‘After lockdown, things exploded’ – how TikTok triggered a books revolution

Have teenagers taken control of publishing? With some authors notching up a billion views, we look at how TikTok is electrifying the world of books – creating bestsellers, reviving classics and rescuing neglected genresIt’s four o’clock on a sunny Saturday afternoon and the Krispy Kreme doughnut stall is doing a brisk trade at Lakeside shopping centre, a huge mall in Essex. But a few metres further along, young shoppers are salivating over a different sort of treat. A girl in a silky red dress runs her fingers along the spines of nine novels by bestselling YA author Colleen Hoover, while a couple of twentysomething men in biker jackets pore over shelves of manga comics. They’re in a Waterstones that has been laid out like a pick-and-mix stall, with brightly jacketed paperbacks piled on round tables, or grouped seductively in booths, under headings such as “Romance” or “LGBTQ+”. Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper – a graphic novel series about a love affair between two schoolboys that’s now a Netflix show – has a table to itself.All this is down to #BookTok, a niche on the platform TikTok that became a social media sensation in the early months of Covid, and has been gathering momentum ever since. “We used to rely on millennials,” says the store’s 30-year-old manager, Peter. “But now the majority of our customers are teenagers, who have money and influence and want to find their own stories. A lot of black and Asian authors are coming through. I always wanted to have an LGBTQ... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2022-06-08 05:00:14 UTC ]
News tagged with: #alice oseman #love affair ##booktok #early months #asian authors #make sense #graphic novel #manga

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Bennett among donors to NLT book auction

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Tue, 21/06/2011 - 11:08 Alan Bennett, Jilly Cooper and Joanna Trollope are among the authors donating books with personal inscriptions to an auction to raise funds for the National Literacy Trust (NLT). Sixteen authors have donated titles, many from... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #raise funds #joanna trollope #jilly cooper


Fiction Rules E-Books

Fiction is the leading sales driver of ebooks, and just how dominant that segment has been is clearly seen in a new market study just released by Bowker. According to "2010–2011 U.S. Book Consumer Demographics & Buying Behaviors Annual Review," fiction accounted for 61% of unit sales in 2010... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Six shortlisted as Royal Society kids' book prize returns

Written By: Rachel Bradley Publication Date: Fri, 17/06/2011 - 08:07 A guide to astronomy and a pop-up guide to how the world works are among the shortlisted titles for the first Royal Society Young People's Book Prize in three years. The £10,000 prize was not awarded between 2008 and 2010 due... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #winning book #anonymous donor #funding difficulties #book prize #shortlisted titles


Goldsboro Books set for "record-breaking" year

Publication Date: Thu, 16/06/2011 - 09:10 Goldsboro Books has revealed it is on-track for a record-breaking financial year after moving premises in March. The 12-year-old independent London bookshop, which specialises in first edition signed copies, said May prevailed as its “best ever” month... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #financial quarter #financial year


Accent buys book by progeria-sufferer Okines

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 16/06/2011 - 15:40 Accent Press has bought world rights to a memoir by Hayley Okines, who suffers from a rare genetic condition that means she ages eight times faster than healthy people. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #times faster


Price to attempt book signing world record

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Wed, 15/06/2011 - 14:03 Random House author Katie Price is to attempt to break the Guinness World Records title for the largest book signing by a single author. Price's attempt will take place at the O2 Academy, Leeds, at 11 a.m. on 27th July,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #27th october #21st july #signing copies #27th july


Bertelsmann formally disbands its book club division 'Direct Group'

Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Wed, 15/06/2011 - 07:46 Bertelsmann has disbanded its Direct Group division having all-but completed what it described as the scale-back of its book clubs business. Its remaining book club interests, most notably in Germany and Spain, will now be... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #direct group


Seventeen chosen for Booked Up

Written By: Rachel Bradley and Katie Allen Publication Date: Tue, 14/06/2011 - 17:23 Titles from Cressida Cowell, Sita Brahmachari and Jon Mayhew have been selected for Booktrust"s “Booked Up” programme, which sees 17 titles on offer to all year seven pupils in England. Over 650,000 free books... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #secondary school #sita brahmachari #cressida cowell


