What is BookTok and how did it start?

You’re browsing the shelves (virtual or otherwise), looking for your next read and then you see the sticker: “BookTok made me buy it”. It’s a social media phenomenon and it has a big influence on the books we’re reading and buying.

Posting book reviews online and on social media isn’t new, but the way we share them - and where - has evolved as people start to use new apps, or find different ways to showcase their interests online.

So what is BookTok and how did it all start? Turn the page with BBC Bitesize Other Side of the Story and let’s begin the story…

What is BookTok?

#BookTok is more than just a hashtag on TikTok. It’s a community of readers, authors and creators who share what they’re reading and writing.

There are also BookTok influencers, often called BookTokers, who have made a career out of creating book-themed content, including unboxings and bookshelf tours.

A recommendation from BookTok influencers can help to launch a career. New and self-published writers have used BookTok to grow a community around their work - and ended up getting a publishing deal.

Although there are BookTokers for every genre, young adult fiction and “romantasy” - a blend of romance and fantasy - are particularly popular. It isn’t just new books, either. People have been discussing Wuthering Heights after the film adaptation came out in February 2026.

How did BookTok start?

While we can’t definitely say who started BookTok, posts under the hashtag began appearing on TikTok around 2019. It really grew in popularity during Covid-19 lockdowns in 2020 and 2021.

The account @kathyellendavis made a series of BookTok videos to recommend books to other users at the start of 2020. The @caitsbooks account says it was the “accidental founder of booktok”, with a video that went viral in March 2020. The creator behind the account, Cait Jacobs, is now a published author.

Today, BookTok is huge - and influential. The #BookTok hashtag on TikTok brings up more than 74 million posts. There are also spin-off ‘toks’ for different genre - for example #romancetok, which has over 150,000 posts of its own.

On Instagram you’re more likely to find #bookstagram, which has 124 million posts, but you’ll also find 11 million posts on the app under #booktok. On Reddit, r/Booktokreddit has 47,000 users visiting the subreddit every week.

How do BookTok and other trends take off?

Trends take off because they appeal in different ways. The search histories, platforms we visit, and other factors, all feed something called an algorithm, which decides the new posts and information we are shown, based on that information. If you have an interest in reading, there's a good chance you'll be shown posts about books which are currently popular.

These posts can make us feel a strong emotion – such as seeing somebody moved by the ending of a story – that we want to share with other people. If something is familiar to us, such as being a fan of romance or sci-fi novels - we are likely to share posts on these subjects as well. The more shareable a post is, the more likely it is to trend – or even go viral.

One book that started a TikTok trend was a series of Japanese novels by Toshikazu Kawaguchi - called Before the Coffee Gets Cold when it was translated into English.

It is about a coffee shop where customers get to travel back in time for as long as it takes them to drink one cup of coffee. In 2022, the sales of its translated version multiplied by four after people posted TikTok videos of themselves enjoying a coffee while reading the book. One publisher said in an interview with The Guardian newspaper this was because the author had: “created a world you want to return to” – feeling safe and cosy is also something we can relate to.

Who are BookTok’s biggest authors?

BookTok has turned some books and authors into publishing sensations. Some of the books are only suitable for adults, but the hashtags #YABooks (for young adults books) and #KidsBooks are also popular - with almost half a million young adult posts alone.

This has helped teen books such as Alice Oseman's Heartstopper series and Jenny Han's To All the Boys I've Loved Before become big hits, with both being adapted for TV. Marketing experts have noted how short videos which are around 30 seconds long can make it more interesting to a younger audience, who are used to seeing quick and 'snappy' content. If a certain book is trending, it's natural for people to be interested - and perhaps try it for themselves. Seeing someone your own age have an emotional reaction to a book they have just read can also make you more curious to read it yourself.

In 2023, TikTok launched its first book awards to recognise books, authors and creators “that have made the #BookTok community such a unique place” - Heartstopper was one of the winners.

This article was published in March 2026

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