Instagram has been used as a platform for literary enthusiasts, reviewers and content creators to convene and hold discourse. This community is popularly referred to as "bookstagram". Active participants on the app are referred to as "bookstagrammers". The movement has been recognised by publishers and authors as an effective way to market new books. Despite the movement's upsides, problems occur when one considers its predominantly apolitical and white nature, as it features minimal discourse on books with Black or ethnically marginalised protagonists. Thus, it remains saturated by novels written by white people, for white people. 

However, over the last few years, we have seen African bookstagrammers, both on the continent and in the diaspora, push onto the platform and call for publishers to recognise Black African content creators. The conversation about #OwnVoices was intended to hold publishers accountable. The hashtag was created in 2015 by Corrine Duyvis after a failed search to find diverse reading in children's literature. Duyvis' activism was calling for Black reviewers to be prioritised in relation to the coverage of books by Black authors, thus demanding that representation in the arts encompasses both the production and the promotion.

The reality is that African bookstagrammers on the continent still find themselves inhabiting the lowest tier in the hierarchy of recognised creators. This was expressed by South African bookstagrammer @Pretty_X_Bookish in a discussion on the state of bookstagram, in which she expressed discontent over not being taken seriously by publishers and the online reading platform as a whole. Riverhead and Harper Books are examples of publishing houses that do not send "book mail" outside of the US and the UK. This form of selective interaction with Black readers and the differentiation of treatment of Black microbloggers located in the West versus those on the continent has, thus, relegated Black Africans to a category that is not worthy of recognition. This has brought to the fore issues of accessibility to new book releases and limited exposure to African online profiles, leading to an overall stagnation in the growth of reviewers and authors alike. This is deeply concerning, as the success of microbloggers depends on social capital and follower count. It is also a miscarriage of justice considering the richness of literary history that has come out of the continent. 

Six Black Women Writers Leading Feminist Thought in South Africa

In order to enhance this exploration, I spoke to three tastemakers from Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa to gauge what their individual experience of Instagram has been.

Olumayowa, also known as @mayowa_reads, is a Nigerian reading enthusiast who has also had an incredible footprint while pedestaling feminist literature and creating a reading group for women in Lagos. She fronts the women's reading group, @womensgrouplagos, which has provided an extraordinary space for African female readers to connect, share ideas and exchange knowledge. This manner of organising has also encouraged a broader reading of stories that aren't always centred in trauma, encompassing tales that illustrate the capacity for Black folks to be joyful, carefree and multiple in their identities.

For Kobby Ben Ben, also known as @bookworm_man, a queer reader from Ghana, the bookstagram space has allowed him to push through boundaries by centring his sexuality and nudity in his posts. Never shying away from being raunchy in his expression, Kobby states: "Bookstagram for me is a channel to connect with gender diverse folk who read. As someone who lives in a country where sexualities and identities that are heteronormative are repressed, it's always great to combine two things I love: networking with marginalised folk like me and reading and discussing books that enhance my understanding of other ways of being. I do find that I am always unlearning and redefining who I am and what I represent. Now in 2021, I am a nudist, reader, author. This community has helped me come into my own."

Ben Ben lives in Ghana, a country on the precipice of signing into law an anti-LGBTQI+ Bill that will make expressions of non-cis-heteronormativity illegal. Bookstagram for Ben Ben, thus, serves as a radical opportunity to defy the institutionalised oppression of his very existence.

Womanhood and queerness are just some of the intersections of Blackness explored by blogger-activists in African bookstagram. My conversation with Linda Kaoma, a South African bookstagrammer and Youtuber, highlighted the need for wide and rich representations of Blackness within literature, with people like her making these depictions prolific to the masses. She spoke on the significance of digital documentation as a means for younger generations to learn and grow up in a culture where they can freely see and reference themselves. 

Koleka Putuma Gives a Voice to the Women Inhabiting Society’s Margins 

In conclusion, African bookstagram provides an open forum for critical thought and discourse on various societal conditions impacting diverse Black African communities. It has, thus, proved instrumental in connecting readers to impactful works and ideas. With physical meetings being restricted by the global pandemic, social media has become a vital apparatus in the formation of community building and the pedestal works by African authors.