Genre fiction, also known as popular fiction, is a term used in the book-trade for fictional

works written with the intent of fitting into a specifically literary genre, in order to appeal to
readers and fans already familiar with that genre.[1]
Although genre fiction is generally distinguished from literary fiction, a number of major literary
figures have also written genre fiction, for example, John Banville, publishes crime novels as
Benjamin Black, and both Doris Lessing, and Margaret Atwood have written science
fiction. Georges Simenon, the creator of the Maigret detective novels, has been described
by André Gide as "the most novelistic of novelists in French literature".[2]
The main genres are crime, fantasy, romance, science fiction, western, inspirational, historical
fiction and horror. More commercially oriented genre fiction has been dismissed by literary critics
as poorly written or escapist.[3]

Contents

 1Genre and the marketing of fiction

 2History of genres
 3The genres
o 3.1Crime
o 3.2Fantasy
o 3.3Romance
o 3.4Science fiction
o 3.5Western
o 3.6Inspirational
o 3.7Horror
 4Critical appraisal and controversy
 519th-century British and Irish genre fiction
 620th-century genre fiction
o 6.1Early 20-century
o 6.2Later 20th-century
 6.2.1Science fiction
 6.2.2Fantasy
 6.2.3Horror
 7Age categories
 8See also
 9References
 10Further reading

Genre and the marketing of fiction[edit]

In the publishing industry the term "category fiction" is often used as a synonym for genre fiction,
with the categories serving as the familiar shelf headings within the fiction section of a bookstore,
such as Western or mystery.
The uncategorized section is known in the industry as "general fiction", but in fact many of the
titles in this usually large section are often themselves genre novels that have been placed in the
general section because sellers believe they will appeal, due to their high quality or other special
characteristics, to a wider audience than merely the readers of that genre.[citation needed]
Some adult fans are embarrassed to read genre fiction in public.[4] Some authors known for
literary fiction have written novels under pseudonyms, while others have employed genre
elements in literary fiction.[5][6][7]
Romance fiction had an estimated $1.375 billion share in the US book market in 2007.
Religion/inspirational literature followed with $819 million, science fiction/fantasy with $700
million, mystery with $650 million and then classic literary fiction with $466 million.[8]

History of genres[edit]
See also: History of fantasy and History of science fiction
Genre began as an absolute classification system for ancient Greek literature. Poetry, prose,
and drama each had a specific and calculated style that related to the theme of the story. Among
the genres were the epic in poetry and tragedy and comedy for plays.[9] In later periods other
genres such as the chivalric romance, opera, and prose fictiondeveloped.
Though the novel is often seen as a modern genre, Ian Watt, in The Rise of the Novel (1957)
suggests that the novel first came into being in the early 18th century,[10] it has also been
described as possessing "a continuous and comprehensive history of about two thousand years",
from the time of both Classical Greece and Rome.[11]
The "romance" is a closely related long prose narrative. Walter Scott defined it as "a fictitious
narrative in prose or verse; the interest of which turns upon marvellous and uncommon
incidents", whereas in the novel "the events are accommodated to the ordinary train of human
events and the modern state of society".[12] However, many romances, including the historical
romances of Scott,[13] Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights[14] and Herman Melville's Moby-
Dick,[15] are also frequently called novels, and Scott describes romance as a "kindred term".
Romance, as defined here, should not be confused with the genre fiction love romance
or romance novel. Other European languages do not distinguish between romance and novel: "a
novel is le roman, der Roman, il romanzo."[16]
Genre fiction developed from various subgenres of the novel (and its "romance" version) during
the nineteenth century, along with the growth of the mass-marketing of fiction in the twentieth
century: this includes the gothic novel, fantasy, science fiction, adventure novel, historical
romance, and the detective novel. Some scholars see precursors to the genre fiction romance
novels in literary fiction of the 18th and 19th centuries, including Samuel
Richardson's sentimental novel Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded (1740) and the novels of Jane
Austen such as Pride and Prejudice (1813).[17]

The genres[edit]
For a more comprehensive list, see List of literary genres.
The following are some of the main genres as they are used in contemporary publishing:

Crime[edit]
Main articles: Crime fiction and Detective fiction
Crime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalises crimes, their detection, criminals, and
their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such
as historical fiction or science fiction, but the boundaries are indistinct. Crime fiction has
multiple subgenres,[18] including detective fiction (such as the whodunit), courtroom drama, hard-
boiled fiction, mystery fiction, and legal thrillers. Suspense and mystery are key elements to the
genre.

Fantasy[edit]
Main articles: Fantasy, History of fantasy, and Fantasy literature
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that uses magic or other supernatural elements as a
main plot element, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary
worlds where magic and magical creatures are common. Fantasy is generally distinguished from
the genres of science fiction and horror by the expectation that it steers clear of scientific and
macabre themes, respectively, though there is a great deal of overlap among the three, all of
which are subgenres of speculative fiction. Fantasy works frequently feature a medieval setting.
Romance[edit]
Main article: Romance novel
The romance novel or "romantic novel" primarily focuses on the relationship and romantic
love between two people, and must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic
ending."[19] There are many subgenres of the romance novel including fantasy, historical, science
fiction, same sex romantic fiction, and paranormal fiction.
There is a literary fiction form of romance, which Walter Scott defined as "a fictitious narrative in
prose or verse; the interest of which turns upon marvellous and uncommon incidents".[20]
According to Romance Writers of America's data,[21] the most important subgenres
are: Contemporary series romance, Contemporary romance, Historical romance, Paranormal
romance, Romantic suspense, Inspirational romance, Romantic suspense (series).

