ABOUT US

Our mission is to inspire meaningful connections through reading and discussion. We believe in the power of book club to enhance the reading experience, support lifelong learning, and build community.

Our vision for Bookclubs is grounded in a deep appreciation for the positive transformation that takes place in book club. We help book clubs get organized, so they stay together.

We created Bookclubs to free one club in Philadelphia from never-ending email chains. Bookclubs’ online management tool is now serving thousands of book clubs all over the world.

Our Team

Anna Ford

Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Anna joined her first book club in 2005 and has since joined or led 10 clubs in multiple cities. She is a seasoned public health policy expert and social justice advocate turned social entrepreneur. Anna is an alumna of Georgetown University and received her MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Ian Campbell

Co-founder & Chief Technical Officer (CTO)

Ian is active in two book clubs and an expert computer programmer with start-up and consulting experience. He built the first version of Bookclubs and provides invaluable leadership and technical advice to our engineering team. Ian is an alumnus of Harvard and received his MBA from Wharton.

Nancy Brown

Co-founder & Advisor

Nancy currently leads two book clubs. She has focused her career on content across mediums and continents both in the non-profit and startup space. Whether it is crafting a brand, growing an audience or building partnerships, how we tell our story and find shared value is behind everything she does. Nancy is an alumna of the University of Alabama with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature.

Zoë Epstein

Chief Growth Officer (CGO)

Zoë belongs to one in-person book club in Denver, CO and one zoom-based book club to keep her connected with old friends. Prior to Bookclubs, she helped companies set and execute customer-driven growth strategies as a Principal at the Boston Consulting Group. She received her undergraduate degree from Harvard and an MBA from Wharton.

Carrie Thornbrugh

Director of Club Development

Carrie founded her own book club to create a welcoming space to share in both common and uncommon experiences. Carrie has a diverse background in higher education and directing marketing strategy for arts organizations, startups, and small businesses. Carrie is an alumna of Texas A&M University with a BA in English Literature and an MA in Modern Literature from Goldsmiths University of London.

Lisa Marie Smith

Director, Publisher Partnerships

Lisa is currently a member of three book clubs. She loves compelling memoirs and biographies, literary and speculative fiction, and the occasional thriller. She has worked in the publishing industry for over a decade in-house leading marketing, sales, and digital initiatives, and with global e-reading startups as a product owner and director responsible for content curation, merchandising, e-commerce, and publisher partnerships.

Truong Hoang Nhat

Lead Developer

Truong’s book shelf is full of leadership development books that help him focus, build confidence, and inspire positive thinking. He is a full-stack developer and engineering-team lead with startup experience in sports, finance, and social networking companies. He loves reading, especially leadership development books that help him focus, build confidence, and inspire positive thinking.

Dien Nguyen Ngoc

front-end Developer

Dien is a front-end developer with over 4 years of experience building web applications. He loves animals, especially birds. When he's not working on Bookclubs, he enjoys traveling and visiting cafes with his bird.

Hoa Nguyen Thi Thanh

Back-end Developer

Hoa is a back-end developer with over 5 years of experience building web applications. She is interested in building the database structure and business analysis for Bookclubs. She loves reading books on technology and educating children. When she's not working on Bookclubs, she loves music, travels, playing with her kids and reading books for professional development.

Luan Nguyen

Mobile Developer

Luan is a mobile developer with extensive experience in government projects, enterprise and ERP systems. He loves animals, especially dogs, and loves to learn about purebred breeds. When he's not working on Bookclubs, he enjoys playing soccer, traveling and walking around with his pets.

Our Values

Service

We are always striving to improve Bookclubs. Security and reliability are paramount. And we continually poll our users for vital input on new features, partnerships, content, and design.

Connection

Bookclubs wants book club to be a collaborative, stimulating, fun way to really connect with others.

Diversity & Inclusion

We value diversity in the book clubs we serve, the stories and authors we feature, and in our own team.

Book clubs are inexpensive, and we want Bookclubs to be equally accessible: Our site and app are free, and always will be.

