In response to the wave of interest generated by the #BookTok hashtag, which has grown more than 160%, to over 138 billion views in the past year, TikTok is launching the TikTok Book Awards for the U.K. and Ireland. The prize "will recognize the community's favorite authors, books and creators, through categories inspired by the BookTok ecosystem," according to the company.
A longlist of nominees in nine categories will be assembled based on BookTok data as well as publisher contributions. It will then be reviewed by a panel of experts, and the winners decided by the TikTok community in the U.K. and Ireland, through an in-app vote that will go live in July. Winners will be announced in August.
"Every day billions of people come to TikTok to share recommendations, discover new reads and connect through their love of literature," said James Stafford, general manager, operations & marketing, TikTok U.K. & Nordics. "We have seen the #BookTok community impact book sales and even bring new customers to local book shops, so we thought it was about time they got a vote too! The TikTok Book Awards is not just about the 'best new books,' but also celebrating the unapologetic love of reading that we see shared on TikTok; from the content makers to the rediscovered classics."
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The Gunung Agung bookstore chain in Indonesia will close all of its remaining outlets by the end of 2023. Coconuts Jakarta reported that parent company PT Gunung Agung Tiga Belas said the chain had been scaling down its operations throughout Indonesia since 2013, due to increasing operational losses and declining demand for books.
"The annual revenue hasn't been worthwhile, and things were exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic since early 2020," said the company in a statement.
In 2020, Gunung Agung began closing numerous stores in major cities like Jakarta, Surabaya, Semarang, Bogor, and Bekasi. Now, only a handful of Gunung Agung stores remain in the Jakarta area.
Founded in 1953 by Tjio Wie Tay (aka Haji Masagung), Gunung Agung is one of the oldest and most iconic bookstores in Indonesia. Coconuts noted that the bookstore "grew rapidly and became a pioneer in publishing and distributing books in Indonesia. It also opened branches in various cities and regions across the country, becoming second only to Gramedia in terms of presence."
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The fourth round of applications is now open for the RISE Booksellers Exchange Program, which is organized by RISE Bookselling, the EU co-funded network program coordinated by the European & International Booksellers Federation. Selected applicants will be granted a three-day stay to work in a bookshop abroad and learn the practicalities of the book trade in the host country.
The deadline for applications is June 16, with all exchanges expected to take place by January 2024. Interested booksellers can apply by sending a filled-in application form to info@risebookselling.eu.
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Almost half of Swedes read a book or listen to an audiobook on a daily basis, according to the Swedish Media Barometer 2022. EIBF's Newsflash reported that the survey "also revealed significant differences in book consumption between genders, as well as between people of different ages and places of residence."
More women (57%) than men (37%) read a book on a daily basis. Swedes aged between 65 and 85 are among the largest book consumers in Sweden, with 51 % of them reading daily. People living in big cities read more than those in rural areas. However, in listening to audiobooks, place of residence had less importance. --Robert Gray