Ready to launch an official chapter of your own? First, check our website to see if there is a chapter near you. We're happy to support more than one chapter per city, but you may have one close by you can help host.

Otherwise, here are the steps to get up and running. 

Find a location.  Each SBC chapter is unique to its community: some meet in bars or coffee shops, others in bookstores, libraries, and even outdoors in a park—weather permitting. Alcohol is not required, and you can host it on any day of the week that works for you. Once you find a spot you like, we recommend doing a test run with a few friends to see how the location feels on the day or evening you have in mind. Consider the noise level, reading light, and crowd, and ask the staff if this is the usual scene on that day of the week. 

Reach out to the manager of the venue to make sure they are open to having a no-host group meet in the space. Some questions to ask can include whether there is an area you can reserve, if they are okay with creating individual tabs for people at the same table (if you don't want to split a bill), and if they are open to having you publicize the event on social media. They may be willing to help promote it too, and this is a good time to ask.

Make it official. Submit your location on our website to have your new Silent Book Club chapter added to our map. You will need to provide a link where members can find event details. This can be a Facebook page, group, Instagram, Twitter, Eventbrite, Meetup, or a blog or website. But ideally folks can easily find your events and see information about your chapter. 

Get your swag on. After you submit your chapter, you'll get invited to an Organizer-only online group, and get access to official Silent Book Club logos and branding. After you've been hosting for a quarter, we'll send you a custom logo just for your chapter. You can always order additional swag in the Silent Book Shop.

Spread the word! Read our tips for promoting your event. 

 

Bonus tip: We find chapters with at least two hosts to get off the ground more easily, so if you have a friend that is into reading, we recommend starting a chapter together!