World Book Day: Celebration of BookTok creators
WE Honour world book day by celebrating one of tiktok’s biggest communities
BookTok is a subcommunity on TikTok which is focused on literature and books whereby creators post videos analysing, reviewing and discussing the books they read.
What began as a small group of people sharing their favourite book has since grown into an influential community that has the power to propel authors out of relative obscurity straight onto the bestseller lists.
With over 111.2 billion views, this subcommunity has already won several awards, including being awarded the FutureBook person of the year award. It has also had an overwhelmingly positive impact which has led to increased book sales and the discovery of new writers.
Collen Hoover is a prime example of an author who saw her book sales increase exponentially, with 427,000 copies of her book It End With Us being sold in the UK in 2022.
This subcommunity is continuing to disrupt the publishing industry as both publishers and booksellers scramble to scoop up the latest success story and stock up on the latest TikTok-trending book.
Due to its huge success, TikTok announced a collaboration with Penguin Random House and launched a feature which allows creators to link to books in videos using the popular #BookTok hashtag while also working with various creators to curate content.
Leading the march on unveiling book hauls, challenges, book wrap-ups and reviews, Booktokkers continue to thrive within their community. And in honour of World Book Day, we’re sharing just a few members of the BookTok community who have inspired our reading habits.
@jackbenedwards buying books and reading books are two different hobbies #booktok ♬ original sound - Shep Gold
Joel Rochester posts about ‘books and beverages, sorcery and swords’ on their channel. That’s how Rochester – the man behind the YouTube channel Fictional Fates – sums up his content. With a combination of book hauls, reviews, and bookshop tours, the Cardiff graduate is a go-to for book round-ups and recommendations.
Jack Edwards is a lifestyle content creator and book addict. While his content is mostly education-oriented, his TikTok channel is dedicated to sharing book reviews alongside pop culture and political commentary. Kate Wilson started her account during lockdown but has since been known to hop on all the TikTok book trends such as ‘convincing you to read my favourite books based on their aesthetics’.
Mireille and Elodie are sisters, 15 and 13, who run a shared page dedicated to sharing their favourite reads and honest reviews. Their summer review on Where the Crawdads Sing went viral with over 1.3 million views.
Tammi is mostly known for her beauty content but as of June 2022, she started a TikTok channel dedicated to her love of reading where she shares some of her favourite books and takes part in book challenges.
Nokukhanya is a PhD candidate, a cafe connoisseur and an avid reader. Her passion for reading has led her to review and recommend her favourite books. Her profile states that followers should ‘Come for Books’ and ‘Stay for Aesthetics’.
Kenya is a French content creator and book addict who often shares her book hauls, unboxing and reviews with her audience. She is slowly building her own library and loving it.
Taylor Rosen is a book and movie buff whose passion for literature and cinematic classics has led him to be part of the BookTok community. He also creates humorous content alongside recommendations videos.
BookTok is a growing community and one that is sure to last for a long while. As brands continue to work with creators within the community, it would be interesting to see other communities capitalise on the importance of having an engaged audience. Happy World Book Day, readers!