Book Subscription Box
| Related terms: | BookTok, BookTube, Bookmark, Soapgate |
| See also: | Fancraft |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
A book subscription box is an recurring (usually monthly) delivery of a themed assortment of books and fan merch. These boxes often focus on a specific genre, such as young adult (YA), fantasy, or romance. They can also focus on a specific fandom like Harry Potter or A Court of Thorns and Roses.
Origin
They gained popularity in the early 2010s as part of the broader subscription box trend, which encompasses a wide range of themes from pet products to beauty items. Book subscription boxes became an off-shot from this.[1] Uppercase was one of the earliest "book boxes", created in 2014, made due to a lack of "young adult" boxes on the market. OwlCrate was launched in 2015.[2]
TikTok
Book subscription boxes are popular on BookTok:
But TikTok is fuelling the trend, as videos of book unboxings, shelf tours and box reviews rack up millions of views. The boxes have plugged into the new way of consuming books — you don’t just read a book, you pose with it, arrange it by colour and post it on TikTok or Instagram. “Making the book into a tangible, collectible object as well as just a book is one of the best things about the job,” Tonge says, a statement that could also be applied to Pokémon cards, stamps or coins.[3]
Controversies
Licensing
The subscriptions boxes will often contain fan merch and be sold for profit. Some creators will be licensed with permissions from authors. This is especially common from unknown authors who see the subscriptions boxes as a form of promotion. However, some will be unlicensed. Most infamous was the incident in 2018 nicknamed "Soapgate" wherein Book Boyfriend Box released an A Court of Thorns and Roses inspired box, with a bound fanfiction and a phallic-shaped soap. This garnered criticism from YA authors for profiting from fanworks. Bloomsbury Publishing made a statement that they were unaffiliated with the subscription box.[4]
Soapgate
Soapgate refers to a 2018 controversy involving a book subscription box themed around Sarah J. Maas's "A Court of Thorns and Roses" (ACOTAR) series, created by Bookish and Stuff (later known as Book Boyfriend Box). The box included a pillowcase, lip balm, fanart, "a personalized smutty character love letter," and a "mystery item." Unboxing photos revealed the mystery item to be a realistic, blue/purple penis-shaped soap with a suction cup base. The box also included a bound book of explicit fanfiction titled "A Court of Smut and Wingspans". The incident sparked debate about the legality of selling fanworks and oversexualization in young adult (YA) literature.
Owlcrate Cup Saga
This article or section needs expansion. |
- Owlcrate Controversy
- Despite Pleas From Fans, OwlCrate Decides to Include Harry Potter Merch Once Again
- Book Subscription Boxes: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
References
- ^ Sidney Boker. "The rise of book subscription boxes" November 1, 2018
- ^ OwlCrate. "Our Story" (Archived). January 2022
- ^ Hackett, L. "Why young women love book boxes — the craze shaking up publishing" (Archived) March 15, 2024
- ^ Tweet by bloomsburykids. August 15, 2018.