From Crowns to Collectibles

Nearly six years ago, as the COVID-19 pandemic rocked the country, millions of people traveled to different realms from the safety of their own homes through books. Cue the inception of BookTok: an online community of readers who gush over their favorite books, curate thematic shelf displays, and recommend new reads to their — sometimes millions of — followers. 

One of the series at the heart of the BookTok boom is A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. Colloquially known as ACOTAR, the five-book series, along with two other series penned by Maas, has sold more than 75 million copies worldwide. The #ACOTAR tag on TikTok has garnered nearly 2 million posts, while the general #booktok hashtag has amassed more than 70 million posts. BookTok users’ feeds are filled with thousands of videos of passionate fans who are eager to get their hands on bookish merch.

The worlds that fans are reading about may be fantastical, but as we’ve learned from cultural touchstones like Harry Potter, fantasy can sometimes find its way into the real world. Ashleigh, an Australian influencer who goes by @ashess.reads on Instagram and TikTok, says that great book merch makes you feel like you are a part of that universe, even without magic powers. 

“We see BookTok as more than a trend,” says Elena Lécue, chief marketing officer at Scentbird, a fragrance company featuring more than 1,000 scents from different brands, including a curated collection based on BookTok series. “It’s a vibrant community where readers live and breathe the worlds they love, and where fandoms translate into culture, lifestyle, and even scent.”

Merch makers of all sizes are eager to meet these demands from fans. ACOTAR merch and items from other romantasy series have slowly started to appear on shelves in bookstores nationwide, and it’s just getting started. In June of last year, Maas and her team made an agreement with IMG Licensing to create a comprehensive merch program inspired by all three of her series.

Fans who read on e-readers like a Kindle or their phone may not be able to use an iconic bookmark or curate the perfect bookshelf display, but they can still find book-inspired merch that goes with their tech like dragons go with flames. 

PopSockets recently launched a collection of PopGrips and tech cases inspired by Throne of Glass, Maas’ first book series. Jiayu Lin, CEO of PopSockets, says this is the brand’s first licensed book collab, with two more series inspired by ACOTAR and Maas’ third series, Crescent City, coming this year.

“We have a great overlap between the BookTok community and PopSockets users,” Lin says. “A lot of them read on Kindle. They can put [our grip] on their Kindle device or their Kindle case. It’s very easy to hold their reading devices that way, similar to how we serve phone users.”

With so many BookTok users putting PopSockets gear on their Kindles, PopSockets included Kindle cases in its initial Throne of Glass launch. The Kindle cases match the iPhone cases in the collection, featuring artwork created by the PopSockets team instead of more standardized iconography from Maas’ team. One design features Abraxos the wyvern lounging in a field of flowers, an iconic moment from the series depicting the fearsome creature enjoying the smaller things in life. 

“Sarah J. Maas doesn’t have a very established style guide as you would have with other big properties,” Lin says. “Our designers, because they’re such big fans in the first place, were able to lean into the content, work closely with the author to create iconography and designs that speak to fans and a lot of insider references to the book series.”

Another massive series in the BookTok space is Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. Since the first book’s release in 2023, the Empyrean series has sold more than 12 million copies. 

Much like ACOTAR, Fourth Wing has also seen an influx of licensed goodies this year, including Priorities: Fourth Wing Edition from Hasbro and the upcoming Fourth Wing: Rise of the Wingleader game from Goliath. 

Even companies that are more selective in their partnerships are headed to Navarre to collaborate with the brand. Last year, Scentbird launched a sampler collection inspired by the third book in the series, Onyx Storm. The Onyx Storm Discovery Set features five existing fragrances hand-picked to represent different characters, settings, and themes from the series, including main characters Violet Sorrengail and Xaden Riorson. 

“The discovery set gives fans a way to wear their story,” Scentbird’s Lécue says. “This is a fragrance collection for fans who want to experience the Empyrean series beyond the page by bringing the world of Basgiath to life through scent. We believe scent is one of the most powerful ways to extend narrative into the real world, which is why we wanted to participate in this movement.”

Prior to major licensing deals being made for popular BookTok series, a majority of the licensed merch fans could find came from independent, small business owners. According to Arlene Scanlan, managing partner at the licensing agency Moxie & Co., these small businesses have their place in the BookTok community, but they need to have curated lineups that fit within a brand’s image. 

Moxie & Co. has been at the forefront of the BookTok licensing game, creating merch programs for the Powerless series by Lauren Roberts and the Lights Out series by Navessa Allen. While Moxie shuts down many unofficial shops selling merchandise from these series, they also work with small businesses to create official, high-quality merchandise for fans alongside the bigger brands. 

“What we wanted to do is ensure that Lauren and Navessa’s fans were getting what they’d anticipated and what they expected, whether it was via an Etsy shop or whether it was some other way,” Scanlan says. “They’re part of our program. We communicate with them all the time.”

The agency has also launched some more traditional products, collaborating with Funko and Insight Editions to bring Powerless collectibles to fans. Plus, they’ve partnered with Books-A-Million on a line of exclusive merch, including pens, blankets, bookends, and more. But Moxie certainly isn’t resting on its laurels as the team continues to work on new deals for both Roberts’ and Allen’s series.

“This is the tip of the iceberg,” Scanlan says. “These are long-term programs with everything we do. Because it’s publishing and it’s not entertainment-driven, I don’t have to worry about it being a hit on Monday and being gone by Friday. These are things that have the potential to be long-term, and that’s our goal.”

Accuracy is also paramount to great book merch. Ashleigh says that the Powerless Pop! figures are very accurate to the books, making them a great first installment in Funko’s first foray into the book world.

“I love them because they’re exactly how I would’ve envisioned Kai and Paedyn if they were little cartoons,” Ashleigh says. “They just pay attention to little details. So Paedyn has her 27 freckles on her face, her hair when it’s cut short, and the little vest that she wears. It’s all little things that are in the book.”

As licensors up their bookish merch game, retailers like Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million are expanding their offerings. Themed displays feature specific collections dedicated to Fourth Wing, ACOTAR, Powerless, and other popular series, along with classics like Pride and Prejudice and Frankenstein. 

“I think the great thing about all of those series is their emphasis on world-building,” says Shannon DeVito, senior director of books at Barnes & Noble. “The world building, the character building, the description of the dresses, and just the world itself, that there’s so much art and feeling you can pull from all of those descriptions. They’re chock-full, and they’re long. There’s a lot that you can use to immerse yourself in that space, and that’s what’s worked for us in our gift space, too.”

As these beloved book series continue to receive more thoughtful and representative merchandise, fans will have to find more BookTok-approved shelves to display all their goodies.

This article was originally featured in the Winter 2026 issue of The Pop Insider. Read more articles from this issue and subscribe to The Pop Insider here!