Jack Edwards is yet to turn thirty, but he’s already become one of the most influential figures in international contemporary literature. This month, the British social media star launched his inaugural book club, Inklings, building on the momentum of a busy 12 months that have cemented his influence in the future of publishing.
Edwards is noticeably different from the cornucopia of literary influencers online. He is not dismissive of genre or the romance novels that are the regular talking points for the BookTok community. Edwards has always favoured classics and literary fiction. Importantly, he keeps an open mind.
‘I care so much about the craft of writing and believe that all books are worthy of the dignity of criticism,’ he has said. ‘I want to talk about fluffy romances and fantasy and romantasy, and all of these new subgenres with as much respect as I talk about the classics and literary fiction.’
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Jack Edwards influence in publishing
Jack Edwards’ online following is noticeably smaller than many of his social media peers, but the numbers are not to be dismissed. Edwards still has 3.7 million followers across multiple platforms, and his book club, Inklings, amassed 52,000 followers on Instagram within a fortnight of going live.
Oprah Winfrey has described him as ‘the internet’s resident librarian’. His TikTok video about a translation of a Dostoyevsky novella propelled the book into the UK’s 2024 bestseller charts. That was enough to trigger Penguin Audio to release a new audiobook of the once-forgotten novella, and his discussion of a Haruki Murakami novel also resulted in a significant sales spike.
Edwards hosted the livestream for the International Booker Prize ceremony last year, and is a regular at UK literary festivals, where he has interviewed luminaries such as Percival Everett, Douglas Stuart, and Richard Osman. His appearance at the Hay Festival was so popular, it led to an invitation for him to curate an entire day’s worth of programming.
Jack Edwards status as a trusted voice of literature can only expand. He is both a model of a new literary criticism and a curator of contemporary fiction trends. His book choices for his book club, Inklings, is telling.
Jack Edwards’ choices for his book club
Edwards selected the 2024 novel Evenings and Weekends, a debut from Irish author Oisín McKenna, for his first book club pick. The book was critically acclaimed at the time, but was not featured in the year’s most prestigious award nominations.
Told over a single weekend, the novel follows an ensemble of intergenerational characters as they navigate sex, death and friendship. In the centre is a whale who’s washed up on the banks of the river Thames. McKenna’s writing has been compared to Zadie Smith and Sally Rooney – two other darlings of millennial literature lovers.
Edwards announced his second choice last week: Yasmin Zaher’s The Coin. The Coin was the winner of the Dylan Thomas Prize (2025), and follows a young Palestinian woman’s unravelling in New York City.
Edwards has made no promises and placed no limitations on his future book club picks, but his first two choices are telling. Both novels are youthful, intimate explorations of social realism.
Jack Edwards utilises Fable app
Inklings Book Club official home can be found on Fable, an app and website that has slowly garnered traction as the go-to for online book communities (and an independent alternative to the Amazon-owned GoodReads). Inklings became the fastest growing book club on the platform.
Edwards is a fan of the platform’s easy integration of book club culture. ‘The great thing about Fable is that it’s not a conversation where you’ve either read the book or you haven’t,’ Edwards said. ‘You can actually discuss every chapter individually.’
Edwards’ ongoing success and influence has made deep impacts on the platform’s sense of legitimacy and cultural relevance. In return, it has only cemented Edwards importance in the global publishing landscape.
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