Writing & Reading: Genres

Omigod!! It took writing this post on genres to finally discover the difference between Urban Fantasy and everything else. I know, “sweeping statement”. All the research I had done previously to understand the difference was for naught, for it was not at ALL limited to Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy. Of course, knowing this only makes distinguishing between the stories more difficult. I know I’ll be bookmarking this post for future reference!

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The primary genre categories are fiction and non-fiction, which are, of course, broken down further into subgenres and sub-subgenres . . . and there are enough to drive you mad with their minute distinctions. Then there are the stories that incorporate elements of a number of different categories of subgenre.

This post on genres is intended as a guide. For writers it can help focus your theme, plot, conflict, and characters. For readers, it gives you a heads-up on whether you’ll enjoy the subject matter.

Writing is . . .

. . . a lot of work . . . yeah, you already know that one, lol. What the posts on “Writing” are intended to do is explore the various mechanics of writing from plots to points-of-view to structure to character development to genres to voice to target audience to book types to character or story arcs to back stories to plot devices to themes to diction to copyright to flashforwards to flashbacks to framing the story or devices to memes to tropes to pace to perspective to settings to show versus tell to social context to continuity to storyboards to style to language to style sheets to syntax to tone to tropes and more . . .

It’s an evolving conversation, and sometimes I run across an example that helps explain better or another “also known as”. Heck, there’s always a better way to explain it, so if it makes quicker and/or better sense, I would appreciate suggestions and comments from anyone on some aspect of writing with which you struggle or on which you can contribute more understanding.

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Genre
Definition: A genre is a category of literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter. POST CONTENTS: Action/Adventure Fantasy Arcanepunk Dark Epic Erotic Folklore Allegory Fable Fairytale Legend Myth Parable Tall Tale Grimdark High Game-Related Fantasy Historical Magical Realism Paranormal Fantasy Urban Fantasy Fiction Bildungsroman Biography (Fictional) Chick Lit Drama Dramatic Comedy Tragi-Comedy Farce Melodrama Music Tragedy Epistolary (can also be non-fiction) Erotic Historical Literature Military Poetry Heroic Poetry Metaphysical Poetry Narrative Verse Roman à Clef History Horror Child in Peril Comic Horror Creepy Kid Erotic Horror Erotic Vampire Horror Fabulist Horror Gothic Horror Hauntings Historical Horror Psychological Horror Quiet Horror Religious Horror Science Fiction Horror Splatter Horror Supernatural Menace Technology Weird Tales Zombie Military Mystery Amateur Sleuth Courtroom Drama Cozy Crime Heists and Capers Detective Forensics Hardboiled Noir Historical Locked-Room Open-Mystery Police Procedural Private Investigator Thriller (Mystery) True Crime Vintage New Adult Non-Fiction Art Books Biography Anecdote Autobiography Epistolary (also fictional) Memoir Cookbook Essays Descriptive Essay Expository Essay Narrative Essay Persuasive Essay Argumentative Essay History How-to Manuals Journalism Military Narrative Non-Fiction Reference Scientific, Technical, or Economic Writings Speech Text Book Romance Adaptation Alpha Male Billionaires & Millionaires Black & African American Chick Lit Romance Comedy Contemporary Enemies to Lovers Glitz and Glamor Gothic Historical Holiday Inspirational Amish Later in Life LGBTQ+ Love Triangle Mafia Multicultural & Interracial New Adult Paranormal Romance Polyamory Rockstar Science Fiction Sexual Distinctions of the Romance Genre: Clean & Wholesome Romance Erotic Romance Erotica Porn Sexy Sweet Romance Small Town Sports Time Travel Romantic Suspense Romance in Uniform / Military Western Workplace Young Adult Romance Science Fiction Alternate History Alternate Planes of Existence Alternate Universe (see Parallel World) Apocalyptic Dystopian Erotic Fantasy Military Science Fiction Parallel World Space Opera Steampunk Time Travel Suspense Thriller Action/Adventure Comedic Conspiracy Corporate or Financial Crime Thriller Disaster Eco-thriller Erotic Thriller Forensics Thriller Historical Thriller Legal Medical Military Mystery Thriller Paranormal Thriller Political Psychological Religious Spy or Espionage Thriller Techno-thriller
Action / Adventure	Definition: Action is an important part and usually features a race against the clock, lots of violence, and an obvious antagonist.
Return to top or post contents	The adventure incorporates an event or series of events that happens outside the course of the protagonist’s ordinary life, usually accompanied by danger, often by physical action. Action/adventure is usually combined with other genres: thrillers, historicals, military, fantasy, etc.
	Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit Tom Clancy’s The Hunt for Red October Veronica Roth’s Divergent
Fantasy
Definition: A book or series genre that “uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary plot element, theme, or setting such as an imaginary world where magic and magical creatures are common” as well as races other than humans, such as elves, dwarves, or goblins. — a world completely separate from our own, and includes its own myths and legends. What primarily sets fantasy apart from sci-fi is the medieval style of the world’s technology and culture. The genre continues to evolve with a number of different subgenres and can mix with completely separate genres. It is actually a sub-genre of speculative fiction. Credit to: Penn; Wiki: Fantasy
Arcanepunk	Definition: Blends science fiction, technology, and fantasy and may take place in alternate histories, futuristic societies, contemporary worlds, or even secondary worlds. The key, is that the world has to have reached industrialization.
Return to top or post contents	These stories dabble in noir, have underworlds, and can sometimes be a dystopia. Characters are broody and dark. Unlike steampunk, it is not limited to Victorian-era London. The magic is not divine AND is very functional with an everyday quality with many people able to wield it, not just scientists and wizards. A.k.a. dungeon punk??, magepunk?? Credit to: Arcanepunk
	Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels, apocalyptic series Stephen Kenson’s Shadowrun series Devon Monk’s Allie Beckstrom series China Miéville’s Bas-Lag Cycle, a.k.a., New Crobuzon, series (blends Steampunk, Science Fiction, and Horror) Walter Jon Williams’ Metropolitan series
Dark Fantasy	Definition: Mixes in horror or grim themes that delve into the dark and twisted side of our nature and the weird, sublime, and uncanny.
Return to top or post contents	It doesn’t shy away from the gore and horror of its own darkness, but doesn’t primarily aim to spook. Its heroes are not knights in shining armour, but people who sometimes have to do unsavoury things. Nor are its villains necessarily all bad although it may have villains that really are all bad. Credit to: Baxter
	Alan Baxter’s RealmShift and MageSign are primarily dark + elements of action/adventure and thriller Christina Henry’s The Chronicles of Alice series Anne Bishop’s The Black Jewels series
Epic Fantasy	Definition: Features very thick books in a very long series
Return to top or post contents	Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series Janny Wurts’ Wars of Light and Shadow series
Erotic Fantasy	Definition: Blends magic, magical creatures, and other supernatural phenomena with sex. The erotic subgenre can also be found under romance, fiction, science fiction, and thriller.
Return to top or post contents	A.N. Roquelaure’s Sleeping Beauty series Jacqueline Carey’s Phèdre’s Trilogy series Laurell K. Hamilton’s Meredith Gentry series and her Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series
Folklore	Definition: Stories, beliefs, and sayings that have some historical basis, although they aren’t always about a singular historical person, often more of an era. They that have been handed down for centuries within a particular social group in a blend of fairytales and legends. For example: In English, the phrase “An elephant walks into a bar . . .” flags the following text as a joke. The child’s song “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” includes a distinctive performance for each of the animals named.
