What TikTok’s Potential Shutdown Means for the Book Biz on Eve of ‘Onyx Storm’ Release

variety.com:

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer One of the most highly anticipated book releases of 2025 is set for next week, less than a month into the new year: “Onyx Storm,” the latest sequel to Rebecca Yarros’ wildly popular 2023 romantasy hit “Fourth Wing.” From Entangled Publishing’s Red Tower Books, the books follow Violet Sorrengail, a student at Basgiath War College who becomes a dragon rider. “Onyx Storm,” the third installment in Yarros’ five-book plan for her “The Empyrean” series, will land on shelves Jan.

21, two days after the potential TikTok ban goes into place in the U.S. The connection between the two might not be apparent to those outside “#BookTok,” the large community of (mostly women) readers who create content on TikTok.

But the immense impact TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, has had on the publishing industry over the past five years cannot be denied, for it’s #BookTok that is largely responsible for the massive attention and subsequent success seen by “Fourth Wing,” along with dozens of other romance and fantasy novels that have landed on the New York Times bestseller list.

There’s been a similar effect in Hollywood, where the latest craze is grabbing up the rights to the hottest #BookTok title, including “Fourth Wing,” which is set up as a TV series at Amazon.