Tiktok løfter bokbransjen: – En motreaksjon

Tiktok has brought books to the forefront and made them more accessible, especially for younger audiences, as influencer Rikke Neverdal reports to E24. She creates content on platforms like Tiktok and Instagram, primarily under the hashtag #booktok. During the pandemic, she discovered Booktok and felt a sense of community around reading, wanting to share her favorite reading experiences with others.

Book recommendations from someone one follows and trusts can often be more inspiring than traditional advertising campaigns. This trend seems to be generating positive results for the book industry. Both Ark and Norli executives tell E24 about strong years in 2025, which continue into 2026. Norli's Harald Borgen states that they experienced a very strong book harvest with historically good bestsellers.

Even without these factors, there has been good development precisely because there is a general interest that provides a broad-based growth. This continues into 2026. The executives clearly note that "Booktok," influencers, and "new" marketing channels have a significant effect, particularly on younger target groups. It is an exciting development to follow and understand, says Borgen. Neverdal observes that more young people are now reading than before, and reading has become "cool" again.

She believes this could also be a reaction to an increasingly digital world. They see more and more people visiting analog media such as DVDs, vinyl records, and books. She believes social media can also contribute to promoting reading. When we spend so much of our day in front of screens, many value doing something that feels more analog and provides a break from the constant stream of stimuli.

The interest in books continues to grow, both in Ark and the industry, says Ark CEO Stein Ove Gudmundsrud. He discusses a significant increase in sales of literary fiction. Gudmundsrud notes that selling the most books is one thing, but reaching as many people as possible is another. He believes they have an important social responsibility to ensure as many people in Norway as possible read books.

Gudmundsrud also points to a particularly strong increase in sales of children's books, which he attributes to growing concern over Norwegian children and young people reading poorly. National and international surveys have shown that Norwegian children and young people read poorly compared to previous generations, and the government has established a dedicated reading commission. Parents are increasingly bringing their children to bookstores more often and purchasing books.