Return to top or post contents	Aarne–Thompson–Uther Classification of Folk Tales (ATU #)
	A system to classify the thousands of folktales has been evolving for over a hundred years and is used to organize, classify, and analyze folklore narratives (many tales are variations on a limited number of themes). More specific indices include the: Aarne–Thompson Motif-Index (catalogued by alphabetical letters followed by #) Organizes thousands of motifs under an umbrella topic and then divided into more specific subcategories. For example, category “S” is “Unnatural Cruelty” with entry “S50. Cruel relatives-in-law”, under which is the more specific entry “S51.1. Cruel mother-in-law plans death of daughter-in-law”. Aarne–Thompson Tale Type Index (cataloged by AT # or AaTh #) Divides tales by its central motif or by one of the variant folktales of that type, which can also vary, especially when used in different countries and cultures into sections Tale types are not accurate for every folktale: “The Cat as Helper” (545B) may include a fox helping the hero Tale Types 400-424 all feature “Brides/Wives” as the primary protagonist with “The Quest for a Lost Bride” (400) or the “Animal Bride” (402) as subtypes within. Subtypes are designated by adding a letter to the AT #: “The Persecuted Heroine” (510) has subtypes 510A, “Cinderella”, and 510B, “Catskin” A.k.a. verbal folklore Credit to: Aarne–Thompson–Uther; ATU Classification
	Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm’s The Complete Grimm’s Fairy Tales is also a Fairytale Neil Gaiman’s American Gods Italo Calvino’s Italian Folktales Sir James George Frazer’s The Golden Bough Paul Bunyan is representative of lumberjacks of the era. John Henry, the steel driving man, is loosely based on a black transcontinental railroad worker after the Civil War.
Allegory	Definition: A story in which ideas are symbolized as people.
Return to top or post contents	“The Boy Who Cried Wolf” “The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg” “The Tortoise and the Hare” “The Ant and the Grasshopper”
Fable	Definition: A very short story that has a moral or life lesson; usually has talking animals or objects as main characters. A.k.a. fabula
Return to top	Aesop’s Fables
Fairytale	Definition: A story which tends to be based around magical creatures and fantasy worlds, usually written for children and are easy to follow and understand. They incorporate talking animals, unicorns, fairies and faeries, goblins, what have you. There can be some moralistic woven in — be kind to strangers, respect your elders, don’t tell strange wolves where you’re going and what path you’re taking.
Return to top or post contents	Mercedes Lackey’s Five Hundred Kingdoms series and Fairy Tales series. Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes Seanan McGuire’s Indexing series Hans Christian Andersen’s Andersen’s Fairy Tales Charles Perrault’s The Complete Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault Makoto Shibutani’s Momotaro Japanese Fairy Tale
Legend	Definition: Legends are made-up or exaggerated stories about real people and their actions or deeds performed to save their people or nations — and yet, rooted in reality. The people mentioned in a legend might not really have done what the story of the legend relates, and on some cases, the actual historical events have been changed to make it more fascinating. A legend has been passed down in oral form through the centuries.
Return to top or post contents	The city of Atlantis King Arthur, Merlin, the knights of the Round Table incorporates stories full of chivalry and courtly love. In reality, those concepts didn’t really exist when the historical Arthur was alive. Robin Hood Queen Boadicea Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Faust The Flying Dutchman Johnny Appleseed was created from John Chapman, a deeply unpleasant frontiersman planting apple trees in the early 1800s, but it was to claim land for himself. The apples he planted wasn’t for eating either, but for hard cider. He did carry a sack of seeds around, however.
Myth	Definition: It belongs to a culture’s belief system about gods or goddesses and answers questions about the workings of natural phenomenon. They have been passed down in oral form through the centuries and is .
Return to top or post contents	Myths may go as far back as prehistoric times and came before religions. All religious stories are, in fact, retellings of global mythical themes. Many writers use myths as the basis for stories. A.k.a. mythic fiction
	Author Joseph Campbell Romulus and Remus the Grail Quest the Fisher King Helen of Troy John Milton’s Paradise Lost Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson & the Olympians series and his The Heroes of Olympus series Stories from the Bible Stories about Excalibur and Camelot
Parable	Definition: A short story designed to teach a moral or religious lesson using symbolism, simile, and metaphor.
Return to top or post contents	“The Cow” from ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­The Holy Quran “The Good Samaritan” from The Holy Bible Hans Christian Anderson’s The Emperor’s New Clothes
Tall Tale	Definition: Stories set in the Wild West; the main character’s strengths, skills, or size have been exaggerated and the tone is funny.
Return to top	Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Os Pecos Bill Stories about the fish you caught *grin* Johnny Appleseed Orson Scott Card’s Tales of Alvin Maker series
Grimdark Fantasy	Definition: Employs a dystopian element in the world or plot.
Return to top or post contents	Glen Cook’s The Chronicles of the Black Company series Joe Abercrombie’s The First Law series Scott Lynch’s Gentleman Bastard series Mark Lawrence’s The Broken Empire series
High Fantasy	Definition: Usually very traditional and Tolkienesque.
Return to top or post contents	J.R.R. Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings series Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea Cycle Robin Hobb’s Realms of the Elderlings series Patrick Rothfuss’ The Kingkiller Chronicle series
Game-Related Fantasy	Definition: Tales with plots and characters similar to high fantasy, but based on a specific role-playing game like Dungeons and Dragons or a video game.
Return to top or post contents	Lara Croft Oliver Bowden’s Assassin’s Creed series Dafydd ab Hugh, Brad Linaweaver’s Doom series A variety of authors have contributed stories based on the video game Halo (the series)
Historical Fantasy	Definition: Incorporates magic into historical fiction, often mixed with the “sword and sorcery” subgenre.
Return to top or post contents	Doubled Edge series Piers Anthony’s Hasan Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series
Magical Realism	Definition: Inspired by Latin-American authors, it includes elements of fantasy, myth, or the supernatural in a world that is otherwise objective and realistic.
Return to top or post contents	It differs from urban fantasy in that the magic itself is not the focus of the story. A.k.a. magical realist
	Author Gabriel García Márquez; his One Hundred Years of Solitude is a classic. Toni Morrison’s Beloved Aimee Bender’s The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake Ramona Ausubel’s A Guide to Being Born: “Chest of Drawers” Salman Rushdie’s The Enchantress Of Florence Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita Isabel Allende’s The House of the Spirits Laura Esquivel’s Like Water for Chocolate
Paranormal Fantasy	Definition: Set in a normal world and designates experiences that lie outside “the range of normal experience or scientific explanation” or that indicates phenomena that are understood to be outside of science’s current ability to explain or measure.
Return to top or post contents	It may speculate about the things that cannot be seen or proved, such as extrasensory perception (ESP) and alien life. Characters may include psychics, mediums, telepaths, time travelers, magic, or supernatural people or creatures on the edges of it. Romance may be one of the threads in a paranormal story but it will be a side theme. See paranormal romance for more on this distinction. It is also a subgenre under Thriller. A.k.a. supernatural fiction, speculative fiction
	Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series Alex Hughes’ Mindspace Investigations series Kim Harrison’s The Hollows series Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse series and Harper Connelly series
Urban Fantasy	Definition: Set in a normal world but with magic or supernatural people or creatures on the edges of it. The normal people aren’t aware that magic of any sort exists, but the magic is the focus of the story. Romance will be but one thread in the story.
