Miriam Fendt From Literally: “It's About the Love of Reading”

In recent years, reading books has experienced a resurgence among young people thanks to social media and BookTok. How do you explain this new fascination with reading?

Miriam: The BookTok phenomenon really took off during the pandemic. During this time, many people were at home and had time to read. On the other hand, many book lovers were looking for new spaces where they could exchange ideas. Gradually, larger and larger communities developed around different genres – until it turned into a real hype around reading. Even now, the trend remains so vibrant because it's a nice mix of a hobby that even introverts enjoy and an exchange with others. You can express your passion on social media and find new thoughts, worlds, and inspiration.

Together with literary critic Knut Cordsen, you host the BR program “Literally.” Why does public broadcasting need a program about books?

Miriam: We noticed that there are a lot of private readers who discuss books from their favorite genres. On the other hand, there are many authors who want to market their books and publishers who mainly talk about their own publishing program. That, of course, is promotional. Both are absolutely fair – but we recognized the need for an independent player on social media who discusses titles from a cultural journalism perspective. We curate and review our book selection according to our own criteria, which go beyond personal reading tastes. For example, we have decided to also feature books that have not been discussed very often in the BookTok bubble.

You've struck a chord: in just a year and a half, your TikTok channel has gained almost 40,000 followers. How do you approach topics so that they resonate with your young target audience?

Miriam: Our editorial team consists of authors, editors, and us hosts. Together, we consider which topics are current and exciting, for example, which contemporary literature might interest a broad audience or which socially critical aspects a book has. Sometimes we also pick up on topics that are currently being hotly debated in the BookTok community. The author Caroline Wahl, for example, is very much in the public discourse right now with her books – we also produced a TikTok about her. For me, the best thing is that our content gives literature the appreciation it deserves.

Genres such as romantasy and young/new adult have grown into a huge market and are very present on BookTok. You also deliberately talk about literary classics. Do they have a harder time on TikTok?

Miriam: Funnily enough, classics have a relatively easy time on BookTok! In addition to a large romantasy movement, there is also a community that is discovering real literary classics, such as those by authors like Virginia Woolf, Franz Kafka, and Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It's world literature for a reason. Many young people today also identify with these classics or see it as a challenge to read through them. We love classics too, but it's important to us that our followers don't feel like they have to have read certain titles in order to join in the conversation. For us, it's primarily about the love of literature and showing how much fun it can be to challenge yourself with more demanding books.

Which topics are particularly popular?

Miriam: Videos that give a little insight behind the scenes of a book title, for example, learning something about the authors, are particularly well received. My colleague Knut made a TikTok about Patrick Süßkind, the author of “Perfume”. He lives a very secluded life and little is known about him. Knut met him in person once and told our community about it.

What doesn't work at all? Do you exclude certain books or authors from the outset?

Miriam: Basically, we don't want to exclude anything. However, we have observed that authenticity is very important when talking about books. That's another reason why we don't talk so much about hyped New Adult or Young Adult titles – because we don't read them ourselves. But we don't want to devalue these books in any way.

However, you don't shy away from political topics: on “Literally”, for example, you report that some authors are boycotting the Frankfurt Book Fair. Why is that important to you?

Miriam: As a cultural journalism channel, we also talk about news that affects the industry. Our role is to report on events and put the facts into context. We don't necessarily take a position on every issue. But if a particular topic is close to our hearts, we also openly say what we think about it. For example, I explained in a commentary what I think about the fact that the covers of the Thomas Mann reissue by S. Fischer Verlag are AI-generated.

You yourselves will be represented at the Frankfurt Book Fair at the XPLR: MEDIA in Bavaria booth, among others. What can booth visitors look forward to?

Miriam: We want to bring the exchange and discussion from TikTok into real life. Anyone who wants to learn more about our format, about us hosts, or the books we read is welcome to visit! In addition to our presence at the booth, there will also be an exciting talk on stage. We appreciate every personal contact and feedback on our content.