Black Women Nominated At The Inaugural TikTok Book Awards

TikTok has been a strong advocate and amplifier of literary tastes and in recent times, it is making the effort to take it a step further. In May, the video-sharing platform announced the TikTok Book Awards in partnership with the Hay Festival, a Wales-based literary and arts event.

The new award seeks to celebrate writers and content creators who define the world of BookTok.

“In the past year, the #BookTok hashtag has grown more than 160% to over 138 billion views – and shows no sign of stopping!” the award’s official statement disclosed.

The statement also shared that “The #BookTok community of authors, readers and fans is transforming the publishing world: propelling new authors into the mainstream, reviving much-loved classics, inspiring a new generation of bookworms and helping to boost print book sales.”

On Monday,  TikTok finally announced this year’s shortlisted authors who will seek to garner votes to claim the prizes in their categories.

This year’s award was judged by beloved literary creators, including Candace Braithwaite and Coco Hagi. The winners will be announced in August.

Although this inaugural edition of the TikTok Book Awards is only open to creators and authors from the UK and Ireland, there are a number of Black female authors and content creators on the shortlist.

Bolu Babalola

Bolu Babalola is a renowned UK-based author whose debut short story collection, “Love In Colour “became a Sunday Times bestseller after its publication. Her latest work, “Honey & Spice” is nominated under the BookTok Book of The Year category, while Babalola herself is nominated as a BookTok Author of The Year.

Oyinkan Braithwaite

Oyinkan Braithwaite is a British-Nigerian writer whose highly acclaimed debut novel, “My Sister, The Serial Killer” is nominated under the Best Book To End A Reading Slump category. Braithwaite was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize in 2016.

Malorie Blackman

Malorie Blackman is a renowned writer who primarily writes for children and young adults. Her book, “Noughts and Crosses” is nominated under the, Best Book I Wish I Could Read Again For The First Time, category.

Jessica George

Jessica George is a British-Ghanaian writer whose debut work, “Maame” became a New York Times bestseller and is being turned into a television series. George, like Bolu Babalola, is also nominated under the BookTok Book of The Year category.

Eden (@edenvictorria)

Eden is a famous content creator on TikTok who creates content around books and fashion. Eden has over half a million followers on TikTok and is nominated for BookTok Creator Of The Year.

Kemi & Busayo (@compulsivebookbuyers)

Kemi and Busayo are a content creator duo who create content around books and reading. The duo have over 20,000 followers on TikTok and are also nominated for BookTok Creator Of The Year.

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