 Other: chick-lit, erotic romance, women's fiction, Young adult romance.

Science fiction[edit]
Main article: Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of speculative fiction dealing with imaginative concepts such
as futuristic science and technology, space travel, time travel, faster than light travel, parallel
universes and extraterrestrial life. Science fiction often explores the potential consequences of
scientific and other innovations, and has been called a "literature of ideas".[22] It usually eschews
the supernatural, and unlike the related genre of fantasy, historically science fiction stories were
intended to have at least pretense of science-based fact or theory at the time the story was
created, but this connection has become tenuous or non-existent in much of science
fiction.[23][24][25]

Western[edit]
Main article: Western fiction
Western fiction is defined primarily by being set in the American West in the second half of the
19th century and, secondarily, by featuring heroes who are rugged, individualistic horsemen
(cowboys). Other genres, such as romance, have subgenres that make use of the Western
setting.

Inspirational[edit]
Main article: Inspirational fiction
Inspirational fiction is fictional works with faith-based themes. It may be targeted at a specific
demographic, such as Christians. Modern inspirational fiction has grown to encompass non-
traditional subgenres, such as inspirational thrillers.

Horror[edit]
Main article: Horror fiction
Horror fiction aims to frighten or disgust its readers. Although many horror novels feature
supernatural phenomena or monsters, it is not required. Early horror took much inspiration
from Romanticism and Gothic fiction. Modern horror, such as cosmic horror and splatterpunk,
tends to be less melodramatic and more explicit. Horror is often mixed with other genres.

Critical appraisal and controversy[edit]

Although frequently ignored or ridiculed by literary critics, genre fiction has achieved a measure
of acceptance among some modern critics, with Stephen King being awarded the Medal for
Distinguished Contribution to American Letters;[26] but this polarized opinions and led to debate
on genre fiction's literary merit. Negative comments about genre fiction have sparked responses
from Time,[3] Salon,[27] the Atlantic,[28] and the Los Angeles Review of Books.[29] Nobel
laureate Doris Lessing described science fiction as "some of the best social fiction of our time",
and called Greg Bear, author of Blood Music, "a great writer". [30]
A number of major literary figures have written works of genre fiction. Graham Greene at the time
of his death in 1991 had a reputation as a writer of both deeply serious novels on the theme of
Catholicism,[31] and of "suspense-filled stories of detection".[32] Acclaimed during his lifetime, he
was shortlisted in 1966[33] for the Nobel Prize for Literature.[34]
In the 2000s, the BBC defended itself against charges that it had sneered at genre
fiction,[35] while the Man Booker[36] and National Book Awards[37] have been criticized for ignoring
genre fiction in their selection process.
Some critics have claimed that reading romance and suspense thrillers makes readers more
sensitive, because these novels focus on interpersonal relationships.[38]

19th-century British and Irish genre fiction[edit]

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Sir John Barrow's descriptive 1831 account of the Mutiny on the Bounty immortalised the Royal
Navy ship HMS Bounty and her people. The legend of Dick Turpin was popularised when the
18th-century English highwayman's exploits appeared in the novel Rookwood in 1834.
Although pre-dated by John Ruskin's The King of the Golden River in 1841, the history of the
modern fantasy genre is generally said to begin with George MacDonald, the influential author
of The Princess and the Goblin and Phantastes (1858). William Morris was a popular English
poet who also wrote several fantasy novels during the latter part of the nineteenth century. Wilkie
Collins' epistolary novel The Moonstone (1868), is generally considered the first detective
novel in the English language, while The Woman in White is regarded as one of the
finest sensation novels. H. G. Wells's (1866–1946) writing career began in the 1890s with
science fiction novels like The Time Machine (1895), and The War of the Worlds (1898) which
describes an invasion of late Victorian England by Martians, and Wells is seen, along with
Frenchman Jules Verne (1828–1905), as a major figure in the development of the science fiction
genre. He also wrote realistic fiction about the lower middle class in novels like Kipps (1905)
and The History of Mr Polly (1910).
Penny dreadful publications were an alternative to mainstream works, and were aimed at
working class adolescents, introducing the infamous Sweeney Todd. The premier ghost
story writer of the 19th century was the Irish writer Sheridan Le Fanu. His works include the
macabre mystery novel Uncle Silas 1865, and his Gothic novella Carmilla 1872, tells the story of
a young woman's susceptibility to the attentions of a female vampire. The vampire genre fiction
began with John William Polidori's "The Vampyre" (1819). This short story was inspired by the
life of Lord Byron and his poem The Giaour. An important later work is Varney the
Vampire (1845), where many standard vampire conventions originated: Varney has fangs, leaves
two puncture wounds on the neck of his victims, and has hypnotic powers and superhuman
strength. Varney was also the first example of the "sympathetic vampire", who loathes his
condition but is a slave to it.[39] Bram Stoker, yet another Irish writer, was the author of seminal
horror work Dracula and featured as its primary antagonist the vampire Count Dracula, with
the vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing his arch-enemy. Dracula has been attributed to a
number of literary genres including vampire literature, horror fiction, gothic novel and invasion
literature.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was born in Scotland of Irish parents but his Sherlock Holmes stories have typified
a fog-filled London for readers worldwide

