Silent Book Club - Exeter
Silent Book Club is a global community of readers and introverts, with more than 2000 chapters in 60+ countries around the world led by local volunteers.
Exeter City of Literature began hosting the Exeter branch of Silent Book Club in April 2024 - this has expanded to three sessions a month in 2026 due to popular demand.
Silent Book Club Exeter
Readers at the first Silent Book Club Exeter session in April 2024 at The Hourglass Inn.
A typical Silent Book Club session spans from 6pm-8pm.
Attendees arrive and settle in from 6pm. We begin reading from 6:30pm for an hour. After an hour of communal silent reading we stick around for post-reading chats and a drink until 8pm (though there’s no pressure to stay, you are welcome to read & go!).
Silent Book Club is for everyone who wants to read. If cost is a barrier to picking up a new book, we can offer a book token to help. Simply fill out this form—numbers are limited each month.
As of January 2026, Exeter’s Silent Book Club happens three times a month.
We meet at Topsham Brewery on the First Wednesday of every month. The next session will be on Wednesday 7th October.
We meet at Topsham Brewery on the Third Monday of every month. The next session will be Monday 21st September.
We meet at 12 Bar Music & Social on the Last Thursday of every month. The next session will be on Thursday 24th September.
All sessions take place from 6pm - 8pm and are free to attend. We hope to see you there!
Topsham Brewery
Upcoming Dates
2026
Wednesday 2nd September 2026 | 6pm - 8pm
Monday 21st September 2026 | 6pm - 8pm
Wednesday 7th October 2026 | 6pm - 8pm
Monday 19th October | 6pm - 8pm
Wednesday 4th November 2026 | 6pm - 8pm
Monday 16th November | 6pm - 8pm
12 Bar Music & Social
Upcoming Dates
For 2026
Thursday 24th September | 6pm - 8pm
Thursday 29th October | 6pm - 8pm
Thursday 26th November | 6pm - 8pm - Last 12 Bar session of the year
About Silent Book Club
Silent Book Club started in San Francisco in 2012 with a couple of friends—Guinevere de la Mare and Laura Gluhanich—reading in companionable silence at their neighbourhood bar.
At Silent Book Club, there's no assigned reading. All readers are welcome—ebooks, audiobooks, textbooks, comic books... it's BYOBook.
Silent Book Club is about community. Everyone is welcome, and anyone can join or launch a chapter.
Want to set up your own Silent Book Club Chapter?
Since we began hosting Silent Book Club Exeter, we have inspired our friends in Bideford, Bath, Totnes, and Poltimore to establish chapters, as well as across the globe in Okayama, Japan thanks to our place in the UNESCO Cities ofLiterature network.
We have welcomed more than 2,500 readers since April 2024, so we’ve created a guide full of advice on how to set up a Silent Book Club chapter in your local community!
Other Silent Book Clubs in Devon
Looking to join a Silent Book Club but not near to Exeter? Here are some additional branches that meet across Devon.
Bideford - Silent Book Club Bideford
Crediton - Silent Book Club at Amapola Wine Bar
Exeter - Poltimore House, Silent Book Club
Newton Abbot - Silent Book Club Newton Abbot
Plymouth - Plymouth Silent Book Club
Tavistock - Tavistock Silent Book Club
Torquay - Torquay Silent Book Club
Totnes - Totnes Silent Book Club
In November 2024, Exeter UNESCO City of Literature Executive Director Anna sat down with Caroline Densley from BBC Radio Devon to talk about Exeter’s Silent Book Club, stories of attendees who have joined us, and the sheer amount of silent reading and writing clubs that are available in Devon!
Silent Book Club
Case Study
Discover what we’ve accomplished with Silent Book Club in Exeter since we launched the accessible reading group in 2024 with our brand new Case Study.
Learn about the benefits of reading for pleasure, the amount of National Book Tokens we’ve provided for Silent Book Club attendees, and the fantastic feedback we’ve received from Devon-based readers.