Books on BookTok: what more is there to be done with book festivals?

This week, as book festival season begins, BookTok creators considered how important book festivals are to TikTok and readers.  

Book Festivals are like “ComicCon but for books”, stated John-Paul (@jpreads6; 21,000 followers). “Festivals are the meeting point for both authors and readers. For content creators, it’s like heaven.” Suraka (@surakajanebooks; 16,900 followers) believes festivals “create momentum around books” and offer the “rare opportunity to engage with authors, publishers and readers in one space”. Busayo (@compulsivebookbuyers; 27,000 followers) and Emily (@emilymiahreads; 89,900 followers) both pointed to how book festivals enable “like-minded” people to gather. The former added: “For creators, festivals, especially Hay which trends every year on BookTok, offer visibility, allow for networking and give creators the opportunity to connect offline with the communities they’ve built online.” 

However, the creators believe there is still work to be done to make book festivals accessible. John-Paul, Suraka and Busayo all noted the need to diversify festival programmes. “There aren’t enough POC and diverse authors,” said John-Paul, which in turn impacts the number of “POC and diverse attendees”. Busayo concurred: “When it comes to programming, there’s still work to be done to ensure marginalised voices aren’t tokenised but meaningfully included.” 

“High” costs were also raised as a concern. While “varied ticket options” and live streaming “more” events helps improve accessibility, expenses quickly rack up with “expensive train tickets” and accommodation costs.

Suraka added: “Physical accessibility for disabled attendees is also something that needs far more attention. The intention is there, but implementation varies wildly.”  

Emily noted “limited accommodation” options for some festivals: “For those who get invited it’s great, but I’ve noticed it’s always the same creators who get invited, not a range of different creators being given the opportunity.”

When considering the extent to which BookTok and book festivals interact, responses varied. Emily believes “most book festival attendees don’t seem that involved in the book online community” and the interaction between BookTok and festivals is “partial”. John-Paul agreed the interaction is “is quite limited”. He added: “There’s the Young Adult Literature Convention [YALC], Hay Festival and the Black British Book Festival. Other than that, I don’t see many people talking [about festivals] or attending.”

Suraka agreed there is “more potential” in the relationship between book festivals and BookTok. “BookTok is great at amplifying festivals and events beyond their physical reach, but only if creators are actively included, not treated as afterthoughts. Festivals that embrace the online bookish space and platform-savvy creators will have longer-lasting impact.” Busayo echoed this point: “The interaction works best when festivals actively include content creators in programming and treat them as vital industry voices, not just add-ons. Done right, BookTok can help festivals feel younger, more diverse and more alive, which is why I think the TikTok partnership with Hay Festival [in 2024] was amazing because it opened up the world of Hay Festival to new audiences.”

Last year, while attending Hay Festival as a content creator, Busayo had “access to behind-the-scenes videos” and panels. “There was also a dedicated room for content creation where the authors would go after their panels.” However, “the lack of the partnership [with TikTok] this year was felt”.  

To keep book festivals relevant, Emily noted a “younger teen crowd” needs to be encouraged with more “talks aimed at that age group”. John-Paul agreed that the “crisis” in children’s reading and the knock-on impact in children and YA book sales needs to be addressed as, he believes, this “will soon affect adult genres” too.

Suraka and John-Paul both noted that festivals should address “messy, real-world conversations”, including talks on book bans, AI, class, “access to publishing” and the state of the industry.

Both Suraka and Busayo believe festivals need to champion commercial titles and authors alongside literary fiction. “Festivals should reflect what people are actually reading, not just what’s seen as ‘literary,’” said Suraka. Busayo added: “Festivals need to reflect the evolving interests and realities of readers. This means championing stories from underrepresented groups and engaging in honest conversations. Audiences are looking for more than just literary prestige. They want authenticity, intersectionality and, most importantly, fun. Festivals should also spotlight debut authors, not just big names. Relevance comes from risk, not repetition.”