Return to top or post contents	It differs from magical realism in that the magic is the focus of the story. Joanna Penn has written a useful post, “Writing Fiction. What Is Urban Fantasy Anyway?“, that defines urban fantasy as one in which “magic and weird stuff creeping in at the edges of a world in which magic is not the norm. Everything appears normal until you walk down a particular alleyway after midnight on the third Tuesday of the month. The person sitting opposite you on the underground train looks normal but is in fact looking for a particular flavour of grief to steal and bottle up to take back to his master.” The majority of the people who live there will have normal lives, oblivious to the magical all around them, hidden in plain sight”. Romance will simply be one of many threads within the storyline. As a series genre, I define it as one which follows the same primary character in each installment in a series — Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Diana Rowland’s Kara Gillian, and Alex Archer’s Rogue Angel, Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson are good examples. Series which are a blend of urban fantasy and another genre(s) include Seanan McGuire’s October Daye
	Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London, a.k.a., PC Peter Grant, Peter Grant, series Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely YA series
Fiction
Definition: Prose that describes imaginary events and people who may have some resemblance with real life events and characters while entertaining, educating, and inspiring your readers. It includes novels, novellas, short stories, poetry, plays, etc. Yep, that includes absolutely everything that is not non-fiction. Credit to: Fiction
Return to top or post contents	Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland Plays by Shakespeare, Brecht, Marlowe, Bernard Shaw, Arthur Miller, Eugene O’Neill, etc. Jane Austen, Charlotte Brönte, Charles Dickens Patricia Briggs, Faith Hunter Ayn Rand, George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, H.G. Wells James Patterson, Taylor Caldwell and on and on and on . . .
Bildungsroman	Definition: A German word referring to a novel structured as a series of events that take place as the hero travels in quest of a goal. A.k.a. coming-of-age
Return to top or post contents	Henry Fielding’s The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Fictional Biography	Definition: A type of historical fiction that recreates elements of the life of an historical individual in the form of a fictional narrative.
Return to top or post contents	Irving Stone’s The Agony and the Ecstasy William Styron’s The Confessions of Nat Turner Robert Graves’ I, Claudius Tracy Chevalier’s Girl with a Pearl Earring
Chick Lit	Definition: It’s a shorthand for chick literature, meaning a book genre which addresses issues of modern womanhood, often humorously and lightheartedly.
Return to top or post contents	Although it sometimes includes romantic elements, chick lit is generally not considered a direct subcategory of the romance novel genre, because the heroine’s relationship with her family or friends is often just as important as her romantic relationships. Also see Chick Lit Romance. A.k.a. chick literature Credit to: Wiki: Chick Lit
	The author Sophie Kinsella Kate Mertz’s Stiletto Safari Rachel Naples’ Dirty Laundry Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones series Lauren Weisberger’s The Devil Wears Prada series
Drama	Definition: A mode of fictional representation through dialogue and performance.
Return to top or post contents	William Shakespeare’s MacBeth and Hamlet Arthur Miller’s The Crucible Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Dramatic Comedy	Definition:Comedies are lighter in tone than ordinary writers, and provide a happy conclusion. The intention of dramatists in comedies is to make their audience laugh. Hence, they use quaint circumstances, unusual characters and witty remarks.
Return to top or post contents	William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia
Tragi-Comedy	Definition: A play or novel containing elements of both comedy and tragedy. It will include most of “tragedy’s elements, e.g., a certain gravity of diction, the depiction of important public events, and the arousal of compassion — but never carrying the action to tragedy’s conclusion, and judiciously including such comic elements as low-born characters, laughter, and jests. Central to this kind of tragicomedy were danger, reversal, and a happy ending” (Britannica).
Return to top or post contents	John Fletcher’s The Faithful Shepherdess William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice and The Tempest Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard
Farce	Definition: A nonsensical genre of drama, which often overacts or engages slapstick humor, deliberate absurdity, bawdy jokes, and drunkenness aimed at entertaining.
Return to top or post contents	Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew Oliver Goldsmith’s She Stoops to Conquer
Melodrama	Definition: An exaggerated, highly emotional drama, which is sensational and appeals directly to the senses of audience. Just like the farce, the characters are of single dimension and simple, or may be stereotyped.
Return to top or post contents	Wilkie Collins’ The Woman in White Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights James M. Cain’s Mildred Pierce Soap operas
Musical Drama	Definition: A drama told through music, dance, acting, and dialogue. The story may be comedic, though it may also involve serious subjects.
Return to top or post contents	Bertolt Brecht’s The Threepenny Opera Dan Goggin’s Nunsense Irving Shulman’s West Side Story
Tragedy	Definition: Use darker themes such as disaster, pain, and death. Protagonists often have a tragic flaw — a characteristic that leads them to their downfall.
Return to top or post contents	Refers to a series of unfortunate events by which one or more of the literary characters in the story undergo several misfortunes, which finally culminate into a disaster of “epic proportions”. Tragedy is generally built up in five stages: Happy times, a.k.a., anticipation stage The introduction of a problem, a.k.a., dream stage The problem worsens to a crisis or dilemma, a.k.a., frustration stage The characters are unable to prevent the problem from taking over, a.k.a., nightmare stage The problem results in some catastrophic, grave ending, a.k.a., destruction stage, death wish stage Credit to: Tragedy
	William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars JoJo Moyes’ Me Before You
Epistolary	Definition: A novel (or non-fictional biography) written as a series of documents such as letters, diary entries, newspaper clippings, etc.
Return to top or post contents	Today, eDocuments such as emails, text messages, blogs, recordings, and radio are also being used. They may be letters from one person or between different characters which means multiple points-of-view. Epistolary may also be non-fiction.
	Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Abraham “Bram” Stoker’s Dracula C. S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’s Diary Samuel Richardson’s Clarissa, or, the History of a Young Lady Tobias Smollett’s The Expedition of Humphry Clinker Fanny Burney’s Evelina Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s La Nouvelle Héloïse Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ Les Liaisons dangereuses Alice Walker’s The Color Purple
Erotic	Definition: Fictional tales of human sexual relationships which have the power to or are intended to arouse the reader sexually. It takes the form of novels, short stories, poetry, true-life memoirs, and sex manuals.
Return to top or post contents	A common feature is sexual fantasies on such themes as prostitution, orgies, homosexuality, sadomasochism, and many other taboo subjects and fetishes, which may or may not be expressed in explicit language. Other common elements are satire and social criticism. The erotic subgenre can also be found under fantasy, romance, science fiction, and thriller. Credit to: Wiki: Erotic
	John Cleland’s Fanny Hill, or Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure Anaïs Nin’s “Little Birds“ Pauline Reage’s Story of O Emmanuelle Arsan’s Emmanuelle
Historical	Definition: An altered sense of reality and storyline using historical facts and happenings as a base for the writing.
Return to top or post contents	Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series Kathryn Stocket’s The Help Arthur Golden’s Memoirs of a Geisha Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind Tracy Chevalier’s Girl with a Pearl Earring Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall
Literature	Definition: Written works, especially those considered of superior or lasting artistic merit.
Return to top or post contents	Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye William Golding’s Lord of the Flies George Orwell’s Animal Farm and 1984 J.M. Coetzee’s Disgrace Richard Henry Dana’s Two Years Before the Mast Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe Rainbow Rowell’s Eleanor & Park JoJo Moyes’ Me Before You
Military	Definition: The primary action takes place on a battlefield or in a civilian setting (or home front), where the characters are either preoccupied with the preparations for, suffering the effects of, or recovering from war. Many war novels are historical novels.
Return to top or post contents	Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage Bernard Cornwell’s Richard Sharpe series
Poetry	Definition: Written in a verse and rhythm, it tries to invoke a more emotional, primal response from within our minds. Poetry will include sonnets, lyric poetry, etc.
Return to top or post contents	Ralph Waldo Emerson Shakespeare William Wordsworth W.B. Yeats Langston Hughes Emily Dickinson Allen Ginsberg Khalil Gibran Günter Grass Walt Whitman Alfred, Lord Tennyson Dylan Thomas
Heroic Poetry	Definition: Narrative verse that is elevated in mood and uses a dignified, dramatic, and formal style to describe the deeds of aristocratic warriors and rulers. It is usually composed without the aid of writing and is chanted or recited to the accompaniment of a stringed instrument.
Return to top or post contents	Beowulf Lord George Byron’s “The Siege of Corinth“ Alfred Lord Tennyson’s “The Charge of the Light Brigade”
Metaphysical Poetry	Definition: Refers to poetry that explores highly complex, philosophical ideas through extended metaphors and “paradox.
