Latest news with #HanyaYanagihara
Forbes
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
The Power Of BookTok: Why TikTok's Book Community Is Driving A New Era In Publishing
What began as a cozy nook on the corner of the internet, has quickly transformed into a global phenomenon. As of 2025, #BookTok has accumulated 370 billion views, with over 52 million creations jumping on board–skyrocketing bestsellers, reviving backlist titles and informing reading habits worldwide1. At its core, BookTok thrives on community-driven content: emotional reviews, hot takes, character impersonations and viral recommendations land these reads on the feeds of not just the literary set, but diverse audiences around the world. To help publishers tap into this momentum, we've compiled strategies, insights, and case studies on the Publisher Insights Hub to make the most of the BookTok boom. Building Communities Around Authors and Books The line between author and reader has changed. What once required a book tour or a late-night interview now happens on a phone screen. TikTok has given rise to a new kind of literary connection—immediate, unfiltered, and deeply personal. Authors don't just market their books; they build communities. And readers, in turn, don't just consume stories—they comment on them, review them, and share them with their fellow readers. Unlike traditional platforms built for polished, static content, TikTok thrives on performance and participation. A single clip can revive a forgotten backlist title or launch a debut into an instant best seller. A clear example of this phenomenon is the renewed global recognition of 'A Little Life' by Hanya Yanagihara, where users shared their emotional reactions, discussions and anticipations surrounding the book, and the characters within it. The scale and authenticity of user-generated videos is a key driver of success on TikTok. Readers create reviews, trends and fan content that drive organic reach and real world sales. This is where the true power of BookTok communities lies–in their ability to create buzz through recommendations and real-time conversations. TikTok as a Platform for Buzz Around Book Releases Let's talk about the #BookTok effect. When your devoted fan community already exists, all you need to do to generate buzz is simply to feed it. Through sneak peeks, cover reals, behind-the-scenes content and interviews, authors can charge their online communities with the right cocktail of anticipation and intel to ensure that upcoming book releases go off with a bang. Reviving Classic Stories and Expanding Existing IP The beauty of BookTok is that it doesn't exist to serve just the up-and-coming. It brings new life to older, under-the-radar books by re-engaging past readers and attracting new fans. It's not just contemporary fiction that reaps the benefits here. BookTok has played a huge role in introducing new readers to classic literature, giving long-time classics a resurgence in popularity. TikTok has supplied a platform for readers to dive deeper into themes, dissect plotlines and characters, and discuss adaptions – all of which work towards keeping stories alive in ways that traditional marketing never could. Creating Content Around Adaptations, Releases, and Series BookTok is a global phenomenon, and the love for books—and their adaptations—transcends borders and languages. A great example of this is Maxton Hall - The World Between Us, a German-language Prime Video series that found viral success on TikTok. The show sparked a wave of excitement among German readers who shared their love for the books online. That momentum quickly spread, inspiring English-speaking readers to seek out translated versions so they could dive into the story ahead of season 2. TikTok ensures that books don't fade into obscurity after publication–they go on to thrive, evolve and capture new audiences. What It Means for Publishers and Brands Leveraging TikTok to stay relevant in the digital-first landscape is essential to ensure books stay visible in a rapidly moving market. From organic hype to strategic partnerships, publishers that capitalise on TikTok for book marketing can drive measurable outcomes in three key areas: sales growth, brand awareness and fan engagement. Discover the Power of BookTok at the LA Times Festival of Books! Join TikTok on April 26, 2025, at the LA Times Festival of Books, YA Stage for an exclusive panel on how BookTok is shaping today's most exciting book-to-screen adaptations! Industry leaders and talent will explore how TikTok is driving literary trends, fueling fandoms, and bringing beloved stories to life on screen. Featuring an incredible lineup of speakers, including: The Future of Book Marketing on TikTok As BookTok continues to grow, its significance as a cultural driver for the publishing industry is undeniable and essential for scalable success. TikTok has evolved into a content hub that allows publishers and authors to build lasting connections with readers, foster brand loyalty and drive tangible business growth.
