TikTok Creator spotlight @blackloreuk

Throughout the month of June, TikTok has been celebrating and recognising the collective visibility and power of our LGBTQIA+ community through our You Belong Here 2024 Pride campaign. As part of our Pride celebrations, we've been amplifying the voices of our diverse community of LGBTQIA+ creators by choosing a selection of trailblazers to share their Pride stories.

One of those incredible trailblazers is @blackloreuk aka Lyza. Her content is all about #BookTok, sharing and celebrating the BIPOC & Queer Book segment of the community. Whether it's monthly book club content, her favorite pride reads, or her African Writers Series, we love that Lyza spotlights Queer and BIPOC writers! Alongside her regular content, Lyza also shares snippets from book events like the Hay Festival and her personal experience as part of the Queer community.

With a constantly growing audience of over 21k followers, it is clear our community loves Lyza just as much as we do! We sat down with @blackloreukto ask her about all things #BookTok, Pride, and her TikTok presence.

Happy PRIDE month Lyza, firstly what does PRIDE mean to you?

Pride means self-acceptance, self-discovery and self-love. Coming into the queer community is not a smooth path for everyone, and it is important for us to have our own versions of Pride, which highlight our lived experiences. Pride can be loud, quiet, joyful or tearful. No matter how it manifests, understanding and being patient with myself is what Pride means to me. Essentially Pride is a process of being for me, living everyday as a Queer person.

Why did you decide to start sharing BookTok content on TikTok?

I wanted to share stories that reflected my experiences. When I first joined, the books and accounts mainly focused on mainstream books, largely based on and written by white and straight individuals. I wanted to show the community there is a whole world of books that exist outside of the mainstream. I wanted to focus solely on diverse backgrounds because many authors of colour don't get the push and support from #BookTok.

What other Queer creators do you follow on TikTok?

Book Queer Creators - John-Paul @jpreads , @Joe.reads, @johneepixels7, @ermreading.

What is your goal on TikTok?

My goal is to build a community of readers and writers for people of colour and create a safe space to discuss and enjoy literature.

What is your favourite TikTok you have made to date and why?

My favourite TikTok I have made to date is one focusing on the African Writers Series. It's my favourite because, many people don't engage with African Classics on BookTok and to see how many people who are interested in reading again it felt amazing.

Finally, what else is on your For You feed?!

Lots, including content around make-up, fashion, food as well as long-form videos on pop-culture!

New to TikTok and want to explore #BookTok? Getting involved couldn't be easier, simply download the app for free viathe Apple App Store,Google Play orAmazon.

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