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes is a brilliant London-based "consulting detective",
famous for his intellectual prowess, skilful use of astute observation, deductive reasoning and
forensic skills to solve difficult cases. Holmes' archenemy Professor Moriarty, is widely
considered to be the first true example of a supervillain, while Sherlock Holmes has become a
by-word for a detective. Conan Doyle wrote four novels and fifty-six short stories featuring
Holmes, from 1880 up to 1907, with a final case in 1914. All but four Conan Doyle stories are
narrated by Holmes' friend, assistant, and biographer, Dr John H. Watson.
The Lost World literary genre was inspired by real stories of archaeological discoveries by
imperial adventurers. H. Rider Haggard wrote one of the earliest examples, King Solomon's
Mines in 1885. Contemporary European politics and diplomatic manoeuvrings informed Anthony
Hope's swashbuckling Ruritanian adventure novels The Prisoner of Zenda 1894, and Rupert of
Hentzau, 1898.
F. Anstey's comic novel Vice Versa 1882, sees a father and son magically switch bodies.
Satirist Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat 1889, is a humorous account of a boating
holiday on the river Thames. Grossmith brothers George & Weedon's Diary of a Nobody 1892, is
also considered a classic work of humour.

20th-century genre fiction[edit]

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Early 20-century[edit]
Erskine Childers' The Riddle of the Sands (1903), defined the spy novel and Follett has also
called it "the first modern thriller".[40]
Emma Orczy's The Scarlet Pimpernel (1903) was originally a highly successful play, when
staged in London in 1905. The novel The Scarlet Pimpernel was published soon after the play
opened and was an immediate success. Orczy gained a following of readers in Britain and
throughout the world. The popularity of the novel, which recounted the adventures of a member
of the English gentry in the French Revolutionary period, encouraged her to write a number of
sequels for her "reckless daredevil" over the next 35 years. The play was performed to great
acclaim in France, Italy, Germany and Spain, while the novel was translated into 16 languages.
Subsequently, the story has been adapted for television, film, a musical and other media.
Baroness Orczy's character The Old Man in the Corner (1908) was among the earliest armchair
detectives to be created. Her short stories about Lady Molly of Scotland Yard (1910) were an
early example of a female detective as main character.
John Buchan wrote the adventure novels on Prester John (1910) and four novels telling the
adventures of Richard Hannay, of which the first, The Thirty-Nine Steps (1915) is the best
known. Novels featuring a gentleman adventurer were popular in the interwar period, exemplified
by the series of H. C. McNeile with Bulldog Drummond (1920), and Leslie Charteris, whose many
books chronicled the adventures of Simon Templar, alias The Saint.

Agatha Christie

The medievalist scholar M. R. James wrote highly regarded ghost stories (1904–1928) in
contemporary settings.
This was called the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. Agatha Christie, a writer of crime novels,
short stories and plays, is best remembered for her 80 detective novels and her successful West
End theatre plays. Christie's works, particularly those featuring the detectives Hercule
Poirot or Miss Marple, made her one of the most important and innovative writers in the
development of the genre. Her most influential novels include The Murder of Roger
Ackroyd (1926); one of her most controversial novels, its innovative twist ending had a significant
impact on the genre), Murder on the Orient Express (1934), Death on the Nile (1937) and And
Then There Were None (1939). Other female writers dubbed "Queens of crime" include Dorothy
L. Sayers (gentleman detective, Lord Peter Wimsey), Margery Allingham (Albert Campion,
supposedly created as a parody of Sayers' Wimsey,[41]) and New Zealander Ngaio
Marsh (Roderick Alleyn). Georgette Heyer recreated the historical romance genre since 1921,
and also wrote detective fiction (1932–1953).

J. R. R. Tolkien

A major work of science fiction, from the early 20th century, is A Voyage to Arcturus by Scottish
writer David Lindsay, first published in 1920. It combines fantasy, philosophy, and science fiction
in an exploration of the nature of good and evil and their relationship with existence. It has been
described by critic and philosopher Colin Wilson as the "greatest novel of the twentieth
century",[42] and was a central influence on C. S. Lewis's Space Trilogy.[43] Also J. R. R.
Tolkien said he read the book "with avidity", and praised it as a work of philosophy, religion, and
morality.[44] It was made widely available in paperback form when published as one of the
precursor volumes to the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series in 1968.
From the early 1930s to late 1940s, an informal literary discussion group associated with the
English faculty at the University of Oxford, were the "Inklings". Its leading members were the
major fantasy novelists; C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien. Lewis is known for The Screwtape
Letters (1942), The Chronicles of Narnia (1950–1956) and The Space Trilogy (1938–1945), while
Tolkien is best known as the author of The Hobbit (1937), The Lord of the Rings (1954–1955),
and The Silmarillion (1977).