Return to top or post contents	John Donne George Herbert Richard Crashaw Andrew Marvell Henry Vaughan
Narrative Verse	Definition: Poetry written as if it were a story.
Return to top or post contents	Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queen
Roman à Clef	Definition: A novel in which actual people and places are disguised as fictional characters.
Return to top or post contents	Robert Penn Warren’s All the King’s Men Jack Kerouac’s On the Road Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
History
Definition: A book about real people, real places, and real events in the past. See Non-Fiction: History
Horror
Definition: A book or series genre that creates a sense of fear, panic, alarm, and dread in the reader through a portrayal of their worst fears and nightmares. The plot usually centers on the arrival of an evil force, person, or event and includes a large amount of violence and gore in the storyline. Horror may focus on non-supernatural or the supernatural and are built around suspense and the idea that the end could indeed be nigh. The genre continues to evolve with a number of different subgenres and can mix with completely separate genres. Credit to: Vaughn
Child in Peril	Definition: Horror that involves the abduction and/or persecution of a child.
Return to top or post contents	James Kahn’s Poltergeist William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist V.C. Andrews’ Flowers in the Attic
Comic Horror	Definition: Horror stories that either spoof horror conventions or that mix the gore with dark humor, giving the reader a reason to laugh at their fears, yet at the same time allowing the reader to feel safe, like the monsters can’t get them. In placing characters in familiar settings with relatively predictable stories, the reader is prepared, safe.
Return to top or post contents	Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow“ Sam Raimi’s Army of Darkness Mike Mignola’s Hellboy series R.L. Stine’s middle-grade Goosebumps series
Creepy Kid	Definition: Children who come under the influence of dark forces begin to turn against the adults.
Return to top or post contents	Stephen King’s “The Children of the Corn” and Carrie
Erotic Horror	Definition: Sex and horror mixed together . . . sounds like a lifelong session on a therapist’s couch to me.
Return to top or post contents	Poppy Z. Brite and Caitlin Kiernan’s Wrong Things
Erotic Vampire	Definition: A fairly new subgenre in horror linking sexuality and vampires, but with more emphasis on graphic description and violence.
Return to top or post contents	Poppy Z. Brite’s Love in Vein
Fabulist Horror	Definition: A horror-oriented version of the fable subgenre, in which objects, animals, or forces of nature are anthropomorphized in order to deliver a moral lesson.
Return to top or post contents	H.P. Lovecraft’s The Call of Cthulhu Stephen King’s Pet Semetary Clive Barker’s Weaveworld
Gothic Horror	Definition: A traditional form depicting the encroachment of the Middle Ages upon 18th century Enlightenment, filled with images of decay and ruin, and episodes of imprisonment and persecution.
Return to top or post contents	Author Edgar Allan Poe Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray Abraham “Bram” Stoker’s Dracula
Hauntings	Definition: A classic form centering on possession by ghosts, demons or poltergeists, particularly of some sort of structure.
Return to top or post contents	Stephen King’s The Shining Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House
Historical Horror	Definition: Horror tales set in a specific and recognizable period of history. Historical horror may also be a subgenre under Mystery, Romance, and Thriller.
Return to top or post contents	Seth Grahame Smith’s Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Tonia Brown’s Skin Game Dan Davis’ The Immortal Knight Chronicles series
Psychological Horror	Definition: Based on the disturbed human psyche, often exploring insane, altered realities and featuring a human monster with horrific, but not supernatural, aspects. This subgenre may sometimes overlap with Psychological Thriller.
Return to top or post contents	Thomas Harris’ Silence of the Lambs Robert Bloch’s Psycho and American Gothic Stephen King’s Misery and The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon Koji Suzuki’s Ring
Quiet Horror	Definition: Subtly written horror that uses atmosphere and mood, rather than graphic description, to create fear and suspense.
Return to top or post contents	It stimulates the intellect, evokes dark emotions, and conjures imagery, artistically hitting your fear buttons, teasing you with clues, and employing the suggestive-then-cut-away Hitchcock style of suspense. And often, this quiet darkness will hold a message that is not only cleverly hidden but also symbolic. That “ah-ha” moment is one we all love to experience. Credit to: Cappa
	Author Charles L. Grant John Harwood’s The Séance Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories W.W. Jacob’s “The Monkey’s Paw“ Peter Straub’s In the Night Room
Religious Horror	Definition: Makes use of religious icons and mythology, especially the angels and demons derived from Dante’s Inferno and Milton’s Paradise Lost. Mike Duran has a post, “On ‘Christian Horror’ and Atheist Dread“, that explores both sides of religious horror.
Return to top or post contents	H.P. Lovecraft’s The Whisperer in Darkness William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist
Science Fiction Horror	Definition: A darker, more violent twist, often revolving around alien invasions, mad scientists, or experiments gone wrong.
Return to top or post contents	George Langelaan’s “The Fly“ H.G. Wells’ The Island of Dr. Moreau
Splatter Horror	Definition: A fairly new, extreme style of horror that cuts right to the gore with graphic, often gory, depictions of violence and “hyper-intensive horror with no limits”. Sounds like horror porn . . . A.k.a. splatterpunk
Return to top or post contents	Michael Shea’s “The Autopsy“ Jack Ketchum’s Off Season (the original version or the release by Dorchester) David J. Schow’s The Kill Riff
Supernatural Menace	Definition: The rules of normal existence don’t apply; often featuring ghosts, demons, vampires, and werewolves.
Return to top or post contents	Aaron B. Larson’s Weird Western Adventures of Haakon Jones Arthur J. Burks’ Horror Stories
Technology	Definition: Features technology that has run amok, venturing increasingly into the expanding domain of computers, cyberspace, and genetic engineering.
Return to top or post contents	Stephen King’s The Lawnmower Man Dean Koontz’s Demon Seed James Kahn’s Poltergeist series Rachel Caine’s Revivalist series
Weird Tales	Definition: inspired by the magazine of the same name, a more traditional form featuring strange and uncanny events, but all events can be explained rationally.
Return to top or post contents	There isn’t anything supernatural in the story. “The horrors in a weird menace story are recounted in great detail and with extreme intensity. The monster must be human: mad scientists, cult leaders, psychopaths, fiends, ‘gnarled dwarves, brainless mutants, [and] horny hunchbacks’ abound.” Credit to: Weird
	Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone X-Files series Algernon Blackwood’s Four Weird Tales
Zombie	Definition: Tales featuring dead people who return to commit mayhem on the living.
Return to top or post contents	Mira Grant’s Newsflesh Trilogy series John Joseph Adams’ anthology, The Living Dead Diana Rowland’s White Trash Zombie series Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill’s Dead Reckoning
Mystery
Definition: A book or series genre in which the main character solves the puzzle of a crime or series of crimes without knowing who the killer is — the whodunnit. To create a feeling of resolution with the reader through more cerebral means and at a slower pace, unraveling slowly, with the reader exposed to the same information as the detective and allowing the reader to take in every aspect of the investigation. If the protagonist is in any danger, it is usually moderate and becomes a problem only as the detective approaches the truth. Mysteries range from detective hunts to police crime scenes. It’s easy to confuse mystery with suspense or thriller as they are so similar, however, remember that in mystery, you don’t know who the killer is until the end. Suspense continues to evolve with a number of different subgenres and can mix with completely separate genres. A.k.a. detective novel
Amateur Sleuth	Definition: Features a person with the skills and desire to investigate mysteries. It’s a close cousin to the cozy. A.k.a., amateur detective
Return to top or post contents	John Creasey’s The Toff series Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes series, etc. Robin Allen’s Poppy Markham, Culinary Cop series
Courtroom Drama	Definition: A mystery that takes place through the justice system — often the efforts of a defense attorney to prove the innocence of his client by finding the real culprit. A.k.a. legal thriller
Return to top or post contents	Many of John Grisham‘s including A Time to Kill Robert Traver’s Anatomy of a Murder Scott Turow’s Presumed Innocent and The Burden of Proof Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird
Cozy	Definition: Includes a lighthearted tone and generally features an intelligent woman as the protagonist with particular skills, an occupation or particular hobby, and lives in a small town or village which makes it more likely that she knows many of the people who may be involved or know something.
