A beginner's guide to literary genres: from literary fiction to speculative fiction

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Genre labels can feel confusing. Bookshops and libraries sort novels into sections, publishers use labels to market them, and readers argue about where one category ends and another begins. Knowing the main genres helps you find more of what you enjoy and discover new things to try. Treat these labels as signposts, not rules: many of the best books mix several.

Literary fiction

Literary fiction is less a subject than an emphasis. It tends to prioritise character, language and ideas over plot, and is often more interested in how people think and change than in what happens to them. Endings may be open or ambiguous. It is the category most often associated with major literary prizes, though prize juries increasingly recognise genre work too. Try it if you enjoy getting inside someone's head, noticing style and thinking about a book after you finish it.

Crime and mystery

Built around a crime and its investigation, this is one of the best-selling genres. Sub-genres include:

Classic detective or whodunnit: a puzzle with clues and a satisfying reveal.
Cosy mystery: small communities, amateur sleuths and little graphic violence.
Police procedural: the realistic, often gritty work of investigation.
Psychological thriller: suspense, unreliable narrators and domestic secrets.
Noir: dark, morally grey stories, often told from inside the crime.

Thriller and suspense

Thrillers are driven by tension and pace: conspiracies, chases, espionage, legal or medical danger. Short chapters and cliffhangers are common.

Romance

Romance centres on a love story and, by the genre's own definition, ends happily or at least hopefully. It covers contemporary, historical, fantasy and many other settings, and is one of the most widely read genres.

Historical fiction

Novels set in a real past period, often with careful research. Some follow invented characters through real events; others reimagine real historical figures.

Speculative fiction

Speculative fiction is an umbrella term for stories that depart from the world as it is. The science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein helped popularise the phrase in 1947, though it had been used before him. Under the umbrella:

Science fiction explores the consequences of science and technology: space travel, artificial intelligence, future societies.
Fantasy involves magic or invented worlds, from epic quests to stories where magic slips into ordinary life.
Dystopian fiction imagines societies gone wrong, often as a warning about our own.
Horror aims to unsettle or frighten, whether with the supernatural or with very human evil.
Alternate history asks what would have happened if a historical event had gone differently.

Some literary novels use speculative ideas too, which is one reason the boundaries blur.

Other categories worth knowing

Young adult (YA): written mainly for teenagers, but read by many adults; usually focuses on coming of age.
Short stories: many genres have strong short fiction, which is a good way to sample.
Graphic novels: book-length comics in any genre, from memoir to fantasy.
Literature in translation: not a genre in itself but a whole world of books worth seeking out.

How to use genres to find books

Name what you love within a genre. Do you like crime for the puzzle, the setting or the detective? That points you to the right sub-genre.
Try a crossover. Loved a fantasy novel? A literary novel with a speculative twist might suit you. Enjoy historical fiction? Try a historical mystery.
Sample the classics of a new genre, but also the recent bestsellers and prize winners, which show where it is now.
Ignore snobbery. No genre is inherently better than another. Every one contains both brilliant and forgettable books.

Labels are a starting point

Genre labels are useful for browsing and for describing your taste to a librarian or bookseller. But many memorable books are hard to categorise, and part of the fun of reading is wandering outside the section you usually visit. Which genre do you read most, and which would you like to try next? Share it in the comments.