Over the past couple of years, BookTok has become a major force in the publishing world. TikTok community is successful pushed the books to the top New York Timesbestseller list through touching, often humorous, reviews and enthusiastic praise. These books, many of which were published many years ago, often sell out in retail stores.
Publishers, recognizing the potential of BookTok, are now sending book packages to the most popular BookTokers for peer review. Stores like Barnes and Noble created dedicated sections for famous BookTok books and a growing number of publishers such as Penguin Randomhousee and Harper Collins create TikTok accounts to sell their books. Last year, when British publisher Bloomsbury saw that profit growth was up to 220 percent, its CEO Nigel Newton attributed it to “the phenomenal influence of TikTok.”
The fact that Trending on TikTok is a bookstore section just made me crumble. pic.twitter.com/FO248HoZKb
— Fonda Lee (@FondaJLee) October 2, 2021
But while BookTok has had a huge impact on white writers and reviewers, the same cannot be said for their black and brown counterparts. Last December, a TikTok user @sorryimalwaysbookedreal name Tanya, called the BookTok community for constantly discussing the same books by the same white authors. In the video, which has now gone viral, Tanya writes: “It’s called BookTok because every book is average. Sharp books, middle. Publish the same books by ‘yt’ authors over and over again, middle.” The video, which received over 116,500 likes, urged readers to “go to #BlackBookTok” in the video caption and reignited the conversation about diversity in the BookTok community and beyond.
Kimberly Nwokori owns one of the most popular Black BookTok accounts with 106,200 followers. The 21-year-old uses her TikTok to browse books by predominantly black authors. “Everyone needs a story they can understand, and when that’s not possible, it’s very isolating,” she says.
The feelings that Kimberly describes are widespread: Rresearch published in 2020 showed that 33 percent of children do not see themselves in what they read, while the proportion of children from ethnic minorities increased to 40 percent, and 46 percent children from black ethnic groups. “I know some of the creators on the app go out of their way to promote diversity,” Kimberly continues, “but it’s hard to attract an audience. [in order to] recommend books that could make them feel seen.”
I wish buktok was promoting brown and black romcoms the way they promote white romcoms. Like it’s crazy how viral mediocre repetitive white romances become, but not amazing brown and black rom-coms.
— Sidra Mogul — سدرة (@readswithsid) January 15, 2022
As Kimberly points out,the lack of variety in books on BookTok reflects the lack of diversity in publications in general.” According to survey 2019, 76% of the publisher’s employees are white, and only 5% consider themselves black. This discrepancy is reflected by the percentage of books by black and brown people: learn from New York Times found that only 11% of books published in 2018 were written by people of color. Only in 2021 22 out of 220 books who appeared on New York Timesthe list of best-selling books was written by people of color.
The lack of variety in BookTok also speaks to a wider problem within the app. Unfortunately, the marginalization of the black TikTok community is nothing new. Black creators are at the helm of some of the app’s most viral trends, but black creators aren’t make almost the same amount of money like their white counterparts or get the same opportunities. It’s over strike last year when black creators refused to put on new dances, saying that non-black influencers use their work, reaping the financial and personal benefits derived from views, while not acknowledging or giving credit to the authors. Black influencers also said that TikTok’s algorithms are preventing their communities from reaching the full potential of their videos. So does Kimmy. claims that the app “tends to suppress black BookTok creators.” Therefore, it is not surprising that Black BookTokers are forced to fight to make their voices heard.
Torri Reid, who maintains the account @blackromanceconnoisseur, says she’s determined to create content that’s authentic to her, rather than worrying about the types of videos TikTok’s powerful algorithm prefers. “There is a great community of Black Novels readers and industry professionals. [on TikTok]and it is for them that I make content,” she says. Black BookTokers like Reed use their platform to encourage people to interact with black writers in a myriad of ways. They make lists for help people get started with black fictionTo read more varied love storiesand demonstration Black women authors. Many Black BookTokers also creation of book clubs and reading groups to encourage people to enjoy more varied books.
There is literally only one good creator on buktokk, so we should just stan her. Like she’s the only tolerant creator on booktok and posting quality content pic.twitter.com/lDmTl1wi4r
— Cosmos (@alilspaace) July 21, 2020
Part of the problem many Black BookTokers want to address is people’s limited view of Black stories. IN $1.44 billion in sales per year, romance is the top-selling genre, nearly doubling the next highest-grossing crime/mystery genre with $728.2 million. This is evidenced by the huge popularity of the genre on BookTok, with the hashtag “love books” hitting over a billion views on TikTok and romantic books are among the most talked about and viewed in the app. But black romance novels don’t get the same attention as books written by white authors, and that fact well documented.
Much of this comes down to a tendency to view blackness through the lens of racism and slavery. Like Frankie Reddin writing in Harpers Bazaar, indicated: “it allows non-black audiences to distance themselves from stories about slavery, race and history simply because they happened in the past and are not explicitly connected to their current world.” However, “with modern positive stories” – for example, about romance and joy – “one It has communicate with blacks.
This inability to engage in the fullness of the black experience is reflected in BookTok. “When I first joined TikTok, a few of the black books that were talked about were about trauma.” – Sandra, book reviewersaid Huck. “It was so shocking to me because there were books by white novelists and one book about a traumatic event that happened to a black person. And the point is not that there are no novels about black people, but that they exist. I follow a few Black BookTokers that talk about black author romance books and because of the TikTok algorithm, this is the content I see now but I know it’s not the norm. [on BookTok]”.
I just recently discovered spicy black buktok, and let me tell you, the dolls haven’t made a mistake yet. pic.twitter.com/pqNzeds2sR
— responsible for the girls (@AmeriKraut) March 10, 2022
Of course, there are many black authors who write romance novels (Sandra quotes Katrina Jackson, RM Virtues, Rebekah Weatherspoon and Christina C. Jones are among her favorites). And while some progress was made, Kennedy Ryan became the first black novelist to win a RITA award (the highest honor a novelist can receive) in 2019, as BookTok shows, there is still a long way to go when it comes to honoring black writers.
Reed shares the belief that stories of black joy and love are just as important as other types of stories. “In my opinion, one of the best reading experiences is finding yourself in romance novels,” she says. “We know we are worthy of love, worthy of a healthy relationship—and black romance books confirm that message. Black novelists have an amazing talent for telling stories of love, friendship, self-discovery, and incorporating cultural references that only we understand.”
According to Reed, the reception of her video proves the high demand for Black Joy books. “The comments I get on TikTok are the best part of posting videos,” she says. “Most of the comments are readers claiming that published books are good reads, readers humorously complaining about the ever-growing “to-read list” and asking for more book recommendations. I’m being asked for personalized book recommendations from people looking for LGBTQ black romance, black romance with polyamorous relationships, and books that end happily ever after.”
TikTok has the potential to open people’s eyes to the full spectrum of black literature, not just racial politics books. If the platform amplifies the voices of Black BookTokers, it could also help transform the publishing industry as a whole. Until that happens, Black BookTokers will continue to fight to make everyone feel noticed.
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