Later 20th-century[edit]
In thriller writing, Ian Fleming created the character James Bond 007 in January 1952, while on
holiday at his Jamaican estate, Goldeneye. Fleming chronicled Bond's adventures in twelve
novels, including Casino Royale (1953), Live and Let Die (1954), Dr.
No (1958), Goldfinger (1959), Thunderball (1961), The Spy Who Loved Me (1962), and nine
short story works.
In contrast to the larger-than-life spy capers of Bond, John le Carré was an author of spy
novels who depicted a shadowy world of espionage and counter-espionage, and his best known
novel The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963), is often regarded as one of the greatest in the
genre. Frederick Forsyth writes thriller novels, including The Day of the Jackal (1971), The
Odessa File (1972), The Dogs of War (1974) and The Fourth Protocol (1984). Ken Follett writes
spy thrillers, his first success being Eye of the Needle (1978), followed by The Key to
Rebecca (1980), as well as historical novels, notably The Pillars of the Earth (1989), and its
sequel World Without End (2007). Elleston Trevor is remembered for his 1964 adventure
story The Flight of the Phoenix, while the thriller novelist Philip Nicholson is best known for Man
on Fire. Peter George's Red Alert (1958), is a Cold War thriller.
War novels include Alistair MacLean thriller's The Guns of Navarone (1957), Where Eagles
Dare (1968), and Jack Higgins' The Eagle Has Landed (1975). Patrick
O'Brian's nautical historical novels feature the Aubrey–Maturin series set in the Royal Navy, the
first being Master and Commander (1969).
Ronald Welch's Carnegie Medal winning novel Knight Crusader is set in the 12th century and
gives a depiction of the Third Crusade, featuring the Christian leader and King of
England Richard the Lionheart.
In crime fiction, the murder mysteries of Ruth Rendell and P. D. James are popular.
Nigel Tranter wrote historical novels of celebrated Scottish warriors; Robert the Bruce in The
Bruce Trilogy, and William Wallace in The Wallace (1975), works noted by academics for their
accuracy.
Science fiction[edit]

Arthur C. Clarke

John Wyndham wrote post-apocalyptic science fiction, his most notable works being The Day of
the Triffids (1951), and The Midwich Cuckoos (1957). George Langelaan's The Fly (1957), is a
science fiction short story. Science fiction novelist Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space
Odyssey (1968), is based on his various short stories, particularly The Sentinel (1951). His other
major novels include Rendezvous with Rama (1972), and The Fountains of
Paradise (1979). Brian Aldiss is Clarke's contemporary.
Michael Moorcock (born 1939) is a writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also
published a number of literary novels. He was involved with the 'New Wave' of science fiction
writers "part of whose aim was to invest the genre with literary merit"[45] Similarly J. G.
Ballard (born 1930) "became known in the 1960s as the most prominent of the 'New Wave'
science fiction writers".[46] A later major figure in science fiction was Iain M. Banks who created a
fictional anarchist, socialist, and utopian society named "The Culture". The novels that feature in
it include Excession (1996), and Inversions (1998). He also published mainstream novels,
including the highly controversial The Wasp Factory in 1984. Nobel prize winner Doris
Lessing also published a sequence of five science fiction novels the Canopus in Argos:
Archives between 1979 and 1983.
Fantasy[edit]

Terry Pratchett

Terry Pratchett is best known for his Discworld series of comic fantasy novels, that begins
with The Colour of Magic (1983), and includes Mort (1987), Hogfather (1996), and Night
Watch (2002). Pratchett's other most notable work is the 1990 novel Good Omens.
Philip Pullman's fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials comprises Northern Lights (1995), The Subtle
Knife (1997), and The Amber Spyglass (2000). It follows the coming-of-age of two children as
they wander through a series of parallel universes against a backdrop of epic events.
Neil Gaiman is a writer of science fiction, fantasy short stories and novels, whose notable works
include Stardust (1998), Coraline (2002), The Graveyard Book (2009), and The Sandman series.
Alan Moore's works include Watchmen, V for Vendetta set in a dystopian future UK, The League
of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and From Hell, speculating on the identity and motives of Jack the
Ripper.
Douglas Adams wrote the five-volume science fiction comedy series The Hitchhiker's Guide to
the Galaxy, and also wrote the humorous fantasy detective novel Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective
Agency.
Horror[edit]
Clive Barker horror novels include The Hellbound Heart (1986), and works in
fantasy, Weaveworld (1987), Imajica and Abarat (2002).

Age categories[edit]
Most genres of fiction may also be segmented by the age of the intended reader:

 Children's fiction
 Young adult fiction
 Adult fiction

What is Genre Fiction?

By Glen C. Strathy
The trouble with asking, "What is genre fiction?" is that all
fiction is really genre fiction, in the sense that very few
stories are entirely unique. Even when a unique story comes
along, it doesn't stay unique for long. Other authors quickly hop
on the band wagon and start writing similar stories.

Just about every story (including the one you may be writing now)
may be grouped with others that share similar traits, which is
how genres are identified.

Genres are a useful short-cut for readers. Once you find a story
you like, looking for others in the same genre is often the
easiest way to find your next great read.

Genres also provide a way for publishers to market books. Once a

readership for a particular genre is identified, publishers will
start producing books in the same genre they can sell to that
readership.

When people ask, "What is genre fiction?" they usually mean "What
makes genre fiction different from Literary Fiction or mainstream
fiction (which is fiction that doesn't seem to belong in any of
the major genres). What makes it different from the books I
studied in English class?"

Elsewhere, I've pointed out that Literary Fiction is really just

another genre that, like any genre, appeals to a particular
readership.

But the term "genre fiction" does get used a lot, so let's consider what the term means in common
usage...

Q. What is Genre Fiction?

A. Commercial Fiction.
 0Save

The simplest and most common answer to the question, "What is

Genre Fiction?" is that it is popular fiction. And because it is
popular, it makes money. It is commercially viable for publishers
and authors.

Of course, this is not strictly true. Some genres are not

terribly popular or profitable. For example, narrative poetry,
with some exceptions, is not a big money-maker.

But there are genres that do have a large, established readership

that makes them profitable. Romance, for example, has more
dedicated readers than any other genre -- so many that that
roughly half of all novels published are Romances.

