21st Century Literature Genres

1. Illustrated Novels - story through text and illustrated images

Characteristics:
● 50 % of the narrative is presented without words.
● The reader must interpret the images in order to comprehend completely
the story.
● Textual portions are presented in traditional form.
● Some illustrated novels may contain no text at all.
● Span all genres.
Examples:

The Invention by Hugo Cabret

The Arrival by Shaun Tan

2. Digi-Fiction or Digital Fiction - Triple Media Literature (such as from a computer
and can be Web- or app-based (for tablets and smartphones) or accessed via
CD-ROMs.)

Characteristics:
● Combines three media: book, movie/video, and internet website.
● In order to get the full story, students must engage in navigation, reading,
viewing, in all three formats.

Examples:
The Skeleton Creek by Patrick Carman Level 26 by Anthony Zuiker

3. Graphic Novels - narratives in comic books format

Characteristics:
● Narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using comic
form.
● The term is employed in a broad manner, encompassing non-fiction works
and thematically linked short stories as well as fictional stories across a
number of genres.

Example: Archie Comics by John L. Goldwater and artist Bob Montana, in

collaboration with writer Vic Bloom
4. Manga - any comics that originated in Japan or use the Japanese style of comic
book writing. Manga is a Japanese word for comics.
Characteristics:
● It is used in the English-speaking world as a generic term for all comic
books and graphic novels originally published in Japan.
● Considered as an artistic and storytelling style.
● Ameri-manga – sometimes used to refer to comics created by American
artists in manga style.
Examples:
a. Shonen or Boy’s Manga
One Piece Bleach Naruto

b. Shojo or Girl’s Manga

Sailormoon Cardcaptor Sakura
c. Seinen or Men’s Manga
Akira Psycho-Pass

d. Josei or Women’s Manga

Paradise Kiss

e. Kodomo or Children’s Manga

Doraemon Hello Kitty

5. Doodle Fiction
Characteristics:
● Literary presentation where the author incorporates doodle writing and drawings,
and handwritten graphics in place of traditional font.
● Drawing enhances the story, often adding humorous elements that would be
missing if the illustrations were omitted.

Example:
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

6. Text-Talk Novels
Characteristics:

● Blog, email, IM format narratives

● Stories told almost completely in dialogue simulating social network exchanges.
Example:

7. Chick Literature or Chick Lit

Characteristics:
● It is genre fiction which addresses issues of modern womanhood, often
humorously and lightheartedly.
● Chick Lit typically features a female protagonist whose womanhood is heavily
thermalized in the plot.
Example:
A Very Accidental Love Story by Claudia Caroll

8. Flash Fiction
Characteristics:
● Is a style of fictional literature of extreme brevity
● There is no widely accepted definition of the length of the category. It could range
from word to a thousand
Example:

9. Six Word Flash Fiction

Characteristics:
● A six-word story allows a reader to consume an entire narrative in just a
moment's time.
Example:

10. Science Fiction

Characteristics:
● 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 universe and extraterrestrial life.
● Often explores the potential consequences of scientific and other innovations and
has been called a “literature of Ideas”.
Example:
The Stars are Legions by Kameron Hurley

11. Blog
Characteristics:
● A web log ; a website containing short articles called posts that are changed
regularly.
● Same blogs are written by one person containing their own opinions, interests
and experiences, while others are written by many different people.

Example:
The Ryan Higa Blog by Ryan Higa
Glam and Glitters by Tamara Kalinic