Contemporary Lit FAQ

Why can’t I find the Urban tag on the “Browse tags” screen?

We have introduced a new change on Wattpad by replacing the featured Urban tag on our “Browse tags” screen with Contemporary Lit. This is an important step in preventing the reinforcement of stereotypes and marginalization of talented Black writers within the Wattpad community.

Going forward, our “Browse tags” screen will feature Contemporary Lit instead of Urban. Writers who support this change are welcome to modify their stories tagged Urban to Contemporary Lit if they wish to do so. “Urban” will remain searchable on Wattpad for readers and writers who prefer to continue using it. This is a small step from us to end our implicit endorsement of the term.

How did Wattpad arrive at Contemporary Lit to replace Urban?

We have arrived at the term Contemporary Lit as a way for Black writers to represent their contemporary stories after a thoughtful period of consultation with Black writers, subject experts from BLM Canada, and the Wattpad community. This new term denotes a time period without “othering” the content.

What will happen to my story tagged Urban? Will my story still be searchable on Wattpad?

Going forward, our “Browse tags” screen will feature Contemporary Lit instead of Urban. Writers who support this change are welcome to modify their stories tagged Urban to Contemporary Lit if they wish to do so. “Urban” will remain searchable on Wattpad for readers and writers who prefer to continue using it. This is a small step from us to end our implicit endorsement of the term.

Can I still search for stories tagged Urban?

“Urban” will remain searchable on Wattpad for readers and writers who prefer to continue using it. However, our “Browse tags” screen will now feature Contemporary Lit instead of Urban. This is a small step from us to end our implicit endorsement of the term.

Will all stories tagged Urban be automatically replaced with Contemporary Lit?

Our writers are welcome to use the tags they prefer for their stories. We will not be automatically tagging Urban stories as Contemporary Lit, but writers who wish to support this change can switch their tags as they see fit.

Should I replace the tag on my story with Contemporary Lit?

Going forward, our “Browse tags” screen will feature Contemporary Lit instead of Urban. Writers who support this change are welcome to modify their stories tagged Urban to Contemporary Lit if they wish to do so. “Urban” will remain searchable on Wattpad for readers and writers who prefer to continue using it.

How do I change a tag on my story?

On the Wattpad website, click the story you wish to change a tag for from the My Stories dropdown on Home. Visit the Story Details tab. On the section titled Tags, remove an existing tag by clicking the x on the tag, or add a new tag by typing it in the space provided and pressing Enter.

On the Wattpad app, tab the pencil icon on the bottom navigation, followed by “Edit another story”. Tap the story you wish to edit tags for. Tap the Tags section to add or remove tags, and then tap Save.