#BookTok, where readers and creators put South African stories first
BookTok heritage stories
With the #BookTok hashtag amassing over 64.4 million videos, enthusiasts and authors are using short-form videos to champion local literature and reimagine how heritage can be celebrated and preserved
BookTok heritage stories
Johannesburg, South Africa: Every September, Heritage Month and National Book Week give South Africans the chance to pause and reflect on who we are, where we come from and how we carry our stories forward. But in 2025, those stories are no longer confined to libraries, lecture halls, or book clubs because they’re also playing out on TikTok.
The platform often associated with exciting challenges and viral skits has quietly become a hub for South African readers and writers. With the #BookTok hashtag amassing over 64.4 million videos globally, enthusiasts and authors are using short videos to champion local literature and reimagine how heritage can be celebrated and preserved in a fun, digital and interactive manner.
‘BookTok has turned reading into something bigger than books. Young people are swapping recommendations, reviving forgotten classics, incorporating reading into varying lifestyles and giving new authors a platform they might never have had. It’s proof that stories still have the power to connect us, especially when shared in fresh, creative ways’, Boniswa Sidwaba, Head of Content Operations, Sub-Saharan Africa at TikTok.
Books as more than just books Entrepreneur and author Sylvester Chauke (@sylvesterrchauke) has emerged as one of the most exciting voices in this space. His videos are lessons in mindset, creativity, perspective and ambition. ‘Books have always been my portal to new worlds’, he says. ‘Stories should never live quietly on shelves. They should spark conversations and connect people across borders’.For Heritage Month, Chauke recommends Zukiswa Wanner’s Love, Marry, Kill and Kopano Matlwa’s Coconut—alongside his own memoir Stand Against Bland. ‘Part of heritage is also the courage to tell your own story’, he notes. And on #BookTok, he’s found a community that meets him halfway, ‘It’s not about broadcasting. It’s an ongoing dialogue where books actually breathe in community’.Atlegang Mosimanekgos (@kgosibookshelf), the man behind Thee Kgosi Bookshelf, took a different route into #BookTok. He noticed the trending books on TikTok leaned heavily toward Western fantasy and romance, while African authors were missing from the conversation. ‘I wasn’t finding content centred around African literature, so I decided to create it,’ he says.That decision grew into something much bigger. His indie bookstore found new audiences, his online book club has been running since 2023 and earlier this year he launched a film circle for members who want to discuss adaptations. He also now has a monthly book recommendation slot on a leading radio station.
For Mosimanekgos, the impact goes far beyond views, ‘the internet doesn’t forget. Every review is a piece of living heritage. And when someone halfway across the world discovers a Niq Mhlongo novel because of #BookTok, that’s our culture reaching new ground’.
BookTok heritage stories
Heritage Beyond BordersFor Shavonne Bulmer (@shavonnebulmerauthor), #BookTok became the springboard for something more, the birth of Mzansi Cupcake. Built for a collective rooted in Ubuntu, a community where readers and writers support rather than compete, Shavonne explains, ‘I wanted to create a safe haven where people could come together and connect’, she explains.Her hashtags like #MzansiCupcakes have connected local readers and authors while even inspiring a spin off group in the U.S. called The Sweet Tarts. ‘It’s about celebrating our voices and the unique way we tell stories’, she says.Meanwhile, Nokukhanya (@prettyxbookishreads) is proof that South African #BookTok travels! Now based in the UK, she’s using her platform to share local literature with a global audience. Her highly anticipated 2026 Reading Retreat is already drawing international attention.’TikTok helps bridge the gap when heritage risks becoming niche or forgotten’, she says. ‘It’s a living repository of culture. You can open the app and instantly engage with people reading your stories, speaking your language, eating your food.’
Her personal recommendations for this month? K. Sello Duiker’s The Quiet Violence of Dreams, Mohale Mashigo’s Intruders, and Mongane Wally Serote’s To Every Birth Its Blood. Together, they paint a vivid picture of South Africa’s past, present, and future.From popular genres to niche discoveries and the communities that surround these conversations, #BookTok plays a bigger role than recommendations. It has become a digital village square for culture and creativity to meet and where young people reconnect with stories that stories aren’t static relics anymore.
ENDS