Return to top or post contents	Frequently, her best friend, husband, or significant other is involved in law enforcement as a medical examiner, lawyer, policeman, detective, etc. The Cozy Mystery List website has a great post on “What Makes a Cozy Just That?”
	Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple series Diane Mott Davidson’s Goldy Bear Culinary Mysteries series Cleo Coyle’s Coffeehouse Mystery series Donna Andrews’ Meg Langslow series Katherine Hall Page’s Faith Fairchild series
Crime	Definition: Fictionalizes crimes, their detection, criminals, and their motives. It focuses on a specific crime or set of crimes, and solves the mystery or tracks down the criminal(s) with no or little violence but more drama throughout and at a slower pace.
Return to top or post contents	They may focus more on the gangster life, personal drama (and/or perspective) of the criminals and even their personal lives. It usually offers a more serious, grim, and realistic portrayal of the criminal environment, emphasizing character development and complex narratives over suspense sequences, chase scenes, and violence. In crime fiction, the hero might be a police officer, or a private eye, who is usually tough and resourceful. He or she is pitted against villains determined to destroy him or her, although, unlike in thrillers, not necessarily other people, the country, or the stability of the free world. Crime may also be a thriller.
	Mario Puzo’s The Godfather Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers on a Train Wilkie Collins’ The Woman in White Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose Craig Johnson’s Walt Longmire series
Heists and Capers	Definition: An “antihero” genre that focuses on the planning and execution of a crime, told from the criminal’s perspective.
Return to top or post contents	Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg’s Fox and O’Hare series Donald E. Westlake’s Dortmunder series Lawrence Block’s Bernie Rhodenbarr series Elmore Leonard’s Get Shorty
Detective	Definition: The detective usually concentrates on a single crime.
Return to top or post contents	Louise Penny’s Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series Ian Rankin’s Inspector Rebus series Charles Todd’s historical Inspector Ian Rutledge series
Forensics	See Forensics Thriller.
Hardboiled	Definition: A cynical detective, a classical antihero, who fears nothing, an attitude conveyed through the detective’s inner monologue using narrative voice and various flashbacks (think Sam Spade).
Return to top or post contents	The cynicism comes from dealing with the violence of organized crime during Prohibition and later AND a corrupt legal system. It shares some of its characters and settings with crime. Suspense is created by emphasizing apprehension, awe, horror, and terror. A.k.a. hard-boiled
	Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer series Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe series Ross Macdonald’s Lew Archer series Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon with Sam Spade and The Continental Op series Ken Bruen’s Jack Taylor series and his Inspector Brant series
Noir	Definition: The protagonist is a victim, a suspect, or a perpetrator — not a detective.
Return to top or post contents	The self-destructive protagonist is typically dealing with the legal, political, or other system that is no less corrupt than the perpetrator by whom the protagonist is either victimized and/or has to victimize others on a daily basis, leading to a lose-lose situation. Frequently involves a private detective and a femme fatale with whom s/he has an affair. Noir is often characterized by unhappy or unresolved endings. A.k.a. dark mystery, noir fiction, roman noir
	Matthew McBride’s A Swollen Red Sun James M. Cain‘s The Postman Always Rings Twice More authors include Cornell Woolrich, Dorothy B. Hughes, Jim Thompson, David Goodis, Elmore Leonard and more
Historical	Definition: Set in a time period that the author sees as being in the past with the central plot solving a crime or murder.
Return to top or post contents	Margaret Frazer’s Sister Frevisse series Ellis Peters’ Chronicles of Brother Cadfael series Candace Robb’s Owen Archer series
Locked-Room	Definition: The focus in this sun-genre is not on the protagonist, but the circumstance, i.e., a crime (usually murder) is committed, in which it is seemingly impossible for the perpetrator to commit the crime and/or evade detection in the course of getting in and out of the crime scene.
Return to top or post contents	The reader has no idea who the primary antagonist is until the very end of the book, and there are a variety of characters who are possible suspects all of whom are usually called together at the end when the killer’s identity is revealed. The reader is normally presented with the puzzle and all of the clues and is encouraged to solve the mystery before the solution is revealed in a dramatic climax. A.k.a. closed-room, locked-door
	Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express and Ten Little Indians Adrian McGinty’s In The Morning I’ll Be Gone Edgar Allan Poe’s The Murders in the Rue Morgue Gaston Leroux’s The Mystery of the Yellow Room John Dickson Carr’s The Hollow Man Ellery Queen’s The King Is Dead
Open-Mystery	Definition: The opposite of locked-room, the main antagonist is revealed at the beginning of the story and showcases “the prefect crime” scenario. The suspense comes less from the whodunit aspect and more from how the crime was committed.
Return to top or post contents	Dewey Gram’s Oceans 11 Evan Lee Heyman’s Thomas Crown Affair
Police Procedural	Definition: Focuses on police procedures (forensics, autopsies, the gathering of evidence, the use of search warrants, and interrogation while solving crime or a mystery.
Return to top or post contents	A police procedural will usually feature police-related topics such as forensics, autopsies, the gathering of evidence, the use of search warrants, and interrogation.
	John Creasey’s Inspector West series Åsa Larsson’s Rebecka Martinsson series Tana French’s Dublin Murder Squad series Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct series, etc.
Private Investigator	Definition: Private Eye Writers define a private eye as any mystery protagonist who is a private citizen who is a paid professional investigator (licensed and unlicensed), but not a civic or state police officer, member of the military or a federal agency. A.k.a. private detective Credit to: Private; Smith
Return to top or post contents	P.I.s can be: P.I.s can’t be: Traditional private investigators Works centering on law enforcement officers or amateur sleuths Lawyers and reporters who do their own legwork FBI or CIA agents Other hired agents TV or newspaper reporter Insurance investigator Employee of an investigative service or agency (think Pinkertons)
	Sara Paretsky’s V.I. Warshawski series Clive Cussler’s Isaac Bell series (which also fits under Historical Thriller) Rhys Bowen’s Molly Murphy series
Thriller (Mystery)	See Mystery Thriller for details.
True Crime	Definition: Deals with a real crime and examines the motives of real people and real events.
Return to top or post contents	The crimes may be pulled from current headlines or examine cases from the past, such as JFK’s assassination, the Ripper murders, Marilyn Monroe’s death, or the Manson family. True crime may be highly speculative or stick to the basic facts; in the end, it allows readers to draw their own conclusions.
	Robert and Dayna Baer’s The Company We Keep Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood Ulrich Boser’s The Gardner Heist: The True Story of the World’s Largest Unsolved Art Theft Ed Sanders’ The Family
Vintage	Definition: Beginning around 1911, predominant in the 1920s and 1930s, and a style still being written today. The genre was particularly influenced initially by World War I and involved the upper classes, the country house, and social change. A.k.a. Golden Age
Return to top or post contents	Authors including John Dickson Carr, Agatha Christie, Josephine Tey, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Margery Allingham Dorothy Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey series Ngaio Marsh’s Inspector Roderick Alleyn series Frederic Dannay and Manfred B. Lee’s Ellery Queen, Detective series Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs series Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe series Georges Simenon’s Inspector Maigret series Nicholas Blake’s Dr Gideon Fell series R. Austin Freeman’s Dr. Thorndyke Mysteries series John Creasey’s Toff series and more Erle Stanley Gardner’s Perry Mason series
New Adult	Definition: New Adult (NA) is primarily a target audience. Because NA is primarily a writer’s target audience, the definition in New Adult Romance covers this “genre”.
