Book Clubs

We have two book clubs: Prose ($35/mo) and Poetry ($30/mo).

Every month you’ll get a book in the mail handpicked by The Rumpus staff. We search for titles that we are truly excited about! While these are not usually the books that BIG publishers are putting a bunch of marketing funds behind, they are books we think Rumpus readers should know about and we hope you’ll enjoy.

They’re brand new releases that our subscribers are usually receiving before they are widely available in stores. For example, a June Book Club selection would be a book that goes on sale either some time in June or July that year.

As a subscriber, you’ll be invited to an exclusive moderated online discussion with the book’s author that month that we’ll send you a pass code to join. These will take place on The Rumpus’ Crowdcast channel and will remain available to members for 1 month after they take place in case you miss the live event or you’d like to re-watch the conversation later.

Please subscribe by the 15th to receive next month’s book and join in the author conversation. For example, to receive our March book, make sure to subscribe by February 15. Previous & upcoming book club picks are listed below.

Programs like our Book Club put you in direct communication with the literary community and help keep The Rumpus running. Thank you for your support and happy reading!

Prose Book Club

2023 Selections include:
January: Users a novel by Colin Winnette
February: The In-Betweens by Davon Loeb
March: Happily by Sabrina Orah Mark
April: The Last Catastrophe by Allegra Hyde (subscribe by March 15, 2023)
May: The Lost Journals of Sacajewea by Debra Magpie Earling (subscribe by April 15, 2023)
additional titles to be announced!

2022 Selections included:
January: The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections by Eva Jurczyk
February: Animal Bodies: On Death, Desire, & Other Difficulties by Suzanne Roberts
March: Singing Lessons for the Stylish Canary by Laura Stanfill
April: Linea Nigra by Jazmina Barerra
May: I Only Cry in Emoticons by Yuvi Zalkow
June: Night of the Living Rez by Morgan Talty
July: Wonderlands by Charles Baxter
August: All This Could Be Different: A Novel by Sarah Thankam Mathews
September: Hysterical by Elissa Bassist
October: Pretend It’s My Body by Luke Dani Blue
November: Inciting Joy by Ross Gay
December: How Far the Light Reaches by Sabrina Imbler

Poetry Book Club

2023 Selections include:
January: Judas Goat by Gabrielle Bates
February: Promises of Gold by José Olivarez
March: Synthetic Jungle by Michael Chang
April: Standing in the Forest of Being Alive by Katie Farris (subscribe by March 15, 2023)
May: West by Paisley Rekdal (subscribe by April 15, 2023)
additional titles to be announced!

2022 Selections included:
January: Return Flight by Jennifer Huang
February: Desgraciado by Angel Dominguez
March: A Year & Other Poems by Jos Charles
April: Fixed Stars by Marisa Siegel
May: oh, you thought this was a date?! by C. Russell Price
June: Refuse to Disappear by Tara Betts
July: O by Zeina Hashem Beck
August: Brother Sleep by Aldo Amparán
September: Your Emergency Contact Has Experienced an Emergency by Chen Chen
October: American Treasure by Jill McDonough
November: The World Keeps Ending by Franny Choi
December: Concentrate by Courtney Faye Taylor

Love Both? Indecisive Libra?

Subscribe to both our poetry and prose book clubs for $50 a month.

FAQs:

Q: Can I participate in your book club if I live outside the US?

A: Unfortunately, we are unable to offer international book club subscriptions at this time.

Q: What’s the cut-off date to receive the upcoming month’s book and to participate in the discussion?

A: Please subscribe by midnight on the 15th of the month to receive the next month’s book and join in the chat with its author. Please note as soon as you sign up for a subscription, you’ll begin receiving author conversation invites. That means, you may receive an invite to join a conversation in the month before your 1st book. Feel free to attend if you wish!

Q: How do I receive and invite to the Book Club conversations with authors?

A: We will email you event links and pass codes at least a few weeks before every event and a reminder the week of. Conversations will take place on The Rumpus‘ Crowdcast channel. If you joined a book club but didn’t get an invitation, please send an email to [email protected]. Usually, these exclusive author discussions will take last week of every month for both club. We never schedule the Club conversations on the same day, so it’s possible to attend both live.

Q: I’m already a subscriber, how to I update my address, payment, or other information so my subscription isn’t interrupted?

A: You can create or log into your existing account on the Rumpus Store page and update as needed. If you’re address changed and you’re worried a recent book won’t arrive to your new place, please contact our Store Manager, Eric at [email protected].

Q: Are there refunds?

A: No. But you can cancel a monthly subscription at any time by creating or logging into your existing account on the Rumpus Store.

Q: What if my question wasn’t answered here or I’m a book publicist or publisher who would like to submit a book for consideration?

A: Please contact [email protected] with any additional questions about our book clubs. Note we’re generally deciding on upcoming Book Club picks at least 3 months in advance.