What is Bumps & Books?

Bumps & Books is a bookless bookclub and writing circle for pregnant mothers. It’s a space to connect, share and reflect on the transformative experience of pregnancy, beyond the pregnancy apps, NHS textbooks and NCT classes. 

Reading became a lifeline for me during pregnancy. I felt seen and heard in the layered and touching stories that seemed to exist in the liminal space that pregnant mothers journey in.  As Joan Raphael-Leff put it, 'on a deep unconscious level, the pregnant woman hovers between internal and external worlds, at a crossroads of past, present and future; self and other.’ An incredible experience, it can be overwhelming to be the cocoon of another (or multiple) growing beings. 

Pregnant, I craved a space to share and connect with others going through the same bodily transformation as me. A space to be creative, share book recommendations, readings, podcasts. A space to help process my transformation, both physical and psychological.

Bumps & Books is that space. We’ll explore essays, poetry, and other writings around themes of pregnancy, birth, matrescence, and babies.

This space will be different to a standard book club. There will be no book to read in advance (I know how tiring and busy pregnancy can be). I’ll supply reading materials. We’ll read them together, and discuss them as a group. Readings will be interwoven with creative non-fiction writing prompts to allow you - if you wish - to write as a way to process your own unique transition into motherhood. 

Where and when?

In-person in Edinburgh & online — starting up in October 2025