Meet Maya Patel | Founder of The Last Word. Book Club

We had the good fortune of connecting with Maya Patel and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Maya, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Two years ago, I moved to Atlanta and had a remote job and knew next to no one. I was constantly looking for ways to meet new people and to find communities that would help make the city feel a bit smaller. During the pandemic, I got back into reading — a favorite pastime when I was young — and found that I still loved it and felt less alone. I started to spend a majority of my free time reading and interacting with book content on social media. This year, I decided I wanted to create a book community for others who may have felt the same way. But I didn’t want to create just another book club. I wanted it to feel immersive and inclusive for all readers. Thus, the idea for The Last Word. Book Club came about! I created an Atlanta-based book club that highlights multiple books from different genres each month, allowing readers to read books from genres that they actually enjoy, while also allowing them to explore multiple books if they typically read more. The goal was not only to build an online community, but to bring some of those books to life through immersive experiences and meetups that were catered to different books. Basically, themed parties that bring fictional worlds and characters to life. I’ve always loved event planning so this was an amazing opportunity to merge my love for books with my passion for planning events and my expertise as a Social Media Specialist at my day job. It really is thanks to social media that this club has grown so large in such a short time. I’ve loved seeing the positive response and interest from so many young individuals within the city and cannot wait to see how it continues to grow in the future.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
For the last three years, I’ve been working as a social media expert at a marketing agency. I’ve loved my day job, the team I work with and my clients, but there’s always been a part of me that’s loved event planning. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been the friend who plans the trips or hosts the social gatherings because it gave me joy, but graduating during the pandemic made it difficult to find a job in event planning. This book club has allowed me to merge my hobbies and interests with my expertise to create such a fulfilling passion project.

I’m extremely proud and appreciative of the little community this book club has created within such a large metropolitan area. I fully expected to have a tiny group of 20-30 readers when I started, but am grateful that social media connected my content with so many who were looking for this experience. The growth to 1k followers and 600+ members within our first month, truly pivoted my plans and expectations for this group to think bigger and become more creative.

It’s been difficult to plan events and reader meetups for 100 attendees when I am a one woman team, but it fills me with so much joy. After clocking out of my day job at 6pm, I’ll hop onto my personal laptop and get into hours of research for venues, caterers, swag and more to make our meetup experiences that much more special for our readers. It’s helped me learn more about the city and allowed me to meet so many new friends!

From the first creative spark I had for this to now, I’ve learned that it’s okay to ask for help and lean on others. I quickly became overwhelmed at the start of this when it grew so quickly; feeling like I wasn’t able to balance so much on my own. But my friends, boyfriend and family have allowed me to lean on them for advice and have dedicated their time to helping this club become what it is. I am eternally grateful.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I absolutely love when my friends and family visit so I can show them this city that’s quickly become my new home. As a BIG foodie, a majority of what I do is try new food and drink spots but I do have some tried and true places I always take visitors. An ideal weekend would consist of:

A walk and picnic at Piedmont Park. Stopping by Sean’s Heart of the Park is the perfect spot for a frozen coffee before walking through the park. Plus, it’s my dog’s favorite spot so he’s more than ecstatic to tag along.
Next we’d walk down the beltline, which is where I spend a majority of my weekends. Usually starting by Ponce City Market and stopping at spots like New Realm, Ladybird and Delbar for some food and drinks. And if the sun goes down and we’re still out, James Room is a must-visit!

Another favorite area of mine is West Midtown. I love the eat, shop, walk communities and they have it all there. Barcelona Wine Bar is one of my favorites for group dinners since I love sharing the small bites and trying new items (and a pitcher of sangria really brings it all together).

There is always SOMETHING fun going on in Atlanta! One activity I love is checking out artists who are performing and frequenting venues like The Eastern or Chastain Park Amphitheater. Saturday and Sunday are great mornings to check out farmer’s markets or taking workout classes at Rukus Cycling or Solidcore in Midtown.

And of course, no day is complete without a sweet treat so we’ve always got to stop by Cafe Intermezzo for dessert (at least one day of the trip!)

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to give a shoutout to my close network of friends and family who have helped me every step of the way through this process and encouraged me to chase this dream. At first, I’d felt so nervous and worried that this was a concept that would only make sense in my head and wouldn’t be of interest to others, but my family who live 700+ miles away were confident in my ideas and would pick up any phone call and answer all of my texts with endless questions. In the two years I’ve lived in Atlanta, I’ve slowly built a small group of friends who have become a home away from home as well. I’m extremely thankful to that group who told me to stop waiting and actually pursue this now. They’ve been there to help set up the events, help pitch book ideas, assist with photography and so much more. Finally, I want to thank the readers within our community. I am eternally grateful for the ones who joined, showed up to our events and helped make this a success.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelastword.bookclub/

Other: linktr.ee/thelastword.bookclub

Image Credits
Jewel P.