New York Times
08-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
A Party With Floating Sculptures in an Iconic Milanese Garden
Each year, T's editor in chief, Hanya Yanagihara, commissions a different artist or designer to create an installation on the grounds of the Villa Necchi Campiglio, a grand 1930s-era private home turned museum in Milan. The occasion: a party to celebrate the beginning of the city's annual Salone del Mobile design fair. Past artists have made trompe l'oeil cities and fantastical flower gardens. But the idea for this year's iteration, overseen by the American sculptor and designer Misha Kahn, 35, was simple: 'The concept for the party,' he said, 'was 'party.'' 'Villa Necchi as a context is so buttoned up. The architecture is so rigid and careful,' said Kahn (who is the partner of T's editor at large, Nick Haramis). He wanted to contrast the Rationalist aesthetic of the building, designed by the architect Piero Portaluppi, with what he called 'rowdy balloons.' Just inside the property's wrought-iron gates, he arranged a cluster of outsize inflatables — covered in colorful patchwork fabrics supplied by the Milanese textile brand Dedar — that variously resembled puffy lampshades, lightbulbs and chandeliers. They were fabricated by the upholsterers at Tappezzerie Druetta, a furniture manufacturer in Piedmont, Italy, that also produces Kahn's squiggly Mole Eats Worm sofa, a version of which was stationed below. More sculptures hovered, lantern-like, around the villa's pool. Some, strung up between magnolia trees, brought to mind sausages trussed with shibari knots. 'I wanted them to feel a bit 'Bridgerton' and a bit bondage,' Kahn said. 'Romantic, yet with something off about them.' Calamari — each balloon had a name — was a floating bouclé orb with flower-esque protrusions in Dedar's dragon-covered Scaramouche fabric; Jellyfish resembled a tentacled invertebrate layered with gathered sheaths of velvet and embroidered wool satin. It wasn't the first time Kahn, who is based in New York, has experimented with inflatables. 'We once made them in the studio using bedsheets and fabric dye,' he said, referring to pieces he produced for a 2018 installation of oversize abstract forms at the Hotel Americano in Manhattan. The artist's surrealist furniture is defined by outlandish shapes seemingly untethered from function and convention. His 2023 exhibition 'Staged' at Friedman Benda gallery in Los Angeles featured a tapestry whose motifs were partly inspired by a chewed piece of gum. During Milan Design Week, he's also showing his Azimuth series — square, wall-hung mirrors surrounded by vivid halos of ceramic and enamel — and launching carved wooden chairs as part of his new homewares line, Abject. When the party guests — among them Nadège Vanhée, the creative director of Hermès; Simone Bellotti, the newly appointed creative director of Jil Sander; and the artist and designer Laila Gohar — began arriving on Monday night, Milan's dreary wet winter had only just given way to spring sunshine, and a slight chill still hung in the air. But there was also a hint of Italian summer, thanks to the bartenders of the seaside hotel Il Pellicano — celebrating its 60th anniversary this year — who had traveled to Milan from Tuscany for the evening. Dressed in navy pullovers bearing the hotel's logo, they poured vermouth, gin and chinotto Teller Negronis; Patsy spritzers made with bitters, wild berries and orange liqueur; and sparkling Falanghina white wine and rosé from the Calabrian vintner Feudi di San Gregorio. Meanwhile, servers passed around snacks by the Bangkok-born, Paris-based chef Rose Chalalai Singh: tangy grilled eggplant curry pizzas; arancini made with Thai rice; hunks of Parmesan on curry-infused crackers; and crostini topped with fragrant Thai sausage. As the sun set, spotlights illuminated Kahn's sculptures, making them appear as if they were glowing from within. Singh's Thai-Italian creations were followed by teardrop-shaped chocolates from the Milanese pastry shop Sant Ambroeus, as well as shots made with spinach, cucumber, mint and spirulina provided by the skin-care brand Humanrace. Around 9:30, a breeze swept through the villa's gardens, catching the ribbons trailing from the inflatables and making them sway. It also signaled the party's end; by 10 p.m., guests had started to file out onto the street, carrying custom Dedar-fabric tote bags containing gifts for the week ahead: a copy of T's latest issue, a fabric-covered journal and, to counteract the inevitable late nights, Humanrace's signature three-minute facial kit.
