The start kit
Start Hot Literati in Columbus
You don’t need a big city to have a great book night. You need a book, a room, a time, and a few people who said yes. This guide takes ten minutes to read.
Why it matters
Most literary events happen in a handful of big cities, and most book coverage is written for them. But readers live everywhere, and a lot of them are reading alone. One night a month changes that. The people who come already exist in Columbus. They just haven’t had a reason to find each other.
A town’s first book night tends to stick. People bring a friend the second time, the café or library asks you back, and the room fills a little more each month.
Three easy formats
Pick one. Each works with four people or with forty.
A library book club
Pick a book people can find at the library or borrow on an app. Meet once a month on the same night, so it becomes a habit.
Tip: Ask the librarian to hold a few copies at the desk. Libraries love a group that uses the collection.
A café silent reading hour
Everyone brings whatever they are reading. One quiet hour with phones away, then half an hour of talking about the books. Nobody has to finish anything first.
Tip: Pick the café’s slow hour, like a weeknight evening or a Sunday morning, and buy a drink.
A bookstore launch
Ask your bookshop what’s coming: an author visit, a new release, a staff pick. Bring a group, and stay for a drink after.
Tip: Bookshops want a full room. Offer to bring ten people and they will often save seats.
How to pick a venue
- Free first. Library rooms, a café on a slow night, a bookshop after hours. You don’t need to rent anything.
- Quiet enough to talk. If you’d have to raise your voice to be heard across the table, keep looking.
- Easy to find. On a main street, with parking or near a bus stop, and open after work.
- A table that seats eight. Start small. A full small room feels better than a half-empty big one.
- Someone who says yes. A librarian or owner who likes the idea will help you more than a perfect room.
The message to send
Fill in the blanks, copy it, and send it to the library or café. Short and specific works best.
Hi [venue], I'm [your name], and I live here in Columbus. I'm starting a monthly book club with Hot Literati, a community for readers and writers, and I'd love to hold it at [venue]. Would it be possible to use a meeting room for about 90 minutes on [a weeknight, like the second Tuesday of the month]? It's free to come, open to adults, and we'd expect between six and fifteen people. We'll tell everyone where we're meeting and send them your way. Happy to stop by to talk it through. Thank you for considering it. [your name]
A flyer to print
Once your event is listed, paste its link and print this for the library board, the café counter and the bookshop window. The QR code opens your event page. Print it, or save it as a PDF from the print window.
Hot Literati
Book night in Columbus
hotliterati.com/c/columbus
Free. Open to everyone who reads. Scan to save your seat.
How hosts earn
- You earn when guests join. If someone from your event becomes a paying member within 30 days, you earn $5 for each monthly member and $25 for each annual member.
- Cash or HL bucks. Cash goes to your own Stripe account. HL bucks are worth 50% more: 150 HL bucks for each monthly member and 750 for each annual member.
- Free or ticketed. We recommend free. If you charge, you keep 95% of every ticket.
For your guests: Founding membership is $12.99/month, and founding members keep that price for as long as they stay. Founding pricing ends October 31
For you: the first person to host in a town is its founding host. You get a “Founding host of Columbus” badge on your profile and on the Columbus page.
Host the first one in Columbus
Pick a date three or four weeks out, so there’s time to tell people. You can change anything later.
Host the first one in Columbus