While many of us spent the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic watching Netflix’s Tiger King in our pajamas, 2018 Fort Hays State University alumnus Dalton Steinert was uploading his first videos to the popular short-form video-sharing app, TikTok. An avid reader from a young age and obsessed with book blogs and online reading communities, Steinert, working from home, posted his first book-related TikTok on a whim. Little did he know, he was one of many beginning the BookTok movement that has taken the reading world by storm.
A Need to Create
As shelter-in-place orders rolled out nationwide in mid-2020, TikTok became a haven for those looking to connect with others who were spending more time at home. Along with altered routines came the need to explore or rediscover hobbies. Always a popular pastime, reading picked up steam, and so did recommending books online. When reading and TikTok collided, it created a subculture in which fanatical readers could share recommendations, reviews, and critiques of popular books. After years of admiring book reviewers online, Steinert threw his hat in the ring and began creating content.
Once a Writer, Always a Writer
A few years before COVID-19 struck, Steinert walked across the commencement stage with a BBA in accounting and a minor in English. While he always loved writing, Steinert opted for the practicality of an accounting degree, believing that it offered better job stability. However, he yearned for any opportunities to use his creativity and pursued other avenues by submitting work to the English literary journal Lines from the Middle of Nowhere in the spring 2017 edition and through his regular contributions to the student-led publication, The Odyssey. He was also heavily involved with student organizations at Fort Hays State as membership chair for the Mortar Board, publicity coordinator for the FHSU Honor Society, and president of Us 4 U.
Several FHSU instructors inspired Steinert to express his creativity as he earned his minor in English, including Dr. Cheryl Duffy, Dr. Matthew Smalley, and Mrs. Sharon Wilson. Each motivated him to evaluate literary works from different perspectives, exposed him to various genres, and encouraged him to write about them. Their instruction, along with Steinert’s creativity, shaped a skillset that he still utilizes today in his professional career and content creation.
After a year post-grad working in accounting, Steinert transitioned to a marketing role, allowing him to interact with like-minded creative individuals. Around the same time, he began posting to TikTok and connected with some of his favorite authors and fellow readers. Wanting to distinguish himself from other content creators, he took inspiration and crafted his unique opening and page name, bookwormsandslugs. Steinert primarily discusses science fiction, fantasy, and LGBTQIA+ works on his page but enjoys novels from all genres.
Acknowledged by Idols
Enough to make any follower of Booktok get second-hand starstruck, famous authors including Adam Silvera, author of They Both Die at the End, TJ Klune, author of the House in the Cerulean Sea, and V.E. Schwab, author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue have recognized Steinert from his videos upon meeting in person. More than acknowledgment from authors whose work has impacted his life, Steinert believes the community his page has created, including independent authors and other content creators, has been the most rewarding aspect of sharing his love of books.
When he isn’t creating content, Steinert works as a marketing manager for Infor, a major tech company, and lives in Arizona with his husband, fellow FHSU alumnus Gilberto Pereira, ’18, who is currently pursuing his doctorate while working as a graduate teaching assistant.
You can find Steinert as bookwormsandslugs on Instagram and TikTok, where he might put you on to your next favorite book.