Non-Fiction
Definition: Writing that is true or factual.
Art Books	Definition: There are two kinds of art books: Works of art that utilize the form of the book. They are often published in small editions, though they are sometimes produced as one-of-a-kind objects. Books that reproduce images of art A.k.a. artist’s book
Return to top or post contents	Lauris Morgan-Griffiths and Ansel Adams’ Ansel Adams: Landscapes of the American West Daniel Wildenstein’s Monet or The Triumph of Impressionism Mary Lynn Kotz’s Rauschenberg: Art and Life Mitzi Humphrey’s The Landscape Book William and Catherine Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience Kurt Schwitter and Kate Steinitz’s The Scarecrow Tristan Tzara’s Sete Manifestos Dada
Biography	Definition: A narrative full of true stories and anecdotes of the real life of someone famous told by the writer. The topic is usually an historical personage, a celebrity, a politician, or an athlete.
Return to top or post contents	Chris Abani’s Becoming Abigail Tracy Borman’s Queen of the Conqueror: The Life of Matilda, Wife of William I Henry Bushkin’s A Hard Act to Follow Eric Metaxas’ Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery and his Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy — A Righteous Gentile vs. the Third Reich
Anecdote	Definition: A short and amusing or interesting story about a biographical incident. More particularly, it is a short description, tale, or account of an event that encourages laughter while giving readers a better understanding of a character, providing truth, or describing a quirk or trait of a character while making it humorous.
Return to top or post contents	It may also serve as a cautionary tale of what may happen if one doesn’t follow particular methods and techniques. An anecdote is not a joke, and it is not strictly a genre — it’s too short! When used in marketing, it is referred to as a testimonial. Credit to: Anecdote
	“Forget it,” the experts advised Madame Curie. They agreed radium was a scientifically impossible idea. However, Marie Curie insisted, “I can make it happen.” Journalists, friends, armed forces specialists, and even Orville and Wilbur Wright’s father laughed at the idea of an airplane. “What a silly and insane way to spend money. Leave flying to the birds,” they jeered. “Sorry,” the Wright brothers responded. “We have a dream, and we can make it happen.” As a result, a place called Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, became the setting for the launching of their “ridiculous” idea. You know, when I was a kid, my dog was my best friend. My childhood was better because of him. That reminds me of a wild party I went to with the groom, before he got that new ball and chain! If you had told me back then that he would choose just ONE woman, I never would have believed it! Credit to: Liraz; LitTerm: Anecdote
Autobiography	Definition: A narrative full of true stories and anecdotes of the life of someone famous as told by that someone. The topic is usually an historical personage, a celebrity, a politician, or an athlete.
Return to top or post contents	Phil Donahue’s Donahue: My Own Story Ursula Hegi’s Tearing the Silence: Being German in America Bill Mason’s Confessions of a Master Jewel Thief Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes
Epistolary	Definition: A book written through a series of documents such as letters, diary entries, newspaper clippings, blog posts, and emails. Epistolary may also be fiction.
Return to top or post contents	Kathleen Langdon-Haven McInerney’s Dear Nell: The true story of the Haven sisters Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl
Memoir	Definition: A written factual account of someone’s life and tells a story about their experiences, usually about a specific time of their life and involves reflection on some particular events or places.
Return to top or post contents	Josh Kilmer-Purcell’s Bucolic Plague: How Two Manhattanites became Gentlemen Farmers: An Unconventional Memoir Hari Daoud’s Translator: A Tribesman’s Memoir of Darfur Larry McMurtry’s Books: A Memoir
Business	Definition: Usually about the management and running of a business or in the financial aspects of a business. Titles include how-to and step-by-step instructions about things one would need to know to start, own, and run a successful business, touching on marketing, taxes, etc. They also might include books about economic impact on business and their growth in different regions and cultures.
Return to top or post contents	Seth Godin’s Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable Richard Branson’s Losing My Virginity: How I’ve Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People
Cookbook	Definition: A book containing recipes and other information about the preparation and cooking of food.
Return to top or post contents	Betty Crocker’s Cookbook Julia Child and Simone Beck’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking James Beard’s Beard on Bread Alice Waters’ The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons, and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution
Essays	Definition: A composition that focuses on a detailed and thorough outlook or opinion on a subject about which the author feels strongly. It’s usually the length of a short story. Access to English: Social Studies has some useful tips on how to write any of the various essays below.
Descriptive Essay	Definition: Paints a picture with words of a person, place, object, or even memory of special significance, but it is not description for description’s sake.
Return to top or post contents	You must show, not tell, communicate a deeper meaning through description, and yank on your reader’s emotions. Related to the narrative essay. A.k.a. description essay
	Jeffrey Tayler’s “The Sacred Grove of Oshogbo” Zadie Smith’s “Fail Better” Virginia Woolf’s “Death of the Moth” George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” and “A Hanging“ Nora Ephron’s “A Few Words About Breasts” Credit to: Reyzer
Expository Essay	Definition: It’s “just the facts”, as you present a balanced analysis of a topic, using examples, definitions, facts, statistics, and comparison and contrast.
Return to top or post contents	As the expository essay is based on facts and not personal feelings, you do not reveal your emotions or write in the first person. There are a number of variations on the expository essay: Comparison and contrast essay Cause and effect essay “How to” or process essay A.k.a. exposition essay, informational essay, explanatory essay
	David Sedaris’ “Laugh, Kookaburra” E.B. White’s “Once More to the Lake” Meghan Daum’s “My Misspent Youth” Kurt Vonnegut’s “Dispatch From a Man Without a Country” George Orwell’s “You and the Atomic Bomb” and “A Nice Cup of Tea” Credit to: Reyzer
Narrative Essay	Definition: It tells a story about a real-life experience and is usually written in the first person. Do your best to involve the reader by making the story as vivid as possible — show, don’t tell.
Return to top or post contents	The narrative essay will give reasons and build towards drawing a conclusion or making a personal statement. A.k.a. analytical essay, narration essay
	John Russell’s “The Autobiography of a Kettle” Charles D’Ambrosio’s “Documents” Annie Dillard’s “Total Eclipse” Gloria E. Anzaldúa’s “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” John Jeremiah Sullivan’s “Mister Lytle” George Orwell’s “In Defence of P.G. Wodehouse” Credit to: Reyzer
Persuasive Essay	Definition: Presents your opinion and tries to convince your readers to adopt your position by using facts and logic, as well as examples, expert opinion, and sound reasoning. You should present all sides of the argument and providing them with solid reasoning why your argument is correct. It requires a lot of research to claim and defend an idea.
Return to top or post contents	Francis Bacon’s “Of Love” Roger Ebert’s “Go Gentle Into That Good Night” Christopher Hitchens’ “Assassins of The Mind” and “The New Commandments” Jonathan Lethem’s “The Ecstasy of Influence: A plagiarism” Credit to: Reyzer; Lethem
Argumentative Essay	Definition: You prove that your opinion, theory, or hypothesis about an issue is correct or more truthful than those of others. In this, you are arguing for your opinion as opposed to others, rather than directly trying to persuade someone to adopt your point-of-view. A.k.a. argumentation essay
Return to top or post contents	Loretta Johnloz’s “Of Mice and Men Argumentative Essay Report“ George Turner’s “The Constitution and Discipline of Wesleyan Methodism: An Essay, Argumentative, Expository, and Apologetical; In Two Parts, with an Appendix, Containing Observations on Wesleyan Methodism Considered in Relation to the Church, by the REV. Richard Hodgson”
History	Definition: A book about real people, real places, and real events in the past.
Return to top or post contents	Elie Wiesel’s Night David McCullough’s 1776 Simon Winchester’s The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary Laura Hillenbrand’s Seabiscuit: An American Legend Stephen Ambrose’s Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest
How-to Manuals	Definition: Provides information on a topic.
