❋ How The Salon Works

We gather in a hybrid way to both increase access and deepen connections.

Each salon begins with an online mixer (12 - 2pm UK time) to introduce ourselves and set intentions. We then meet online for three sessions per book, guided by reflective prompts that spark conversation and connection.

After each book, we come together in person for a gathering that deepens the relationships and care we have been cultivating online.

The Salon runs for three seasons a year (Spring, Summer, Autumn), each with five sessions.

When you register, you’ll be invited to suggest books for our collective reading. Once all registrations are in, the host will circulate a poll with the suggested titles. Members vote, and the two books with the most selections become our shared reads. Our choices span fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, always centring the voices of Black women.

Online sessions focus on one of these books each month. Facilitators send prompts a week before we meet to help guide conversation.

In-person sessions, by contrast, shift the focus from reading to storytelling: we explore our own narratives and how they illuminate our place in the world as Black Muslim women. To support this process, a reflective workbook is shared in advance to guide our thinking and conversation.

The Salon is designed as a shared journey, and its richness depends on our collective presence.

• Season registration: Members register for the entire season rather than individual sessions. This ensures continuity and shared investment in the experience.

• Attendance: Life happens, but we ask members to commit to attending regularly and to avoid missing two consecutive sessions. This helps maintain the trust, rhythm, and depth of connection we build together.

By joining, you are not only committing to your own healing journey but to walking alongside the community of women who will be reading, sharing, and reflecting with you.

Salon sisters receive a gift of thanks at the end of each season to honour and remind them of their space they contributed to holding.

There is a £40 cost to join the salon, set simply to cover basic expenses and the time needed to hold and care for this space. It is not run for profit, but to ensure the Salon can continue.

• You want to be in community with other women.

• You enjoy reading and the conversations that grow from it.

• You appreciate space to chat openly, whether about books or life.

• You have the desire and capacity to both give and receive.

• You’re curious about the stories that shape and animate our lives.

• You’re seeking slow, intentional encounters that feel nourishing.

• You wish to explore practices that centre your self-development as a Black Muslim woman.