with their earbuds in and ended up just talking about what they were listening to and they’d loved lately. This is what we love about these walks! They are a fun invitation to get outside and mingle on a walk with like-minded people.
Their host has been running monthly audiobook walks since May and isn’t stopping anytime soon!
SBC Akwesasne, NY – On the Territory
SBC Akwesanse is hosted on Akwesanse Mohawk Territory, a community that spans New York, Quebec, and Ontario. Their chapter walked the Kahrhakaion Nature Trail–known locally as Old Forest–with five book clubbers, one mini book clubber, and two pups.
Their listens were, as host Jessica put it, “an eclectic mix”: Born a Crime, a romance, a thriller, and yes–a Dungeon Crawler Carl. There’s no indie local bookstore in Akwesanse, so the host encouraged her group to support Black Walnut Books, a Queer Indigenous bookstore out of Glen Falls, NY.
The heatwave started kicking in halfway through the walk, and they kept going anyway!
SBC RVC, Jones Beach, NY – 35 People, Beach Yoga, and a Giveaway!
Thirty-five members showed up to walk three miles (!!!) at Jones Beach, and by the end it had turned into something much bigger than a walk.
The chapter partnered with Elevate Yoga, a studio with a deeply community-rooted origin: the owner has a son with autism, and the studio has long centered wellness sessions for those with special needs. Their instructor–who also has a brother on the spectrum– led a beginner-friendly yoga session right there on the beach after the walk.
Advanced Dermatology, PC sponsored a skincare giveaway, sending everyone home with a bag of samples. The chapter received so many compliments afterward, members were already asking about the next one.
SBC Santa Clarita – A Mobile Bookstore Owner Joined!
Seven people, positive energy, and a wonderful surprise: a mobile bookstore owner joined the walk and brought stickers and bookmarks to share with the whole group. A perfect gift for a walk full of readers!
SBC Santa Rosa – Spring Lake, Three Dogs, and a Bathroom Stop Miracle
Nine humans and three dogs walked around Spring Lake in Santa Rosa with great energy and the unanimous feedback that they’d all do it again.
Best moment? One walker didn’t find the group in time to start and began walking along. During a bathroom stop, they somehow managed to find each other just as she was about to head off in the opposite direction!
Afterwards, the group landed at Copperfield’s Books in Montgomery Village to support their local indie bookstore.
Check out this reel! https://www.instagram.
SBC Dallas – Into the Woods
Texas brought the heat and the wildlife in equal measure. With energy that was “anticipatory and ready to go,” eleven members and two dogs walked a little over two miles through a beautiful nature preserve (encountering two snakes along the path!).
SBC South Bend – From Notre Dame to Downtown
SBC South Bend took eight members on a lovely new trail leading from the University of Notre Dame’s campus into downtown South Bend.
SBC Arlington, TX – A Hidden Bookstore Inside a Restaurant
Seven members showed up to SBC Arlington’s first-ever audiobook walk despite the warm temperatures. The group met at OS Gray Natural Area, then had lunch at Smash Toast which, as it turns out, has a hidden indie bookstore inside called Folklore Grove!
Their listens included The Housemaid’s Secret by Freida McFadden, Take Me to Your Leader by Neil deGrasse Tyson, and The Childfree Guide to Life & Money by Jay Zigmont.
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Thank you to Libro.fm and Penguin Random House Audio for making this month possible, and to every chapter leader who organized an audiobook meetup! Audiobooks, we appreciate you year round, but we are so happy we could celebrate together this June.
Interested in finding an audiobook walk near you? Check your local Silent Book Club here!
Interested in starting a Silent Book Club? Check out how to do that here!
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