Other genres have enough broad appeal to be profitable, even

though their popularity does ebb and flow. I'm thinking here
about Mystery, Thriller, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Erotica, and
Western, all of which have gone through periods of greater and
lesser popularity.

The other trait most popular genres share is that they have all been looked down upon by Literary
Fiction readers at one time or another. But something similar happens in all art forms. Taste is
individual, and with rare exceptions, those who consider themselves connoisseurs tend to have little
regard for what is popular.
Q. What is Genre Fiction?
A. Plot-driven or formulaic fiction.
Another common assertion is that genre fiction tends to be overly
plot-driven, or that genre fiction readers value tight and
intricate plots over depth and authenticity of characterization.

This definition depends a lot on which genres you are looking at.
Plot certainly matters in Adventure, Thriller, and similar genres
whose readers appreciate the strong narrative drive that makes a
book a "page turner."

But it is a mistake to say that character-driven or idea driven

fiction is not genre fiction. Those kinds of stories simply fall
into their own genres, such as such as Women's
Fiction, Slipstream, Magical Realism, or Gentle Reads.

As for the other common claim that genre fiction is formulaic

(whereas, presumably literary fiction is not), I would argue
that, regardless of genre, there are certain approaches to story
telling that will engage a reader intellectually or emotionally.
Ignore them all, and you get a story that interests no one.The
fact that some readers prefer stories with certain traits more
than others is beside the point.

The challenge for a writer is to use the approaches that work for
one's readership, but to use them in a way that strikes readers
as fresh and not obvious. Like the framing of a house, good
structure is invisible.

Q. What is Genre Fiction?

A. Speculative Fiction
(and also Crime, Romance, etc.)
To some readers, "genre fiction" means Speculative Fiction, which
is fiction that based on a world different from our own.
Speculative Fiction describes stories that ask the question, "How
would people cope in a different reality?"

Or, as Ursula K. Le Guin once put it, Speculative Fiction asks,

"What if...?"

Under the umbrella of Speculative Fiction falls such genres as

Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Horror, along with their many
subgenres such as Magical Realism, Alternative History, Portal
Fiction, and Paranormal.

We know monsters and magic are not real. The laws of physics are
fixed. There are no portals that can take us into other realities
(at least not with current technology). The future remains to be
determined. But Speculative Fiction invites us to imagine what
could happen if things could be different.

While Speculative Fiction describes a major branch of genre

fiction, but it is certainly not the whole tree. I mentioned
Romance Fiction above. Crime Fiction is another major branch,
into which falls such genres as Mystery, Thriller, and
Suspense. Some writers expand that list to include Western (for a
total of seven by their reckoning, eight by mine).

But then where does one put Historical Fiction? Or Psychological

Suspense? Or Women's Fiction?

Q. What is Genre Fiction?

A. Stories that can be categorized.

0Save

The most inclusive way to describe a genre is to say it is any

group of stories that share enough similarities to appeal to the
same group of readers. And genre fiction refers to stories that
can be marketed to an established readership.

If you can't identify a target market for your story, it's

probably not genre fiction. But don't worry. With so many genres
and subgenres, the odds of that happening are slim.

Literary Fiction and Genre

Fiction, What's the
Difference?
Updated on March 11, 2018
Chris Mills
more

Contact Author

The Meandering and Exploring of Literary Fiction

Source

Where'd the Story Go?

You love to read. I know you do. A book graces your bedside table and there's another on the
end table beside your special chair in the living room. And what's this? A paperback in the privy?
Yes, you love to read, don't you?

So you picked up a book at the bookstore the other day and now you sit down with a cup of
coffee or tea or a glass of kombucha and begin to read. Halfway through page two, you set the
book in your lap and wonder where the story went. Sort of like the old Wendy's commercial?
Remember? "Where's the beef?" the old lady growled. "Where's the story?" you growl. The story
might have gone something like this.

Straight is the Way of Genre

Source

My Own Attempt at Literary Fiction

I arrived to the dance late. I suppose some would say that I subconsciously wanted to be late,
but can something really be simultaneously subconscious and intentional? I remember as a little
boy, I yelled at my mother and told her that I hated her. Later I apologized and said I didn't mean
it, but now I wonder. Did I subconsciously hate my mother and intentionally tell her so?
She was seated on the opposite side of the dance floor from me. If I had a reason for being late
to the dance, there it sat, in a dress custom made for the polka. It flared out from her waste and
held its broadest form just above the knees. On the front was something that resembled a lacy
vest and apron. And the sleeves –– I like your sleeves, their really big. The only difference
between Napoleon Dynamite and me is that he danced with Deb.
The polka was a dance everybody in my hometown knew. It was part of us, like arms and legs
are part of us. We danced the polka every Friday night, as if Fridays had been divinely ordained
for such a thing, like Saturdays for the Jews and Sundays for Christians and whatever day
Budhists celebrate on. Do Budhists have a special day? I remember reading about Siddhartha
Buddha and how his birthday is celebrated on the day of a full moon.

Napoleon and Deb Dance at the Prom

Source

Literary and Genre, The Two Primary Branches or

Styles of Fiction
You probably came away from that wondering if the story was about a man who was afraid to
ask a woman to dance with him or possibly the psychoanalysis of a boy's love/hate relationship
with his mother, a review of Napoleon Dynamite or a treatise on comparative religions.