Steve Jobs the Comic Book Hero: An Exclusive Look

PCWorld managed to snag previews of some of the pages, although they are a work-in-progress as the pages have not yet been colored or had speech bubbles put in. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-06-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #steve jobs


Henderson, Lehane on TV Book Club summer list

Publication Date: Mon, 13/06/2011 - 08:55 Emma Henderson's Orange-shortlisted Grace Williams Says It Loud and the latest novel by American thriller writer Dennis Lehane have been picked for the summer season of "The TV Book Club". Returning on Sunday 26th June on More 4, with repeats on Channel... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #jo brand #summer season


Book Machines Near the Tipping Point?

Retailing for $185,000, the Espresso Book Machine, developed by On Demand Books, costs more than the annual revenue of some independent bookstores. But with a new partnership with the American Booksellers Association to help get frontlist and midlist titles from mainstream houses (something that... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #backlist titles #independent bookstores #annual revenue #demand books #book machines #tipping point


Octopus buys book by "People's Supermarket" star

Publication Date: Fri, 10/06/2011 - 10:36 Octopus has acquired a vegetable cookery title by chef, eco-restauranteur and star of "The People's Supermarket" Arthur Potts Dawson. Publishing director Stephanie Jackson acquired world rights to Eat Your Veg from Sophie Laurimore of Factual... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #mitchell beazley #factual management


Why E-Books Are Bad for You

By restricting purchases unnecessarily, ebooks and e-readers are a bad deal, says free software guru Richard Stallman. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-06-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Swordfish hands Brooker two-book deal

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 10/06/2011 - 10:45 Orion Books imprint Swordfish has acquired two books by Guardian columnist and TV presenter Charlie Brooker, signing the titles through Jo Unwin at Conville & Walsh. Publisher Rowland White bought world rights in all... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #human body #conville walsh #jo unwin #guardian columnist


Christine Jones new c.e.o of Murdoch Books

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 09/06/2011 - 08:05 Murdoch Books has further restructured its workforce following owner Matt Handbury's move into the role of c.e.o. last week. Christine Jones will become managing director of Murdoch Books UK, which has its UK offices in... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #marketing director #south-west london #murdoch books #sales manager


Guardian to sponsor Edinburgh Book Festival

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Wed, 08/06/2011 - 14:53 The Edinburgh International Book Festival is to be sponsored by Guardian News & Media, in a newly-penned two-year deal. The sponsorship deal will include coverage in the Guardian, the Observer and its books website of... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fay weldon #29th august #review books #books website #sponsorship deal


Smiths News acquires Dawson Books

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 07/06/2011 - 09:49 Dawson Books has been bought by the parent company of book wholesaler Bertrams for £20m. Smiths News plc, which owns Bertrams, announced today (7th June) that the wholesaler and Dawson Books would be "fully integrated"... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital products #increasing demands #deal means #fair trading #dawson books


Unbridled in 25 Cent E-book Promotion with ABA

Unbridled Books is partnering with the American Booksellers Association to promote the organization’s IndieCommerce program. For three days Unbridled is offering 25 of its titles in ebook format for 25 cents exclusively through the approximately 250 independent bookstores that are set up to sell... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-06-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ebook format


Grisham top as children's book sales soar

Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Tue, 07/06/2011 - 15:44 Thanks in part to a "better than half price" deal at Waterstone's, John Grisham tops the Official UK Top 50 for the first time in five and a half years. The Confession (Arrow), the Arkansas-born legal thriller writer's 23rd... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #mass-market edition #uk booksellers #full week #confession arrow #half years #half price #grisham top


Unbound aims for 40 books in year one

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 03/06/2011 - 14:25 Unbound, a publishing platform that allows readers to choose what is published, was devised as a response to the “difficulties of the existing publishing model”, with the programme aiming to get 35 to 40 projects off the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publishing platform