BookTok Drives Bookstore Revival, Platform to Host Inaugural Awards
FRANKFURT, Germany – TikTok is rapidly reshaping the book industry, motivating a new generation of readers – especially young women – and driving traffic back to brick-and-mortar bookstores. The platform’s influence was on full display at germany’s largest bookstore chain, Thalia, during the Frankfurt Book fair, where a panel discussion highlighted BookTok’s impact and TikTok announced the “TikTok Book awards 2025” to celebrate authors and creators.
Just a few years ago considered a niche trend, BookTok has become a crucial marketing force for publishers. A recent audience poll at the Thalia event demonstrated its reach: when asked, “Hands up, who has already bought a book as it was recommended to you on Tiktok?” every attendee raised thier hand.
The panel featured author Annabelle Stehl, known for her “New Adult” novels with feminist themes and “spicy sex scenes,” and BookTok creators Tabea Grunert and Lara Theil. Stehl, 32, whose readership is primarily female and aged 18-30, explained, “Tiktok manages to convey and sell book content more concisely and better than blurbs.” She added, “Reading is no longer a lonely hobby.” Her latest novel,”Novel Haven - Levels of Love,” is set within the gaming community.
Grunert, 22, shared that BookTok sparked her interest in reading. ”I used to hate reading. Through Booktok, which first launched in the USA, I realized that there was more than just Faust and school reading,” she said, noting she now also reads non-fiction.
All three agreed that BookTok is successfully re-engaging young people with bookstores and expanding beyond new-age literature to include established authors like Martin Suter. Stehl jokingly predicted that Johann Wolfgang von Goethe would be marketing “Faust” on TikTok if he were alive today.
