Exclusive: Luke Bateman posted a 90-second TikTok about books in April and accidentally sparked a saga in the process.
Within six months, he’d amassed almost half a million social media followers, scored a book deal, started an audio book club, and announced his exclusive book podcast with Nine, In The Good Books.
But some critics claimed the former NRL player and TV bachelor didn’t deserve it.
Luke Bateman went viral on TikTok after joining BookTok, the platform’s reading community. (Instagram/@lukebateman_)
Bateman, 30, was accused of capitalising on his privilege as a straight, white man for a golden ticket into the Australian publishing industry, which is notoriously difficult to break into.
Detractors demanded to know why someone with no manuscript or prior publishing experience deserved a two-book deal with major publishing house Simon & Schuster.
Others engaged in personal attacks, flooding his social media accounts with angry comments and messages.
“It really, really skyrocketed my anxiety,” Bateman told 9news.com.au.
And with the first episode of In The Good Books dropping today, there could be more backlash on the horizon.
This time, Bateman is prepared for it.
“It doesn’t bother me,” he said, adding that he could “understand people’s issues”.
Some critics claimed the former NRL player and TV bachelor didn’t deserve his recent wins. (Mark Kolbe/Getty)
More than 70 per cent of people working in Australian publishing identify as white, according to a 2022 survey, and authors of colour (especially women) face myriad challenges getting published.
Bateman acknowledges those disparities and is aware of his own privilege.
“But we can hold two truths at one time,” he said.
“I can be very happy for myself, and also understand that other people see barriers to entry that they don’t believe that I have.”
And Bateman is genuinely happy with all that he has achieved over the last six months, particularly because he’s a man.
Growing up in western Queensland, Bateman’s childhood love of fantasy books put him at odds with the “culture of very hard-working country men” he describes in the first episode of In The Good Books.
Bateman (pictured with his dad) grew up in western Queensland surrounded by “hard-working country man” culture. (Instagram/@lukebateman_)
”I had a really dark season of life growing up [and] books were always the place where I felt like I belonged,” he said.
“I felt so weird as a kid because I was in circles and cultures where … I really had to hide those parts of myself.”
Bateman developed a deep shame over his love of reading and wants to make sure it doesn’t happen to other Aussie blokes.
“Having men and boys read is a really deep passion of mine,” he said.
Males aged 15 to 24 read less than any other population cohort in the country, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Barely 10 per cent of them read on any given day, and even the male demographic which reads the most – men aged 75 or over – lagged behind their female counterparts.
Women read more than men in every single age category.
Bateman wants to get the male number up, not just for the boys but for the men, too.
As an adult, he struggled with gambling addiction and previously estimated he lost half a million dollars in just a few years.
He also faced depression after a serious knee injury ended his NRL career.
In his darkest moments, he returned to reading as a way to escape and he wants to empower other men to do the same.
”Books were the thing that gave me the ability to return to myself, and I want to ensure that other men and other boys can live out their imaginations and their dreams through books,” he said.
“It’s just so important to me to ensure that other people understand that joy.
“So that they too – whenever they’re feeling disconnected, whenever they’re feeling like the world doesn’t see them – they have a place where they feel seen, and they feel heard, and they feel connected to themselves.”
Since joining BookTok earlier this year, Aussies have seen a new side to Bateman.
Gone is the grass-stained NRL player, or the suited-up Bachelor looking for love.
In his place is a version of Bateman who gets teary-eyed over fictional characters in the cab of his tractor on a farm in Western Queensland, who dances to Taylor Swift’s latest releases and waxes poetic about his favourite fantasy epics.
This, Bateman says, is the real him – and it’s the reason he’s been so successful online.
“I lived as a character for a very long time,” he said.
“I just wanted to embody my joys and what’s true to me and very meaningful to my soul, and I feel as though people can see that through a screen.
“People feel that, and they resonate with that.”
He believes it’s that “authenticity” that has drawn Aussies to his TikTok and will have them tuning into In The Good Books.
Bateman isn’t afraid to cry on camera over his favourite fictional characters. (Instagram/@lukebateman_)
Episodes drop weekly starting today and Bateman has promised fans everything from book recommendations, to author interviews, and even a chat with the woman responsible for his love of reading; his mum.
He also teased that he might reveal some details from his debut novel, which he just finished the manuscript for.
“I’ve been pouring my heart and my soul into my writing and into my characters, into my story,” he said.
“To release that into the world will be very meaningful to me, and I’m very proud.”
In the Good Books is published by Nine, which is also the publisher of this website.
