A hashtag so big that it has turned into a nationwide competition. Fellow #BookTok-ers, our time has come. The TikTok Book Awards are here.
If you love books and spend hours scrolling on TikTok per day, it’s not a surprise if you’ve joined the BookTok community.
From recommendations to book humour, the BookTok hashtag has over 138 billion views and counting for readers, authors and book fans alike to talk about everything book related.
One thing the hashtag is good for has been a go-to for where to find your next best read. Sometimes the recommendations may be a let-down and overhyped, or sometimes it takes you to the best book you have read that year.
The app’s new Book Awards have just given its users a way to collaborate and decide on the best books, authors and creators out there.
Nominees will be selected using BookTok data by a panel of judges, including authors like Candice Brathwaite and Annie Mac.
The final list will then be put up on an in-app voting hub in July for the book community in the UK and Ireland to pick their winners.
Photo: TikTok/Awards Categories for 2023
“As an author, there’s nothing better than to see people discussing and debating your book,” said Candice Brathwaite, TikTok Book Awards Judge and award-winning author.
“I love going to TikTok to find unfiltered reviews and recommendations, so it’s great to be giving this community the chance to have their say through the TikTok Book Awards for UK and Ireland.
Candice Brathwaite, author; TikTok Book Awards Judge
Annie Macmanus, broadcaster and writer; TikTok Book Awards Judge
“When it comes to judging, for me it’s about celebrating the books people just can’t forget, the books that give you a whole new perspective, the books you immediately want to buy for all of your friends, I cannot wait to see who the winners will be.”
The proud winners will be announced in August this year. In the meantime, the company has asked its users to keep reading and posting on the #TikTokBookAwards hashtag.
Now that the community is going to have its own say, will BookTok’s favourite authors, from Colleen Hoover to Taylor Jenkins Reid make it to the list?
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Shruthi Selvarajan
shruthi.blotmag@gmail.com
Shruthi is a journalism student with a passion for reading, travel, food and music. She likes to spend her free time at Waterstones or journalling whenever she can. She’s passionate about human connection and relationships in books, so that we can learn to better ourselves and how we communicate with others.
Favourite genre: Contemporary romance.