The KC Girlfriends Book Club was established in 2002 by a young lady that is no longer involved in the book club. She wanted to come together with a group of her girlfriends to discuss books that they were reading on their own. They began meeting at a local coffee house called Teadrops in Kansas City, MO. In time, they became known as the Girlfriends Book Club.
Just the Two of Us....
In 2003 the book club dropped down to 2 members after the founding member moved on to fulfill other obligations. My name is TaNisha Webb, the president of the book club now known as the KC Girlfriends Book Club. I joined during this year. One original member still remains in the book club, Tiffany Lee.
The KC Girlfriends Book Club Transformation....
After a few months of eating at some of the best restaurants located at the Country Club Plaza, Tiffany and I decided that we wanted to add more members to the book club. We decided to make the book club available to whoever wanted to join and not just friends as most book clubs are comprised of. We decided to utilize a local African American events website, KC Soul.
Within 1 1/2 years the book club grew from 2 to close to 40 members. Our current membership now stands at 25 (July 2008)
In early 2005, our name was unintentionally changed to KC Girlfriends Book Club by local author Michelle Buckley. She just kept on calling us the "KC Girlfriends Book Club." After a few times of her calling the book club by that name...and me correcting her...lol we liked the sound of it and kept it! During this time, Michelle had just released her first book, Bulletproof Soul. It was through Michelle's literary journey that prompt us to decide to help support more new authors as herself. We have since then hosted many book club meetings for new authors.
So what are we up to now...and were are we going from here!
The KC Girlfriends Book Club is focusing on becoming a better recognized literary resource in the community, country-wide, and also online. It is our goal to help support new authors by giving them a platform to share their books as our chosen book of the month and then turning about to share what we're reading to a listening audience on our online radio show. There's nothing like being able to get the word out about what the KC Girlfriends Book Club is reading! Our radio show helps to take our hopes to supporting new authors to the next level by exposing them to a broader audience that will not can be heard across the country but around the world. We're also stepping back into our community by sponsoring local book signings. We'll also be sponsoring well-known authors book signings beginning in 2009, and also planning a literary event.