There are two basic styles of fiction. The first kind of fiction tells a story from beginning to end
with very few detours or side stories. It is plot-driven, meaning that the main gist of the story is
front and center at all times, as is the protagonist.
The second style of fiction does not follow the same rigid pattern as the first. It is not bound to the
plot very much at all, but it is deeply character driven. Often these stories seem to be ethereal
and esoteric in nature, a double whammy to the more pragmatic among us who are left in the
dark with both feet on the ground.
The common names for these two divergent types of fiction are literary
fiction and popular or genre fiction. Literary fiction is the form that tends to wander in the telling of
a story as the author explores the emotions and motives of a character. Popular or genre fiction
makes a beeline from the opening paragraph to the final scene.

Here are a few familiar titles which, according to Goodreads, fall into the category of literary
fiction.

Familiar Novels Which Are Considered To Be

Literary Fiction
 To Kill a Mockingbird-Harper Lee
 Life of Pi-Yann Martel
 The Catcher in the Rye-J.D. Salinger
 The Kite Runner-Khaled Hosseini
  The Lord of the Flies-William Golding
 The Road-Cormac McCarthy (One of my all time favorite books and authors).
 Pride and Prejudice-Jane Austen
 Of Mice and Men-John Steinbeck

To Kill A Mockingbird

Source

See if your favorite author is on Amazon's list of most popular literary fiction authors (Including
their most popular book).

Amazon's Most Popular Literary Fiction Writers

 Anne D. Leclaire-The Halo Effect
 George Orwell-1984
 Margaret Atwood-MaddAddam Trilogy
 Gill Paul-The Secret Wife
 Amy Harmon-From Sand and Ash
 Ella Carey-Trilogy beginning with Paris Time Capsule
 Fredrik Backman-A Man Called Ove
 Marybeth Mayhew Whalen-The Things We Wish Were True

Or is your favorite among Amazon's most popular Genre writers? And no, it is not your
imagination when you see some of the literary writers from the lists above, in the following list.

George Orwell
Source

Amazon's Most Popular Genre Fiction Writers

 Kerry Lonsdale-Everything We Keep
 Liane Moriarty-Big Little Lies
 Laura McNeal-The Practice House
 Stephen King-Gwendy's Button Box
 Anne D. Leclaire-The Halo Effect
  WM. Paul Young-The Shack
 George Orwell-1984
 Danielle Steel-Dangerous Games
 Gill Paul-The Secret Wife
 Lindsay Jayne Ashford-The Woman on the Orient Express

How Each Side Views the Other

It is helpful to understand how the two sides often view one another. Literary defenders sum it up
by referring to literary fiction as art and genre fiction as escapism. On the genre side, literary
fiction is seen as aimless, boring and elitist.

Margaret Atwood
Source

What Is the Point of Telling a Story?

Why do we love to read and write fiction? Whether we prefer literary fiction or genre fiction, what
is the point of reading? After all, the stories are make believe, fakes. One could even call them
tall tales or lies. A story is a fabrication of people and events that –– that what? What is enduring
about story telling? Is it the story? Or is the critical point how the story impacts, moves and
creates emotion in the reader?
If the writers of genre fiction grasp the importance of emotionally impacting the reader, the line
dividing the two sides will continue to fade. Lev Grossman put it this way in a 2012 Time article
on this subject. "Stories are stories, and their relative proximity to reality is not germane. What’s
germane are the ideas and emotions that those stories create in those who read them. Fiction is
never real, but feelings always are." (Italics added).
In my opinion, literary fiction writers and genre fiction writers have a lot to offer the reader, and as
long as the reader is forefront, the writing by both sides can only improve.

Postcolonialism

By definition, postcolonialism is a period of time after colonialism, and postcolonial literature

is typically characterized by its opposition to the colonial. However, some critics have argued
that any literature that expresses an opposition to colonialism, even if it is produced during a
colonial period, may be defined as postcolonial, primarily due to its oppositional nature.
Postcolonial literature often focuses on race relations and the effects of racism and usually
indicts white and/or colonial societies. Despite a basic consensus on the general themes of
postcolonial writing, however, there is ongoing debate regarding the meaning of
postcolonialism. Many critics now propose that the term should be expanded to include the
literatures of Canada, the United States, and Australia. In his essay discussing the nature and
boundaries of postcolonialism, Simon During argues for a more inclusive definition, calling it
“the need, in nations, or groups which have been victims of imperialism to achieve an
identity uncontaminated by universalist or Eurocentric concepts or images.” The scale and
scope of modern European imperialism, as well as its extraordinarily organized character,
including the cultural licensing of racial domination, has sometimes led to the perception of
colonization as a modern phenomenon. In fact, many critics propose that modern colonialism
was not a discrete occurrence and that an examination of premodern colonial activities will
allow for a greater and more complex understanding of modern structures of power and
domination, serving to illuminate the operation of older histories in the context of both
modern colonialism and contemporary race and global political relations.

Works of literature that are defined as postcolonial often record racism or a history of
genocide, including slavery, apartheid, and the mass extinction of peoples, such as the
Aborigines in Australia. Critical response to these texts is often seen as an important way to
articulate and negotiate communication between writers who define themselves as
postcolonial and critics who are not part of that experience. In her introduction to Post-
Colonial and African American Women's Writing, published in 2000, Gina Wisker notes that
the indictment present in many postcolonial texts tends to produce guilt or feelings of
inherited complicity in many readers. Also, although writing about these texts may raise the
level of awareness of both the texts and their writers, some postcolonial writers see reflected
in this activity an arrogant assumption about the need for noncolonial cultures to recognize
postcolonial writers. Similarly, other critics have noted that critical response that focuses
entirely on the essential nature of black or Asian writers may also serve to marginalize their
writing by supposing their experiences as largely a product of being “other” than European.

