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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Rachael Healy

TikTok meets Tolkien: how the Folio Society attracted gen Z readers

Tolkien The Folio Society Folio Society BookTok Frank Herbert Madeline Miller
The popularity of books such as Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, filmed by Peter Jackson, has boosted the Folio Society’s sales.
The popularity of books such as Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, filmed by Peter Jackson, has boosted the Folio Society’s sales. Photograph: New Line Cinema/Sportsphoto/Allstar

Founded in 1947, the Folio Society was once a membership club known for publishing classic tomes and history books, with a customer base of predominantly “old white men”, according to its boss.

Now, however, more than half the people who buy its books are aged between 25 and 44, and it is selling more sci-fi and fantasy titles, boosted by BookTok and growing gen Z interest in “artisanal” editions.

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