Current in person chapters:

Orange County, CA

New Haven, CT

Spokane, WA

San Diego, CA

Houston, TX

Tampa Bay, FL

Washington DC

Miami, FL

Dallas Fort Worth, TX

Kansas City, MO

Jacksonville, FL

Seattle, WA

Little Rock, AR

Akron, OH

Palm Springs, CA

Orland, FL

Austin, TX

San Antonio, TX

Fort Wayne, IN

Mankato, MN

Milwaukee, WI

Raleigh, NC

Long Island, NY

Delaware

Cleveland OH

Northern Utah

Las Vegas, NV

Nashville, TN

Twin Cities, MN

Coming Soon

Tulsa, OK

Denver, CO

Madison, WI

Ann Arbor, MI

When someone is interested in starting their own chapter, the first step is to send a message to @thrillerbookbabe on Instagram!

She will check to see if there is already a club there or if something might be in the works.

After that, we start by gauging interest. The host, the main account, and Chelsea all post on their stories to see how many potential members there might be. Usually we look for at least 3 people in order to start the process of a club.

Once there’s interest, the host takes ownership! We ask that they each create an instagram page for their chapter as well as a bookclubs account to keep all the information in one place.

There is also a host group chat on instagram for hosts to share ideas, questions, etc.

There is always a national book pick, but chapters can choose if they want to go along with it or not. When there are author chats in any club, everyone is invited to come and participate, including the online book club!

The online bookclub is run by joining the Bookclubs page and following the Thrillers by the Bookclub Instagram. Each month there is a post and story asking who wants to be included in the chat.

The chats are rolling chats on instagram held on the first of each month!

First, decide if you want to have something in person or virtual. This will make a huge difference in every part of planning!

Next, decide what kind of book club you want. Do you want a certain genre of book? Something that revolves around other interests like dog lovers or wine drinkers?

It can be intimidating thinking about finding members. It’s best to start by reaching out to existing people you know love to read, like friends or coworkers. Once they are interested, have them invite someone. You can also post flyers at the library, bookstore, coffee shops, or places where there would be interest in the theme of your book club. For example, if you want to start a romance book club you would post at a romance themed bookstore.

For us, social media helped! We found members through Instagram, Facebook, or even just through the Bookclubs app. That’s where we host all of our meetings and people can discover your book club organically on there. You could also start a Goodreads group, Facebook group, or create a group on Meet up to attract people you may not meet otherwise.

When you have some members interested, then you have to decide on a meeting place. If it’s online, what is the platform? Will you be using Bookstr, Zoom, or Instagram? Do you want something that includes video or just chatting? If it’s in person, be clear about if it will be at someone's house or a public place. It is usually much easier to pick a public place like a coffee shop or restaurant for the first one. Don’t forget to think about noise level and seating options.

Something that helped for scheduling was always meeting at a consistent time and specific day of the month, like the fourth Sunday of every month at 11 am.

It is helpful to share information beforehand for those who like to plan and/or don’t know anyone. It's great to have a way to communicate- Discord, Instagram, Facebook so you can communicate easily. This can include the meeting time, place, the schedule of the meeting, and expectations. Are you just there for the drinks and everyone can show up? Do you want them to read the book to have a detailed discussion? Will there be other activities?

When you’re picking your books, it is helpful to define the process. Will it be host lead? Will members take turns choosing the book and/or hosting? What are the guidelines? Some things to consider are topic, length, format available and publication date.

When planning your first meeting, it’s always nice to have a fun activity to break the ice. Name tags can be helpful if you don’t know everyone, or only know people by their social media handle.

Most importantly, you should create a safe space where people can disagree. Having a welcoming and open environment will make people want to stay for more than just the books.