The mainstream popularity of book nooks is credited to a Japanese artist known as Monde, who created realistic and detailed miniature Tokyo scenes to slide in among the books on a bookshelf, showing them at a design event in that city in 2019. Photos of his work immediately went viral. Book nooks have been gaining traction globally since then, initially fueled by DIYers looking for projects to occupy their time during the pandemic and sharing their attempts on social media, then through the availability of kits that allowed less artistic or technically minded fans to give the craft a try, and ultimately through ready-made book nooks that can be displayed right out of the box.
Book nooks, like Monde’s originals, are often meant to resemble hardcover book volumes, with the diorama sitting where the pages would be, although other forms are also available (still with a front-to-back measurement that allows them to sit comfortably with the books). DIY kits — which appeal to consumers by combining a craft project with a keepsake and piece of finished décor — remain the most common configuration. Some have additional features like lights or motion.
Book nook kits initially came mostly from entrepreneurial purveyors of bookish merchandise or 3D puzzles, along with Etsy makers, and these players continue to occupy an important place in the market. Although some of their offerings are generic designs, a significant percentage are associated with a specific book title or franchise, with some created with permission by the authors or their agents and others entirely unofficial. (Overall, licensors have been somewhat relaxed about allowing makers and entrepreneurs to create book nooks based on their properties, as many are superfans who have other superfans as followers.) Examples of authorized versions include Irisdescent FairyTale’s book nooks inspired by the Fourth Wing, When the Moon Hatched, and The Shepherd King series, or Candlelit Books’ versions based on the Edge of Darkness series.
Recently, traditional licensing business players have increasingly been getting into the game, producing official collaborations with mostly book-based properties, along with the occasional entertainment IP. They fall into a number of categories:
- Arts and crafts specialists. Hands Craft offers book nooks tied to Peanuts, the Moomins, and Sanrio characters including Hello Kitty, Kuromi, and Cinnamaroll, while Crafthub offers licensed Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings products.
- Publishers. Igloo Books makes book nooks for Disney properties under its Buildable Worlds brand, including Belle’s Library from Beauty and the Beast. And Running Press’s RP Adult imprint sells a Harry Potter Hogwarts Express book nook.
- Gift and collectibles marketers. CultureFly offers book nooks tied to Gremlins, Pooh, Transformers, Chucky, Nightmare Before Christmas, and many more licensed properties. Hallmark’s book nooks include scenes from Star Wars. And Ink Games Publishing, a start-up manufacturer of author-licensed puzzles, tarot card sets, and the like, is entering the book nook space as a key category.
- Toy companies. Revell offers book nooks tied to Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, and The Lord of the Rings, while Lego sells brick-based nooks for The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter franchises.
As this list shows, licensors can often be involved with more than one book nook maker, with each product having a differentiated look and feel.
The licensed portion of the category is likely to continue on its upward trajectory, at least for a time, given book nooks’ relevance to a number of current licensing-business trends. These include a desire for interactivity or maker elements, the current strength of books as pop culture hits and sources of licensed IP, the collectibility factor, the social media shareability, and the growing popularity of pop-culture-connected décor for adults.
In case you missed it, our wrap-up of the trends spotted on the show floor at Licensing Expo 2026 was recently posted. You can read it here.
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