One of the best ways to discover and learn about BIPOC authors is, of course, to follow and engage with those who are often most knowledgeable on the subject: BIPOC bookstagrammers, booktubers and book bloggers. This week, we’ve compiled a list including some of our favourites, and others we’ve discovered along the way. Notwithstanding the title, the real list is infinite and we encourage readers to keep adding to it.
Bookstagrammers
Christina is a 22-year-old book reviewer with a love for YA, romance and fantasy novels. Alongside beautiful pictures and great reviews, she posts refreshing content about important issues like social media fatigue.
Kay B is passionate about #ownvoices titles and reads a wide variety of genres.
This year, she also created a Facebook community for Bookstagrammers of colour called BIPOC Bookstagram.
Did I mention – she has an ADORABLE dog!
Nandika is a reader from Austin, Texas. She loves iced coffee, travelling and #ownvoices books.
Tasnim is a booklover from London, committed to #readingblackbritain2020.
Levita is a Literature student in the UK sharing her love of books with beautiful content.
Ana is a Latinx book lover with a particular taste for fantasy and a champion of #ReadLatinx and LGBTQ+ representation.
Booktubers
There are so many Booktube accounts out there that highlight new reads, delve into several readathons and challenges, and of course provide great book recommendations! Here is a list of young creative BIPOC Booktubers who are UK-based:
Fictional Fates
Over on Fictional Fates, Joel explores a plethora of things: from life as a student, to monthly wrap-ups and reading vlogs. There are plenty of fantasy, romance, and diverse recommendations on his channel. He is an advocate for diversity in literature, so if you’re interested in diversifying your shelves, check his channel out!
Bookish Babe
Hena’s channel serves looks and books, with a primary focus on books, beauty, and lifestyle. She works in publishing as a Rights Assistant, and she has a video on her channel on how she got into publishing. Hena also owns an imprint! She is the go-to for diverse reading recommendations and has reviews up for bestsellers such as The Vanishing Half.
Black Book Bloggers
Book blogs are a great way to discover new books, create community, and support underrepresented content creators. What follows is a glimpse into the wonderful world of Black book bloggers. If you follow them, you will be graced with everything from book reviews and TBRs (to be read) to readathon reports and weekly, or monthly, reading overviews.
Intisar Speaksis your one-stop shop for everything diverse fantasy and romance. In the author’s own words, the blog talks about “stories that not only reflect [her] life as a Black woman, but highlight others in marginalized positions”. If blogging isn’t your thing, check out herTwitter andInstagram.
You may know Bookin it with Ahtiya from Yoncé-A-Thon, a Beyonce-themed readathon that is hosted over on Twitter. Born in 2019, the blog participates in several tags, posts regular TBRs, and weekly reading-review posts on everything from graphic novels and fantasy to ownvoices YA and children’s books.
Amaysn Reads is run by Tasha, mom to a preteen and lover of all book genres. In addition to book reviews and TBRs, Tasha also does regular wrap-ups and reflective pieces about her personal reading experiences.