Silent Book Club - Exeter
Silent Book Club is a global community of readers and introverts, with more than 1000 chapters in 50 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 two sessions a month in 2025 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 between 6pm-6:15pm. We begin reading at 6:15pm for an hour, and from 7.15pm we stick around for post-reading chats and a drink (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 September 2025, Exeter’s Silent Book Club happens twice a month at Topsham Brewery on Exeter Quay.
We meet at Topsham Brewery on the first Wednesday of every month. RSVP (optional) to the next session here on Wednesday 5th November
We meet at Topsham Brewery on the third Monday of every month. RSVP (optional) to the next session here on Monday 17th November
Both sessions take place from 6pm - 8pm and are free to attend. We hope to see you there!
Topsham Brewery
Upcoming Dates
For 2025
Wednesday 5th November 2025 | 6pm - 8pm
Monday 17th November 2025 | 6pm - 8pm
Wednesday 3rd December 2025 | 6pm - 8pm
Monday 15th December 2025 | 6pm - 8pm
Special Silent Book Clubs
We’re excited to share that we’ll now be hosting unique Silent Book Club experiences every few months with equally exciting themes - for October, we’re obviously going for all things ghoulish!
Halloween Special
Wednesday 29th October | 6pm - 8pm
St Nicholas Priory | EX4 3BL
Exeter was recently crowned the most haunted city in the UK… and this Halloween, you’re invited to settle in with your book inside its oldest building.
By torchlight and lantern glow, you’ll spread out through the shadowy rooms of St Nicholas Priory, claim a quiet corner, and lose yourself in an hour of reading.
Afterwards, we’ll gather in the crypt for ghost stories, mulled cider, snacks, and a few surprises - all of which is included in your ticket.
Bring a book, bring a friend, bring a torch, and join us for a Halloween evening like no other!
For this special spooky edition of Silent Book Club you’ll need to book a ticket in advance.
We’re hosting this one off event as Pay What You Can Afford to help support the treats (and the tricks!) that will be on offer including: mulled cider, snacks, live storytelling performances, and free books to take home.
What do we mean by Pay What You Can Afford
At Exeter City of Literature, we know that everyone’s financial situation is different, and we want our events to be open to as many people as possible. By purchasing a higher tier of ticket, you're choosing what the event is worth to you and opening the door for people to experience an evening of culture that they might otherwise be excluded from.
Choosing to give a little extra when you can is a powerful act: it sustains Exeter’s cultural life, ensures wider access, and is that much more meaningful because you helped another person share in this experience.
Exeter City of Literature is a registered charity (1196686).
Where your money goes
Every ticket purchased above the minimum price helps us:
Keep our events free or Pay What You Can Afford so more people can take part
Stock our Book Fairies and Book Nooks in Warm Spaces with free books
Provide National Book Tokens for low-income members of Silent Book Club
Support new projects that bring literature and culture to all of us, making our communities and neighbourhoods more vibrant, fun, and inclusive
Your choice makes a real difference—not just to you, but to your whole community.
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!
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.
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
Plymouth - Plymouth Silent Book Club
Tavistock - Tavistock Silent Book Club
Torquay - Torquay Silent Book Club