Postcolonialism includes a vast array of writers and subjects. In fact, the very different
geographical, historical, social, religious, and economic concerns of the different ex-colonies
dictate a wide variety in the nature and subject of most postcolonial writing. Wisker has noted
in her book that it is even simplistic to theorize that all postcolonial writing is resistance
writing. In fact, many postcolonial writers themselves will argue that their countries are still
very much colonial countries, both in terms of their values and behaviors, and that these
issues are reflected in their work. In her essay on postcolonialism, Deepika Bahri agrees,
noting that while the definition of postcolonialism may be fairly boundaried, the actual use of
the term is very subjective, allowing for a yoking together of a very diverse range of
experiences, cultures, and problems. This diversity of definitions exists, notes Bahri, because
the term postcolonialism is used both as a literal description of formerly colonial societies
and as a description of global conditions after a period of colonialism. In this regard,
according to Bahri, the notion of the “postcolonial” as a literary genre and an academic
construct may have meanings that are completely separate from a historical moment or time
period.

Some women colonial writers draw a relationship between postcolonialism and feminism.
For many of these writers, who live in strong patriarchal cultures, language and the ability to
write and communicate represent power. Some of these writers, for example, have noted that
since the language of British-ruled colonies is English, literature written in English has often
been used to marginalize and constrain female points of view. In the postcolonial period,
however, language, and the ability to speak, write, and publish, has become an enabling tool
for postcolonial authors.

Representative Works
 (TWENTIETH-CENTURY LITERARY CRITICISM)

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Chinua Achebe
A Man of the People (novel) 1962

Ayi Kwei Armah

Why Are We So Blest? (novel) 1974

J. M. Coetzee
Dusklands (novel) 1974
In the Heart of the Country (novel) 1977

Anita Desai
The Clear Light of Day (novel) 1980
In Custody (novel) 1984
Baumgartner's Bombay (novel) 1988

Jamaica Kincaid
Annie John (novel) 1985

Maxine Hong Kingston

The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood among Ghosts (memoir) 1976
Tripmaster Monkey: His Fake Book (novel) 1989

N. Scott Momaday
House Made of Dawn (novel) 1968
The Ancient Child (novel) 1989
 Bharati Mukerjee
The Tiger's Daughter (novel) 1972
Wife (novel) 1979

Salman Rushdie
Midnight's Children (novel) 1980
Shame (novel) 1984
The Satanic Verses (novel) 1989
Imaginary Homelands: Essays and Criticism, 1981-1991 (nonfiction) 1991

Leslie Marmon Silko

Ceremony (novel) 1977
Almanac of the Dead (novel) 1991

Wole Soyinka
Season of Anomy (novel) 1973
Poems of Black Africa (poetry) 1975

N'gugi wa Thiong'o
Weep Not, Child (novel) 1964
I Will Marry When I Want (novel) 1982

Lettie Viljoen
Klaaglied vir Koos [Lament for Koos] (novel) 1984

Deepika Bahri (essay date January 1995)

(TWENTIETH-CENTURY LITERARY CRITICISM)

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 SOURCE: “Once More with Feeling: What Is Postcolonialism?” in Ariel, Vol. 26, No. 1,
January, 1995, pp. 51-82.

[In the following essay, Bahri provides an overview of the concept of postcolonialism,
including a brief survey of various definitions of the subject.]

Defining the parameters and boundaries of the postcolonial territory is a task not without its
challenges. Much of the work done under the label “postcolonial” is content to assume a
general understanding of its limits and possibilities. A sufficiently thoughtful definitional and
conceptual framework, however, continues to elude us. As Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak
writes, in postcoloniality, “every...

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Shaobo Xie (essay date 1997)
(TWENTIETH-CENTURY LITERARY CRITICISM)

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 SOURCE: “Rethinking the Problem of Postcolonialism,” in New Literary History, Vol. 28,
No. 1, 1997, pp. 7-19.

[In the following essay, Xie presents a review of theories surrounding postcolonialism,
making a distinction between postcolonial literatures and Third World writing.]

Like all other “post”-marked terms, “postcolonialism” has caused no end of debate among its
protagonists and antagonists. While the authors of The Empire Writes Back champion a loose
use of the term “postcolonial” in expanding it to the literatures of Canada, Australia, and the
United States, Simon During defines “postcolonialism” as “the need, in nations or groups...

(The entire section is 5,123 words.)

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Abdul-Rasheed Na'Allah (essay date September/December
1995)
(TWENTIETH-CENTURY LITERARY CRITICISM)

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SOURCE: “African Literatures and Postcolonialism: Projections into the Twenty-First

Century,” in Canadian Review of Literature, Vol. 22, No. 3-4, September/December, 1995,
pp. 569-85.

[In the following essay, Na'Allah examines the themes permeating African postcolonial
writing, noting that in addition to its continued focus on issues of protest on maintaining
 African values, recent African postcolonial literature also indicts native people perceived as
perpetrators of African's own imperialism.]

What the [African] writers see around them as they survive their political and social
environment since independence is a recurring cycle of misrule,...

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Clive Barnett (essay date June 1999)

(TWENTIETH-CENTURY LITERARY CRITICISM)

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SOURCE: “Constructions of Apartheid in the International Reception of the Novels of J. M.

Coetzee,” in Journal of South African Studies, Vol. 25, No. 2, June, 1999, pp. 287-301.

