It is a scene that has become commonplace in Argentina. Barely out of a Buenos Aires bookstore, a pile of books under his arm, a teenager stops in front of his laptop. A selfie later, tell Clarion, Tommy’s smile can be found on Instagram next to the cover of Heartstopper. This British graphic novel series is loved by young people around the world (and was the subject of a successful Netflix adaptation). But in the country of Jorge Luis Borges, the craze goes further.
Like Tommy, “young people aged 14 to 18 buy four or five books”, reports the daily. “Then they show them on social media.” Reflecting this wave, sales of children’s literature jumped 48% over the first five months of the year, according to figures from the Argentine Chamber of Publications.
Three million followers
“Much of this increase is due to bookfluencers, says Alejandro Costa, who manages sales for the Cúspide bookstore chain. On the networks, someone recommends a book, says ‘I read such a book’ or ‘You have to read such a book’, and all the young people will buy it. This is how it works.” In Argentina, some 30 bookfluenceurs share their favorites with more than 3 million people. Often note Clarionthese Internet celebrities are not yet 20 years old.
Unsurprisingly, booksellers and publishers are taking advantage of the phenomenon. While the former reserve prime places for children’s books on their shelves, the latter invest in social networks to encourage the movement. Penguin Random House – the American giant with a Spanish-speaking branch – has, for example, created a community of readers called “Novelas para chicxs” (“Novels for young people”) on Instagram and TikTok. And the firm made bookfluenceurs “its great allies in recommending children’s books”, see again Clarion.
Not content with giving their opinion, some improvised critics also take up the pen. This is the case of Victoria Resco, whose novel paper kingdom (“Paper Queen”) has been read more than 250,000 times on Wattpad, a platform for young authors. Clarion also cites the name of Maximiliano Pizzicotti, who already has more than four years of fame behind him, at 22 years old.
These writers carved out a place for themselves with Ariana Godoy, Alex Mirez and Joana Marcús, the precocious stars of the genre. First published on Wattpad, their works were eventually printed and sold in bookstores. Which allows Tommy and the others to multiply the selfies.