Meet our Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction 2016 reading groups. These 12 groups will be shadowing the judges as they read through the six shortlisted titles. You can follow them on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as they discuss their titles and chat with each other over the coming weeks leading up to the Prize announcement on Wednesday 8 June.
Book and Brew
is a five-woman book club from Newcastle upon Tyne. Since January 2015, we’ve met once a month to discuss a mixture of modern and classic fiction. The group has broad tastes, from magic realism and historical fiction to potboiler thrillers and fantasy, but always enjoys stories about strong women and their adventures through life. We’ll be reading The Portable Veblen.
Spread the Word 
is London’s literature development organisation. We celebrate, support and advocate for the diversity of London’s writers and connect them with readers and audiences. Since its inception, Spread the Word has had a strong volunteer base of writers and readers that support the organisation in running large events and projects. A Little Life is the book we’ll be discussing.
Much Ado About Books 
are a Hillingdon based book group, who meet at a local coffee shop on a Sunday morning, once a month, clutching mugs of coffee and cups of tea. We are a group of women and one brave man who read a variety of different books and choose a book that one of us has loved, or novels that we would not usually choose to read ourselves. We work in theatre, marketing, audio visual services and psychology, and there is always a lively debate! We enjoy going to local author events, swapping books and two of us are regular bloggers. We enjoy discussing our thoughts with each other in person and on social media and would love to ‘meet’ other like-minded book groups online too! We’ll be reading The Glorious Heresies.
Wine, Women and Words 
are extremely honoured and excited to be shadowing Baileys Prize again. Shadowing in 2015 was a highlight for us and we totally immersed ourselves in last year’s book. As a group of well-read, like-minded women, we started our club some six years ago when we met through the school playground. It all began because we wanted to get together and talk about books as well as put the world to rights over a glass of wine (or two). We meet monthly and relish the opportunity to discuss what we have read. What is fascinating is that every book we read touches each of us in a different way and we always enjoy discussing our perspectives and thoughts with each other. The main ingredients of our bookclub are friendship, laughter, debate, tears and, of course, wine. Our Prize title is Ruby.
Bath Library Reading Group meets once a month on Tuesday evenings and reads a wide range of fiction and non-fiction titles as chosen by the group members. Recent reads have included Emma Healey’s Elizabeth is Missing, Michael Frayn’s Skios and Catherine Bailey’s The Secret Rooms. The group has been running for well over a decade and there are still a number of original members in keen attendance. Bath Library Reading Group shadowed the 2007 Man Booker Prize and is very excited to be shadowing the Baileys Prize this year. Discussion is always lively in this group and we can’t wait to dive into The Green Road.
Houghton Book Group 
meet in the ‘Near Boot’ once a month and read and discuss a title borrowed from the fantastic Cumbria Libraries Reading Group Service. Alongside that we often get involved with activities run or co-ordinated by The Reading Agency. We have followed the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction for several years now and attended events at Carlisle library, and held our own Prize Night parties. The main purpose of Houghton Reading Group is for people who enjoy reading to connect with like-minded individuals and have some fun along the way. You can find out more on our blog as we read The Improbability of Love.
Get involved
Find out all about the other six reading groups here.
Tell us which book do you think should win this year’s prize. Share your thoughts using #BaileysPrize or comment below. Don’t forget to leave your reviews on the books.
Keep up with the latest news on the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction website and join in the conversation and share your pictures on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram using #BaileysPrize