[In the following essay, Barnett discusses critical reception of South African literature in the
context of novelist J. M. Coetzee's works, noting that South African writing has often been
reviewed with an abstract and moralized understanding of the nature of apartheid.]

I sometimes wonder if it isn't simply that vast and wholly ideological superstructure
constituted by publishing, reviewing and criticism that is forcing on me the fate of being a
‘South African...

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Criticism: Asian/Pacific Postcolonial Literature

 (TWENTIETH-CENTURY LITERARY CRITICISM)

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SOURCE: “Postcolonialism, Nationalism, and the Emergence of Asian/Pacific American

Literatures,” in An Interethnic Companion to Asian American Literature, edited by King-Kok
Cheung, Cambridge University Press, 1997, pp. 274-88.

[In the following essay, Sumida examines the emergence of Hawaii's literatures as a
postcolonial and cultural phenomenon.]

When I was drafting this chapter, I had the opportunity to discuss with Davianna Pomaika‘i
McGregor, a historian of Native Hawaiian and ethnic studies, my questions about examining
the emergence of Hawaii's literatures as a postcolonial historical and cultural phenomenon.
“Post-colonial?” she said. Her...

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Revathi Krishnaswamy (essay date January 1995)

(TWENTIETH-CENTURY LITERARY CRITICISM)

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 SOURCE: “Mythologies of Migrancy: Postcolonialism, Postmodernism and the Politics of
(Dis)Location,” in Ariel, Vol. 26, No. 1, January, 1995, pp. 125-46.

[In the following essay, Krishnaswamy traces the ideological lineage of postcolonial theory,
noting that postcolonial celebratory novels that focused on nationalism have given way to
works of delegitimation.]

A new type of “Third World”1 intellectual, cross-pollinated by postmodernism and

postcolonialism, has arrived: a migrant who, having dispensed with territorial affiliations,
travels unencumbered through the cultures of the world bearing only the burden of a unique
yet representative sensibility...

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Arnold Krupat (essay date 1996)

(TWENTIETH-CENTURY LITERARY CRITICISM)

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SOURCE: “Postcolonialism, Ideology, and Native American Literature,” in Postcolonial

Theory and the United States: Race, Ethnicity, and Literature, edited by Amritjit Singh and
Peter Schmidt, University Press of Mississippi, 2000, pp. 73-94.

[In the following essay, originally published in 1996, Krupat presents an overview of literary
theory defining postcolonialism, placing Native American writing in this context.]
 In the current climate of literary studies, it is tempting to think of contemporary Native
American literatures as among the postcolonial literatures of the world. Certainly they share
with other postcolonial texts the fact of having, in the words of...

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Arif Dirlik (essay date Spring 1999)

(TWENTIETH-CENTURY LITERARY CRITICISM)

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SOURCE: “Is There History after Eurocentrism: Globalism, Postcolonialism, and the
Disavowal of History,” Cultural Critique, Vol. 42, Spring, 1999, pp. 1-34.

[In the following essay, Dirlik discusses Eurocentrism as a modern historical phenomenon
that has influenced many postmodern movements, including postcolonialism.]

Ours would seem to be another age of paradoxes. Localization accompanies globalization,

cultural homogenization is challenged by insistence on cultural heterogeneity,
denationalization is more than matched by ethnicization. Capitalism at its moment of victory
over socialism finds itself wondering about different cultures of capitalism at odds with...

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Louise Viljoen (essay date Winter 1996)

(TWENTIETH-CENTURY LITERARY CRITICISM)

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SOURCE: “Postcolonialism and Recent Women's Writing in Afrikaans: South African

Literature in Transition,” in World Literature Today, Vol. 70, No. 1, Winter, 1996, pp. 63-72.

[In the following essay, Viljoen theorizes that postcolonial literature produced by Afrikaans
women has evolved to address issues of apartheid as well as those of class and gender.]

1: POSTCOLONIALISM AND AFRIKAANS LITERATURE

Although cynical words have been spoken about the current popularity and academic
marketability of postcolonial theory, it cannot be denied that it has provided valuable new
perspectives on the world's so-called marginal literatures. One's...

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Gina Wisker (essay date 2000)

(TWENTIETH-CENTURY LITERARY CRITICISM)

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SOURCE: “Caribbean Women's Writing,” in Post-Colonial African American Women's

Writing: A Critical Introduction, St. Martin's, 2000, pp. 93-129.
 [In the following essay, Wisker provides a brief history of Caribbean culture and writing,
focusing on women's role and writing in the context of Caribbean culture.]

[ T]here exists among the women of the Caribbean a need for a naming of experience and a
need for communal support in that process. In the past silence has surrounded this
experience.

(Sistren, 1986, p. xv)

We never saw ourselves in a...

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Further Reading
(TWENTIETH-CENTURY LITERARY CRITICISM)

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CRITICISM

Adam, Ian, and Helen Tiffin. Past the Last Post: Theorizing Post-Colonialism and Post-
Modernism. Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 1990, 214 p.

Collection of essays on postcolonial literary theory and several works of postcolonial

literature.

Baker, Charles. William Faulkner's Postcolonial South. New York: Peter Lang, 2000, 156 p.
An analysis of postcolonial literature of the United States, focusing on the works of William
Faulkner in particular.

Bennett, Donna. “English Canada's Postcolonial Complexities.” Essays on Canadian

Writing 51-52 (Winter-Spring 1994): 164-210....

(The entire section is 281 words.)