LONDON, April 26 — Publishing professionals may fear that screen-based entertainment could prove detrimental to reading. But this is not necessarily the case. In the UK, the book industry saw sales soar last year thanks to the #BookTok phenomenon.
In recent months, short videos devoted to book reviews and recommendations have appeared all over TikTok. These clips, grouped under the hashtag #BookTok, have scored more than 49.7 billion views on the app, which is a firm favorite among young people. In the UK, these videos have even boosted book sales. The sector’s sales reached £6.7 billion in 2021, according to the latest annual. This represents a 5 per cent increase over the previous year. This increase is all the more surprising since the restrictions linked to Covid-19 forced bookshops to close for many months. Threats of paper shortages have also led to significant price increases and lead-time problems in the publishing industry.
.” Celebrities swapped photos of their luxurious escapades for more intimate shots of their bookshelves, while reading enthusiasts took refuge on TikTok, sharing their passion with the social network’s millions of users. This phenomenon has not gone unnoticed by the book trade, according to Stephen Lotinga, chief executive of the Publishers Association. “2021 was another tremendous year for UK publishing. Our outstanding authors provided readers with the entertainment and comfort they so badly needed as the pandemic continued. It’s been particularly interesting to see TikTok communities driving new interest in books — particularly of fiction and Young Adult titles,” he said in a statement.