Social Impact

We know that book club is a force for good.

Books help shape, establish, and inform our identities. We actively seek to cultivate experiences that transcend book club and positively impact our society and our world.

Testimonials

SAVES TIME “[Our book club was] a lot to manage. [Bookclubs is] a wonderful asset, eliminating our tedious and time consuming management tasks. I’m not sure our club would have continued without you providing this service.”

FEWER EMAILS “So many emails before Bookclubs! Now I can easily manage three book clubs, not just one, and it’s so fun and simple. Best service ever.”

EVERYTHING IN ONE PLACE “I didn’t think I would need more than a Groupme group to host book club, but this app is perfect for communicating and planning meetings – it has made it so much easier to have everything in one place. Highly suggest.”

EASY TO USE “We were looking for something simple, completely book related, and easy to use - this app fits the bill in so many ways! It allows us to complete tasks that would generally take up meeting time in a matter of minutes or without thought (e.g., book suggestions, scheduling meetings, book polls, discussion guides).”

Our Partners & Sponsors

Bookclubs would not be possible without the support of our partners and sponsors.
We thank them for supporting Bookclubs' mission and are proud to promote their stories, books, companies, and brands to the Bookclubs community.

Recent Press

Listen now!

Anna and Cindy Discuss Bookclubs

Thoughts from a Page Podcast

Listen now!

The Magic of Book Clubs

That Nerd Thing Podcast

The New Book Club: Meet Online, but Party in Person

Bookclubs Chief Executive Anna Ford says that many users are turning to the app to build connections. Young people are showing interest in book clubs, Ford says, “despite that perception of book club being [only] older women meeting in the living room over wine.”

How to Find an Online Book Club—or Start One Yourself

The growing popularity of digital book club platforms makes it easier than ever to interact with other readers and discuss your favorite book’s plot twists, learn about trends or social issues with peers, or create a new book club of like-minded readers

How The Bookclubs App Is Bringing Book Lovers Together During Coronavirus Lockdowns

Bookclubs, a free website and app designed for book club management, has added thousands of book clubs since March 1, growing a massive 26%.

One App Is Helping Thousands Of Book Clubs Organize In The Digital Age

Once set up, you can use Bookclubs to manage members, send messages, poll your members, post meetings, and track RSVPs.

5 Apps to Stream, Read, and Binge With Your Friends While Social Distancing

Suffice it to say that thanks to the coronavirus outbreak, we are living in extremely unprecedented and chaotic times.

Too overwhelmed to read books? A mom of four has figured out how to make it possible.

Even amid the chaos, you can find a quiet spot to turn pages. It may require some stealth.

5 of your new favorite (and free) Book club apps

Is running your book club getting stressful? Want to start one but it's too daunting? Here are 5 free book club apps to make managing your club a breeze.

Startup Spotlight: Bookclubs, which helps book-reading clubs organize and communicate, approaches 100,000 members

Anna Ford was leading a book club in Philadelphia in 2015 when the concept for a new business called Bookclubs was born.

Why You Should Join (or Start!) A Book Club And How to Do It

Whether you’re a book lover or hoping to read more, here are five tips on how to launch your own book club...

Could The Bookclubs For Business Service Power Your Office Book Club?

Could your team of coworkers benefit from an office book club? With more businesses going remote now than ever, a book club could be the perfect perk to boost morale.

Horror book clubs on the rise

Even when it's not Halloween, people are flocking to get their hands on horror fiction for a good scare. According to Bookclubs.com, 2023 was the biggest year for horror ever, and this year could break new records

You don't have to be Reese Witherspoon to start a book club: Follow these 6 tips

Looking for a way to reach your yearly reading goal? Join a book club. Belonging to a book club can hold you accountable and help you branch out from your normal reading choices.

Hot girls love book clubs

"During Covid, and even post-Covid, people are really craving meaningful connections," said Anna Ford, the founder and CEO of the club-organizing platform Bookclubs, adding that reading groups are "surging" among young people.