Part One of Off Radar’s series on digital book communities: a look at how literature, community, identity, and technology intersect. For Part One, Off Radar chats with Sapph-Lit, a queer book club.
Written by Shai Alise Davis
The word “BookTok” can bring up mixed reactions in people. Some lament that the TikTok subculture is ruining the literary world because the books are too commercial or all the same. Others argue the app has helped them fall back into reading and even discover their favorite books. Despite how you might personally feel about BookTok, there is no denying that it can help readers find community online.
Sapph-Lit, a queer digital book club, was born out of BookTook. Nina Haines, a New York-based writer and content creator, started the club in 2021 after a suggestion from a comment on one of her videos.
“I was working a corporate job I hated, the pandemic ripped away the IRL queer chosen family that I loved so much, and I had started posting about books on TikTok in search of community,” said Haines. “Thanks to the app’s spookily accurate algorithm, I found my people pretty quickly, and when someone commented 'can we start a book club' on one of my viral videos, Sapph-Lit was born.”
The club works like this: Every month, Haines creates a list of books that focus on sapphic stories, a mixture of fiction and nonfiction. Paid members then narrow the list down and the top ten choices are voted on in the Discord. At the end of the month, Haines hosts Zoom discussions and author interviews. March’s pick is “A Place of Our Own” by June Thomas, a book that examines queer women’s spaces.
The club relies strongly on the messaging app Discord as a way for members to have conversations and to foster community.
“Discord allows Sapph-Lit to connect with queer people around the world and show us what queer lives, what queer joy and chosen family, can and could look like. It gives people a space to organize, to share, to feel hope,” Haines said.
Sapph-Lit members agree.
“Queerness has always found a home in a digital community – a lot of queer youth come out on the internet before they come out to anyone they know in real life, myself included. I want Sapph-Lit to be a safe space where queer women and non-binary people can come read sapphic books, chat about life, ask for and offer support, and celebrate their identities,” Haines said.
Members also spoke on why they feel the Sapph-Lit community is important now.
“I live in the US South, so what little LGBTQ+ infrastructure we have is at risk of being dissolved during this period,” Lexi, a community member, said. “We also are facing book bans and other limitations to our learning and freedom of speech. Having this community exist on an online platform allows for more accessibility and access to resources that would subsequently be available in my community.”
Since its inception, Sapph-Lit has grown a lot. The club has members in over 60 countries, has interviewed over 50 authors, and now has a publishing imprint through the book publishing company Bindery.
“I get messages from members saying that Sapph-Lit is the reason they felt comfortable coming out to their family, that they met their best friend through Sapph-Lit, that they discovered a new part of themselves. It’s grown bigger than I ever could have imagined,” Haines said.
“I joined Sapphlit in 2021, when everyone was quite isolated due to Covid. I lived in the town I grew up in and didn’t have access to a queer community. I saw Nina’s TikTok about creating a book club centered around sapphic literature and it felt like a saving grace,” Jessie, a community member, said.
Queer communities are always necessary, but especially now. The ACLU has reported over 300 current proposed bills targeting LGBT+ rights on both the federal and state level.