Return to top or post contents	Any of the Dummies books William Strunk, Jr. and Joseph Devlin’s The Elements of Style: How to Speak and Write Correctly Matteo Cossu’s Silkscreen Basics: A Complete How-To Manual John Wiseman’s SAS Survival Handbook: How to Survive in the Wild, in Any Climate, on Land or at Sea
Journalism	Definition: Books that are examples of journalism or about the practice or history of journalism and storytelling.
Return to top or post contents	Patrick S. Washburn’s The African-American Newspaper Alan Tompkins’ Aim for the Heart: Write, Shoot, Report and Produce for TV and Multimedia Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward’s All the President’s Men Robert Frank’s The Americans David Halberstam’s The Best American Sports Writing of the Century
Military	Definition: Nonfiction military can encompass everything from biography to politics, strategy to history, military differences between countries, discussions on weaponry or equipment, or generals, presidents, or other leaders who make decisions about war.
Return to top or post contents	Dexter Filkins’s The Forever War Mark Bowden’s Black Hawk Down Harold Moore and Joseph Galloway’s We Were Soldiers Once . . . And Young Sun Tzu’s The Art of War Barbara Tuchman’s The Guns of August Find more examples at The Book Genre Dictionary.
Narrative Non-Fiction	Definition: Presented in a story format, the information is all completely accurate and true — just told in a more “exciting” manner. A.k.a. creative nonfiction, literary nonfiction
Return to top or post contents	Anything by Bill Bryson Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks Erik Larson’s Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood Jon Krakauer’s Into The Wild Nathaniel Philbrick’s In The Heart Of The Sea: The Tragedy Of The Whaleship Essex
Reference	Definition: Anything from an atlas to a dictionary .
Return to top or post contents	Merriam-Webster Oxford Dictionary Collins Dictionary Webster’s Thesaurus encyclopædias
Scientific, Technical, or Economic Writings	Definition: Communicating facts about science, economics, and technical and occupational fields.
Return to top or post contents	Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time Brian Greene’s The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory Richard H. Thaler’s Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics P.J. O’Rourke’s Eat the Rich: A Treatise on Economics Michelle Goldberg’s The Means of Reproduction: Sex, Power, and the Future of the World Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals Timothy Beatley’s Handbook of Biophilic City Planning & Design
Speech	Definition: A public addressing or ceremonial speech to give an answer to specific questions or demands.
Return to top or post contents	Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address“ Winston S. Churchill’s “Never Give In!: The Best of Winston Churchill’s Speeches”
Text Book	Definition: A detailed and in-depth analysis or description of a specific topic, used to educate and improve others’ understanding of the subject, i.e., books you use at school. A.k.a. coursebook
Romance
Definition: A book or series genre which places the primary focus on the relationship and the development of romantic love between two characters with a, usually, happily ever after. Romance can be attached to any variety of other genres from fantasy, horror, science fiction, and more. The sexual aspect of the romance varies depending upon the intention behind character growth, story and relationship development, and how important the sex is to the storyline itself. Explore the Sexual Distinctions of the Romance Genre below as it reveals the differences between erotic romance, erotica, pornporn, sexy romance, and sweet romance. Credit to: About
Adaptation Romance	Definition: The retelling of an old story, based on an already existing work.
Return to top or post contents	Ben H. Winters’ Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters Seth Grahame-Smith’s Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Gail Carriger’s Soulless (manga) Drethi A’s Fatal Obsession Greer Rivers’ Phantom
Alpha Male Romance	Definition: The alpha male seeks a partner who complements their strengths, recognizes their need for personal space, and provides emotional support while respecting their individuality. Open and honest conversation is crucial and trust and loyalty are paramount — they want a relationship where both parties are committed and faithful.
Return to top or post contents	S.C. Stephens’ Dangerous Rush Sarah MacLean’s The Day of the Duchess L.P. Dover’s Fifty Shades Sylvia Day’s Crossfire J.R. Ward’s The Black Dagger Brotherhood
Billionaires & Millionaires Romance	Definition: The focus is on two people from different socioeconomic statuses. One protagonist is in a position of power, with wealth that has been accumulated from working in the corporate world or that has come from the person’s status as a scion of a wealthy family. Source: Crampe
Return to top or post contents	Lorelei James’ The Need You series. Lily Everett’s The Firefly Cafe Jennifer Blake’s The Tuscan’s Revenge Wedding
Black & African American Romance	Definition: A book written by a Black author, with Black main characters and a happy ending. It does not include interracial romance, which is its own subgenre.
Return to top or post contents	Frances E.W. Harper’s Iola Leroy, or Shadows Uplifted Rubie Saunders’ Marilyn Morgan, R. N Shirley Hailstock’s Whispers of Love
Chick Lit Romance	Definition: Explores the often humorous romantic adventures geared toward single working women in their twenties and thirties.
Return to top or post contents	Stephanie Perkins’s Anna and the French Kiss Simone Elkeles’ Rules of Attraction Nicholas Sparks’ The Last Song
Comedy Romance	Definition: Focuses on humor, ranging from screwball antics to witty interplay. A.k.a. romantic comedy
Return to top or post contents	Alice Clayton’s Wallbanger Many of Sophie Kinsella’s including The Undomestic Goddess and her Shopaholic series Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones series
Contemporary	Definition: Focuses primarily on the romantic relationship and is set from 1950 to the present.
Return to top or post contents	Jill Shalvis’ Animal Magnetism veterinarian series and her Lucky Harbor village series T.S. Krupa’s Safe & Sound Janet Evanovich’s Full cozy series Judith McNaught’s Second Opportunities series Kim Barnouin’s Skinny Bitch vegan cooking series
Enemies to Lovers Romance	Definition: Focuses on two characters who start off as enemies and, over the course of a book or series, end up in a romantic relationship.
Return to top or post contents	Laura Pavlov’s Loving Romeo Sally Thorne’s The Hating Game Holly Black’s The Cruel Prince Ana Huang’s Twisted Hate
Glitz and Glamor	Definition: Focuses on the jet-set elite and celebrity-like characters.
Return to top or post contents	Most of Jackie Collins stories Judith Krantz stories Candace Bushnell’s Sex and the City
Gothic Romance	Definition: A type of novel that flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries in England. Gothic romances were mysteries or thrillers, often involving the supernatural and heavily tinged with horror, and they were usually set against dark backgrounds of medieval ruins and haunted castles.
Return to top or post contents	Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights and her sister’s, Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre Ann Radcliffe’s The Mysteries of Udolpho Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca Susanna Kearsley’s The Shadowy Horses
Historical	Definition: Set in any historical time period from 1950 on back with a focus on romance.
Return to top or post contents	Author Georgette Heyer‘s Regency romances and Jane Austen and Charlotte Brönte Mary Balogh’s Bedwyn Saga series Maya Banks’ McCabe Trilogy series Jude Deveraux’s Chandler Twins and a subseries within the Montgomery/Taggert series
Holiday Romance	Definition: Love stories set all through the year around seasonal celebrations, cultural and religious holidays, family traditions, new year’s festivities around the world, and more, although Christmas romances are the most popular. It’s a romantic or sexual relationship between two people who meet while on vacation, typically lasting no longer than the vacation itself, although it can lead to a happily-ever-after. An emotionally charged time where loss is more acute, the niggles and grudges within families, travel delays complicate the trip, etc. The protagonist(s) may be a total grinch, sad, lonely, open to adventure, heading back to their hometown and reconnecting with an old love, etc. A.k.a. vacation romance
Return to top or post contents	Denise N. Wheatley’s Love At The Icicle Cafe Anne Perry’s A Christmas Hope Jill Shalvis’ Under the Mistletoe Vicki Lewis Thompson’s A Last Chance Christmas
Inspirational Romance	Definition: Incorporates “religious or spiritual beliefs in anyone’s religion or spiritual belief system as a major part of the romantic relationship”. A.k.a. Christian romance
Return to top or post contents	Anita Higman’s A Marriage in Middlebury Brenda Minton’s Lone Star Cowboy League series Lancaster Courtships series
Amish Romance	Definition: A literary subgenre of Christian fiction featuring Amish characters.
