Everything journalists, bloggers, and gift guide editors need to write about Empty Book Club.
The short version
Empty Book Club is a Dutch publisher that makes premium hardcover books with clever, witty covers and completely blank pages inside. Founded in 2025 by René van der Meijden. Three product lines: personalised AI-generated roast books, pre-designed classics, and corporate editions for teams. Each book costs EUR 19.95.
The story
Empty Book Club started at a dinner table. René van der Meijden, after a decade in global business, joked about writing a book for a friend called "Everything [Name] Knows About Cooking." The room laughed. He built it.
The concept is simple: a beautiful object that looks serious on the outside and contains absolutely nothing on the inside. The humour comes from the gap between expectation and reality. The quality is what makes it a gift rather than a gag.
What started as a joke became a business with three product lines:
- Personal: AI generates a custom cover based on the recipient's personality traits. Three roast levels: gentle, medium, savage.
- Classics: Pre-designed titles with universal appeal - "My plan B", "Everything I learned in meetings", and others.
- Corporate: Notebooks for onboarding, strategy sessions, milestones, and leadership. Titles carry double meanings - true when blank, true when full.
Key facts
| Founded | 2025 |
| Headquarters | The Netherlands |
| Founder | René van der Meijden |
| Price | EUR 19.95 per book |
| Shipping | EUR 6.95 standard (NL), international available |
| Website | www.emptybookclub.com |
| Shop | shop.emptybookclub.com |
Founder bio
René van der Meijden spent a decade in global business before founding Empty Book Club in 2025. Based in the Netherlands, he combines a background in corporate strategy with a conviction that the best ideas are often the simplest ones. Empty Book Club is his answer to the question: what if a book's value wasn't in its content, but in the space it creates?
Product details
- Format: Hardcover, perfect binding
- Cover: 300gsm with matte lamination
- Interior: 170gsm uncoated paper, blank pages
- Dimensions: Standard book format
- Personalisation: AI-generated covers via emptybookclub.com/en/create
Social media
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/empty-book-club
- X/Twitter: @emptybookclub_
- Instagram: @emptybookclub
- Bluesky: @emptybookclub.bsky.social
Contact
For press enquiries, review copies, or interview requests: hello@emptybookclub.com
For gift guide inclusion: we're happy to provide review copies and high-resolution product images. Just get in touch.