JOIN THE CLUB

JOIN THE CLUB

SBC Organizers are the heart and soul of Silent Book Club. Check out our chapter spotlights to get to know the people who make the meetup magic happen.

Photo: SBC West Side Puerto Rico

How to Start a Silent Book Club

Silent Book Club chapters are organized by volunteers who commit to hosting at least one meetup per month. Organizers are responsible for locating a venue, scheduling the meetup, and greeting readers at the event. 

A typical SBC meetup looks something like this: 

6:00-6:30pm - People arrive, order drinks/food, share what they're reading
6:30-7:30pm - Quiet reading hour
7:30-8:00pm - Optional socializing, or just keep reading 

But you are welcome to make it your own—change the timing, add more discussion time or a book swap, it's up to you!

A note about naming: We own the trademark to the name "Silent Book Club," so you must register through our website if you want to host Silent Book Clubs. If you would prefer not to be part of our organization, you must call your event by another name (e.g. Quiet Reading Party). Read our Organizer Terms and Conditions

Getting started guide

Step 1: Set up your chapter

Before launching a new chapter, search the map to see if there's an existing chapter near you. We're happy to support more than one chapter per city, but you might be able to join a group as a cohost to add additional dates or venues. Email us at hello@silentbook.club if you're interested in connecting with a local organizer.

  1. Name your chapter. To become an official chapter in our network, your chapter name or event title must include "Silent Book Club." 

    - For businesses hosting meetups, event listings must include "Silent Book Club" (example: Silent Book Club at Little Fox Books)

    - For free-standing chapters, your chapter name and/or social media profile must include "Silent Book Club" (example: Silent Book Club Los Angeles)

    Tip: We recommend creating a dedicated email address for chapter correspondence (e.g. LocationSBC@gmail.com)

  2. Set up your public chapter page. You must have a public website where people can find event details.

    - This can be an event site (Bookclubs.com, Eventbrite, Luma), a social media page (Facebook page, group, Instagram), or a blog or website.

    - Attendees should easily be able to find your events and see information about your chapter.

    - We provide a Style Guide, logos, and templates you can use to set up your page or social media account.

    Tip: If you're setting up Instagram, make sure you create a business account and not a personal profile to comply with Meta requirements.

Step 2: Schedule your first events

Decide on a venue, date, and time for your first events. Each chapter is unique to its community: some meet in bars, breweries or coffee shops, others in bookstores, libraries, or outdoors in a park. Pick a location that works for you!

- We recommend scheduling 2-3 events to get started. If someone can't join your first meetup, they can plan for a future date.

- You must have at least one event posted before registering your chapter on our site. We will confirm your information on your public page before adding your new chapter to our map.

Tip: Find a cohost, either before you start or with some early regulars. It helps ensure you can reach more people, and if something comes up you have back-up.

Step 3: Register your chapter

Submit your location using this form to add your new chapter information to our map. You'll receive a welcome email with resources and tips to help make your chapter a success.

SBC organizers have access to a connected network of hosts on our members-only community platform. This is where we share chapter resources, advice, and news from the Silent Book Club team. You'll receive an invitation to join the platform in your welcome email.

If you need help registering, email programs@silentbook.club

How to update your chapter listing

If you are an existing organizer, you can update your chapter information, the pin location on our map, and the contact information using the custom URL for your chapter map information page.

See organizer-only instructions on how to find your custom URL and update your listing.

If you can't find your custom URL, please email programs@silentbook.club for support.

How to close your chapter

Life happens! If you can no longer host Silent Book Club, we first recommend putting out a call to your members to see if anyone else would like to take over as co-organizer.

If you need to shut down your chapter, use the custom URL for your map listing to close the chapter or email programs@silentbook.club so that we can remove the listing from our site. (See organizer-only instructions here.)

Per our organizer agreement, you are required to shut down any social media accounts or event sites that use the Silent Book Club name or branding.