Book clubs in Montreal.
11 clubs, and when they meet. Most meet on weekday evenings, around Downtown, Latin Quarter, Mile End. Most are free to join. The ones without a fixed day are listed below, linked to where they announce. Subscribe to this calendar →
What to expect.
A book club in Montreal is a monthly rhythm more often than a weekly one: a book is announced, three or four weeks pass, and the group meets to talk about it, usually in a library room, a café or the back of a bookshop. Some are run by libraries and some by readers, and nearly all are free.
Most publish the next book on their own page, which is where every listing links. Read it, or read most of it, and go. Nobody checks.
All 11 book clubs in Montreal.
A to Z, in each club's own words. Every one links to the club, and every day and time is the one the club publishes.
Saturday 2pm at the Grande Bibliothèque, alternating English and French weeks: everyone presents whatever they are reading, no set book. A Spanish spin-off meets on Sundays at Columbus Café.
Saturdays, 2pm · Latin Quarter · Free · meetup.com →Monthly book club for Black readers and people of colour discussing fiction by BIPOC authors in cafés around NDG, Westmount, Mile End or Verdun; 8-15 people, book announced by email.
Monthly, Thursday evening 7pm; venue rotates (next at Café Toranj, 5791 rue Sherbrooke O) · Free · eventbrite.ca →Wednesday-evening writing session at the Grande Bibliothèque: chat from 6:15, then timed writing blocks; anything from a grocery list to a novel, explicitly not a critique group.
Wednesdays, 6:15pm · Latin Quarter · Free · meetup.com →Every other Sunday at Anticafé on Sainte-Catherine West: the host brings three international films, the room votes, watches with EN/FR subtitles, then talks for 30-60 minutes.
Every other sundays, 6pm · Downtown · $10 · meetup.com →Once-a-month Sunday-evening non-fiction discussion in a pub; small and conversational, recently moved from Meetup to Heylo.
Monthly, first Sunday · Free · heylo.com →Sunday-morning writing session at La Boîte Gourmande café by Laurier metro: half an hour to arrive and chat, then two hours of quiet writing. No critiques; buy a drink.
Sunday mornings 10am-12:30pm at La Boîte Gourmande, 445 av Laurier E; dates on Meetup · Plateau · Buy at least one drink · meetup.com →Monthly Sunday-afternoon book discussion at McKibbin's pub on Bishop; mostly science fiction with thrillers and graphic novels mixed in, book chosen a month ahead.
Monthly, third Sunday · Downtown · $3 · meetup.com →Silent co-writing hour at Bibliothèque Frontenac: introductions at 5:45, write for an hour from 6, quick check-in after. Nobody reads your work; any project counts.
Tuesdays, 6pm · Free · meetup.com →Weekend session of the same silent-writing format at Bibliothèque Mordecai-Richler on avenue du Parc; start times shift between Saturday late morning and Sunday midday.
Weekends, late morning or early afternoon, at Bibliothèque Mordecai-Richler, 5434 av du Parc; check Meetup · Mile End · Free · meetup.com →Fortnightly Thursday-afternoon film screening and discussion at the Yellow Door community house; free and open to all ages.
Every other thursdays, time varies · Downtown · Free · meetup.com →Free Tuesday-afternoon reading circle at the Yellow Door community house on Jeanne-Mance by McGill, part of its intergenerational wellness programme; bilingual, mixed ages.
Tuesdays, 2pm · Downtown · Free · meetup.com →
Questions people actually ask.
Do I have to have finished the book?
Almost never. Most clubs would rather have you there than have you skip a month, and a few deliberately pick short books for that reason. If a club is strict about it, the listing says so.
How do I find out what they're reading?
Follow the link on the listing. Clubs announce the next book on their own page, usually right after the previous meeting.
What about writing groups, or film clubs?
They are here too. Writing groups, film clubs and other reading-adjacent groups are listed under Books, and the ones with enough clubs in Montreal have their own page.
Every listing links straight to the club. Know a book club in Montreal we don’t? Add it.