Literary Fiction Genres
This list of fiction genres is drawn from numerous sources, including author's page, book vendor's, public library, magazine, school, and writers group's sites; plus the main Wikipedia article on
Literary Genres. The subgenre lists have been expanded with data from the good folks on Analog magazine's discussion board, and our own W2P guest speaker presentations. (These are just a few popular links, out of a great many.)
This page is focused upon literary and genre fiction only. It's a fun exercise to list several examples from each category, by fame or personal
favorites.
Here are some basic definitions.
Here's a list of keywords particular to each genre.
Mystery
Mystery subgenre definitions and examples
Amateur Investigator
Bumbling Detective
Caper (heist)
Child in Peril (woman in peril)
Cozy
Culinary
Doctor Detective
Handicapped {previously called "defective detectives"*}
Hard-boiled (noir)
Historical (Chinese, Elizabethan)
Inverted or Howdunit {reader already knows}
Legal (courtroom)
Locked Room or Puzzle
Police Procedural (forensic, serial killer, stalker, etc)
Private Detectives (female PI)
Serials or Series
Supernatural
Whodunit
Mythology
Non-narrative
Nouveau roman
Novela del dictador
Novel of manners*
Philosophical
Picaresque
Pinhead stories {50 words or fewer}
Postcolonial
Prehistoric
Proletarian*
Prompt Stories (designated first line, precise theme, three-six-nine, etc.)
Psychological
Pulp {in magazines, etc.}
Realistic {a modern-setting 'catchall' designation}
Regional
Roman à clef
Action
Americana
American West (precolumbian)
Baby Love
Bodice Ripper
Civil War
Colonial America
Contemporary
Exotic Locales
Family Saga
Futuristic (other planets)
Glitz or Glamor
Gothic
Historical (Elizabethan, Georgian, Medieval, Tudor, Viking, etc.)
Indigenous or Primitive
Inspirational or Spiritual (Christian, New Age, etc.)
Lesbian
Medical
Men's
Multicultural
Paranormal
Regency
Romantic Suspense
Romentics
Ruritanian*
Sensual or Spicy
Sweet or Gentle
Time Travel
Romantic*
Saga or Epic (family, mock, roman fleuve)
Satire or Lampoon (Horatian, Juvenalian, etc.)
Science Fiction
SF subgenres A-F definitions and examples
Age Regression
Alien Invasion
Alternate Histories
Apocalyptic (asteroid hit, nuclear war, pandemic, etc.)
Artificial Intelligence
Astrobiology
Astrosociobiology
Biopunk
Biorobotics
Christian
Clerical {including non-Christian}
Communalness
Cosy Catastrophe
Cybernetic Revolt
Cyberpunk
Cyberspace
Cyborg
Detective (robotic police, telepathic investigation, etc.)
Dying Earth
Dystopian (crowded world, gilded cage, jaded society, theocracy, etc.)
Edisonade*
Environmental
Erotica
Exotic Ecosystems {unusual life forms}
Extraterrestrial Life
Firm Science
First Encounters
First Landings (Mars, other planets; return to Moon)
Frontier (asteroid miners, rough colony, theme park)
SF subgenres G-P definitions and examples
Gay
Generation Ship
Gothic
Hard
Hollow Earth*
Hyperspace
Immortality
Invisibility
Kaiju or Tokusatsu
Lesbian
Light or Humorous
Lost Worlds (mysterious islands)
Media tie-in (game-based, Star Trek novels, etc.)
Microbiological
Military
Mind Transfer
Multiverse
Mundane
Mythological {advanced technology reduxes}
New Wave
Nanopunk
Occupational (accountants, drivers, plumbers, sales reps, etc.)
Parallel Universe
Pastoral or Small Town
Planes of Existence (altered consciousness)
Planetary Romance
Post-apocalyptic
Postcyberpunk
Posthumanism
Pulp
SF subgenres R-X definitions and examples
Recursive {self-referential}
Retro-futurism
Robot
Science Fantasy
Science Tales
Scientific Romance*
Shapeshifting
Shrinking/Enlarging Humans (endless, episodic, giantess)
Social
Soft
Space Opera (noir)
Sports
Spunky Heroine
SpyFi
Steampunk (gaslight, weird west)
Stylistic (Dickian, gedanken, gonzo, quantum, etc.)
Sword and Planet
Synthetic Biology
Terraforming
Time Travel (timepunk)
Transhumanism
Undersea
Utopian (19th century visions*, ideological, New Age, etc.)
Voyages Extraordinaires*
Wetware Computer
World-building {unusual solar systems}
World Government
Xenofiction
Sensation novel*
Sentimental*
Slave Narrative
Slipstream
Speculative Fiction {encompasses SF, Fantasy, and Horror}
Sports
Spy (contemporary, historical)
Stream of Consciousness
Tall Tale
Thriller or Suspense
{Formerly Action}
Thriller subgenre definitions and examples
Aviation
Comedic
Conspiracy
Disaster
Ecothriller
Espionage
Exploration
Legal
Medical
Mercenary
Paranormal or Supernatural
Political
Psychological
Religious
Survivalist
Technothriller
Tragedy (revenge, romance)
Transrealism
True Crime {criminal's viewpoint}
Twitterfic {ultra-short themed story, in under 140 characters}
Urban or Hip-hop Lit
Verse Novels
War Stories {set within actual wars}
Westerns
Western subgenre definitions and examples
Australian
Black Cowboy (buffalo soldier)
Bounty Hunter
Cattle Drive
Civil War
Cowpunk {outrageous cross-genre}
Doctor and Preacher
Eurowestern
Gunfighter
Humorous or Parody
Indian wars
Land Rush
Lawmen (Texas Rangers)
Mexican wars (Texan independence)
Modern Indians
Mormon
Outlaw
Prairie Settlement
Prospecting (gold rushes)
Quest
Railroad
Range wars (sheepmen)
Revenge
Romance
Town-tamer
Trapper or Mountain Man
Wagon Train
Women
Young Adult
Amateur Sleuth
Christian (Jewish)
Fantasy (comedic, scary)
Gay Teen (lesbian)
Other
Realistic Life
Science Fiction
Know of any more? Suggestions
are welcome. Email us at, ewriters \at\ aol
/dot/ com, and please make your subject line distinct.
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