After leaving TikTok, V Pappas brings #BookTok knowledge to Simon & Schuster board

V Pappas has decided on their next move. The former Chief Operating Officer at TikTok has joined the board at Simon & Schuster as the publisher looks to take advantage of the burgeoning #BookTok community.

Pappas is one of six members of Simon & Schuster’s board of directors. The publisher has revamped its top-level structure since its acquisition by private equity firm KKR. The $1.62 billion deal closed in October 2023. Three KKR representatives will sit on the Simon & Schuster board, alongside Pappas, ex-Penguin Random House U.S. CEO Madeline McIntosh, and Disney vet Kareem Daniel.

“This board is going to help us be the pre-eminent publisher,” said Simon & Schuster CEO Jonathan Karp. “We have aspirations to grow. We have aspirations to be the first choice for authors. And I think this board really gives us a window into how people throughout the media landscape are thinking about how books fit into the world.”

Simon & Schuster seems to value Pappas’ input related to #BookTok, the literary phenomenon that has taken TikTok by storm. Thanks to short-form video recommendations, book sales have gone up and authors like Colleen Hoover have become household names. #BookTok has brought more competition into the publishing world, with startups like Bindery and TikTok owner ByteDance looking to capitalize on the appeal of literary influencers.

For Simon & Schuster, a focus on digital distribution and marketing is nothing new. The publisher became one of the first companies in its field to embrace creators when it launched Keywords Press last decade. Back then, YouTube stars were a powerful force in publishing (and to an extent, they still are). As #BookTok has ascended, Simon & Schuster has paid attention. It brought some of the U.K.’s top literary minds to a creator house in Brighton last summer, and it continues to publish books authored by influencers.

The rise of #BookTok occurred during Pappas’ tenure as COO. The Australian exec left their C-level position this past June. Since their departure, TikTok has reorganized its operations division under current COO Adam Presser.