Twenty SBC organizers gathered for our inaugural summer camp in the Colorado Rockies this week and it was, in a word, bananas.
Our itinerary included a book swap royale, a mini book fair hosted by Matter (a Denver-based Black- and woman-owned bookstore), an audiobook walk, book bedazzling, vast amounts of swag, AND a secret sneak preview of Virginia Woolf’s Night and Day film releasing in the U.S. on Sept 4 (watch the trailer).
Local organizers from all across the U.S. came together to share ideas, make connections, and learn from each other. The SBC HQ team presented seminars on building community, pitching media, and hosting side quests, and organizers got a first look at new features coming soon to Silent Book Club.
Campers included a 10-year veteran who has launched and led 3 different chapters since 2016, and a newbie who started her chapter just 7 months ago. Regional leads in North Texas, Maryland, and New Jersey made plans for cross-chapter meetups on their home turf, and there was universal consensus that SBC Organizer Camp needed to become an annual recurrence. (Minus the bears…)
Huge thanks to our partners for donating amazing goodies for our campers. Knopf sent everyone home with a hardcover first edition of our August SBC Reads pick, BEGINNING MIDDLE END, by Valeria Luiselli. Thousand Voices shared advanced copies of upcoming titles TIGER’S MOUTH, by Lucy Tan, and RABBIT RABBIT, by Jennifer E. Smith. The Bookish Goods took our welcome gift bags to the next level with socks, totes, hats, and reading journals from their new Bookish Summer Camp line. And Killer Brownie fueled many a late-night Bananagram battle with delicious snacks.
We’ll be posting more behind-the-scenes stories and photos on our blog in the coming days, so stay tuned! In the meantime, check out our Instagram Stories for a day-by-day recap of SBC Summer Camp 2026!
One spot just opened up on our Iceland Reading Retreat (Nov 8-14, 2026), and there are only two spots left for Sardinia, Italy (June 14-20, 2027). Enter code BOOK50 at checkout to redeem the discount! Ends 8/9, 11:59 PST
Book-related links and other good stuff online
Meet the editor behind your book club’s most debated titles Wall Street Journal
AI fiction is easy to detect because it's stupid and bad, research finds 404 Media
Russian strikes targeting publishing houses wipe out nearly 10 million books: 74% of Ukraine’s 2026 book output United 24 Media
Are AI companies buying and destroying rare and used books? The Atlantic
How to Fall Back in Love with the Small Stuff Culture Study
Despite its “abysmal” writing, The Odyssey is still an event to celebrate London Review of Books
Could a couch-to-5k for books get you back into reading? The Guardian
The 50 Best Thrillers of the 21st Century The New York Times (rank your faves here!)
The great British switch-off: how floating retreats, mobile-free pubs and sauna book groups are freeing people from their smartphones The Guardian
Silent Book Clubs are creating noise across New Jersey Jersey’s Best
Berkley Silent Book Club on the local news! Fox 2 Detroit
Bibliofiles: What I didn’t expect from a Silent Book Club Times Union
Library brings art, clubs, community together The Van Wert Independent
A guide to Bellingham-area book clubs, every day of the week Cascadia Daily News
Toronto Best Bets She Does the City
Where to find coffee shops serving up community in Cincinnati Axios
Read more, meet new people: Four San Antonio book clubs to join Luz Media
Where Dallas readers go to socialize Axios
Check out our map to connect with a local chapter near you. You can search by location, filter by venue type, or join an online gathering. If there’s a chapter missing from the map, or a listing that’s no longer active, please let us know!
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