Return to top or post contents	Rebecca Kertz’s The Amish Mother Cheryl Williford’s The Amish Midwife’s Courtship Marta Perry’s Restless Hearts and Thanksgiving Blessing
Later in Life Romance	Definition: Feature characters who are older than forty and find their happy-ever-after. The protagonist(s) may be reuniting after a separation (from pride, illness, etc.) Older couples, often financially secure, can travel, enjoy one another’s company, and get to know families and friends without historical baggage.
Return to top or post contents	Desiree Holt’s Flying High Kathryn Jane’s Dance with Me Donna McDonald’s Dating a Cougar II Marion Ueckermann’s A Time to Laugh Noelle Adams’ Late Fall
LGBTQ+ Romance	Definition: Focuses on same-sex characters who fall in love and have a homosexual or homoromantic relationship.
Return to top or post contents	Ann Allen Shockley’s Loving Her Abigail Roux and Madeleine Urban’s Cut & Run Josh Lanyon’s series that include Adrien English Mysteries, Secrets and Scrabble, and All’s Fair.
Love Triangle	Definition: Focuses on two people who both love a third person or one person who loves two people.
Return to top or post contents	J.J. Tennant’s Regrets Kiera Cass’ The Selection Megan Hart’s Tempted Maya Banks’ Brazen and Colters’ Legacy series Lorelei James’ Rode Hard, Put Up Wet
Mafia Romance	Definition: The romance is always explosive with bad boys and feisty heroines who call out their lover’s bullshit.
Return to top or post contents	Cora Reilly’s Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles series Catherine Doyle’s Blood for Blood series J.M. Darhower’s Sempre series A. Zavarelli’s Boston Underworld series
Multicultural & Interracial Romance	Definition: Explores the love between two people who belong to different races or racialized ethnicities. Usually a pairing between a white person and a Black person and can also be between a Chinese person and an Indian person, etc.
Return to top or post contents	Kate Breslin’s For Such a Time Ishle Yi Park’s Angel & Hannah Gia De Cadenet’s Getting His Game Back
New Adult	Definition: New Adult is both a target audience and a subgenre.
Return to top or post contents	Plots are more dramatic with soap-opera-like plots that explore some kind of monumental first: first love, first time away from home, or first real job, first sense of adult responsibility, but is also appealing to those of us who look back on that era of our lives with nostalgia, smiles, or regrets. Credit to: James
	Ryan Ringbloom’s Flaw Erin McCarthy’s True Believers series
Paranormal Romance	Definition: The plot moves romantically between two characters with true love following at the end of the story and blends the supernatural with reality, using the future, a fantasy world, or paranormal elements as an important part of the plot.
Return to top or post contents	If romance is not one of the primary themes, it would be considered a paranormal fantasy. It is also a subgenre in Thriller. Characters may include psychics, mediums, telepaths, time travelers, magic, or supernatural people or creatures on the edges of it.
	J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series Nora Roberts’ The Cousins O’Dwyer Trilogy series Jenn Bennett’s Roaring Twenties series (also historical) Kelley Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld series
Polyamory	Definition: Focuses on the practice of, or desire for, romantic relationships with more than one partner at the same time, with the informed consent of all partners.
Return to top or post contents	Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter and Meredith Gentry series Maya Banks’ Colters’ Legacy series Kate Douglas’ Sexy Beast and Wolf Tales series
Rockstar Romance	Definition: The focus is on a famous band and its musicians.
Return to top or post contents	Nalini Singh’s Rock Kiss series and Love Hard Quinn Marlowe’s Guitars and Mistakes Piper Lawson’s Bad Girl
Science Fiction Romance	Definition: A story that blends science fiction, fantasy, and romance and can take place in a futuristic world or on a distant planet; they can be set in the here and now or in an alternate history; time travel; or, apocalyptic. Roth notes that there are numerous sub-genres that are housed under the Sci-fi romance banner. Whether it’s a fantasy sci-fi romance, a space opera romance, a cyberpunk romance novel, genetic engineering, or a dystopian romance novel, there is something for everyone in this genre. “These books may also contain elements of adventure, paranormal, mystery, horror, and suspense, with varying romance tropes layered in. From friends to lovers to second chances at love, there is something for every romance book lover. The romance within them can vary in heat level from slow burn to spicy.”
Return to top or post contents	Christine Feehan’s Shadow Game Mandy Roth’s Immortal Ops Lynn Kurland’s Another Chance to Dream Nora Roberts’ Time Was
Sexual Distinctions of the Romance Genre:
Sweet	Definition: The romance is centered on a virgin heroine with a storyline containing little or no sex.
Return to top or post contents	Author Debbie Macomber Publishers include Harlequin Romance and Silhouette Romance titles. Betty Neels’ The Final Touch series Lisa Wingate’s Carolina Heirlooms series
Clean & Wholesome Romance	Definition: Romance without sex scenes or explicit language. PG rated. Books may range from squeaky clean to steamy clean but you will find only occasional mild language, mild innuendo, no sex scenes, nothing crude or crass.
Return to top or post contents	Nancy Naigle’s What Remains True Toni Shiloh’s An Unlikely Alliance Susanne Dietze’s A Need to Protect
Sexy	Definition: The development of a romantic relationship that just happens to have more explicit sex.
Return to top or post contents	The sex is not an inherent part of the story, character growth, or relationship development, and could easily be removed or “toned down” without damaging the storyline. A happily ever after is a REQUIREMENT as this is basically a standard romance with hotter sex. The sexual terminology used will vary from subtle references to the characters’ body parts to more explicit and will include the primary “c” words: cock, cunt, and clitoris. Credit to: Day
	Kathleen Woodiwiss’ The Flame and the Flower (it’s also historical) Shirlee Busbee’s Louisiana series (and another historical)
🔥🔥 Erotic	Definition: A romance that develops between two participants with sex an important aspect of the story and essential to character growth and relationship development. Its removal would damage the storyline.
Return to top or post contents	It may include toys, bondage, or games, and it always ends in a happily ever after. The sexual terminology used will vary from subtle references to the characters’ body parts to more explicit and will include the primary “c” words: cock, cunt, and clitoris. See also romance, erotica, porn, sexy romance, and sweet romance. The erotic subgenre can also be found under fantasy, fiction, science fiction, and thriller. A.k.a. sensual Credit to: Grace; Day
	Angela Knight’s Mageverse series which is a crossover with paranormal romance Josh Lanyon’s Adrien English Mysteries series (m/m) Tacie Graves’ Making Mina series
🔥🔥🔥 Erotica	Definition: A book with intense kinky sex that explores the sexual journey of the participants (usually two or more) and how it affects them as individuals.
Return to top or post contents	It may or may not show the development of a romantic relationship. Love and/or lust may be an element in the story; may include toys, bondage, or games; usually ends with happy; but, not necessarily happily ever after. The primary difference between an erotic romance and erotica is the number of participants — there are always two, but erotica can expand beyond a paltry two, lol. I consider D/s, bondage and discipline, etc., to be within the erotica category. The sexual terminology used will include the primary “c” words: cock, cunt, and clitoris as well as more sexually explicit words. See also romance, erotic romance, porn, sexy romance, and sweet romance. A.k.a. romantica Credit to: Grace; Day
	Maya Banks’ Sweet series Kate Douglas’ Chanku series Tiffany Reisz’s The Original Sinners series Tara Sue Mi’s Submissive series Lora Leigh’s Men of August series
🔥🔥🔥🔥 Porn	Definition: Written strictly to gratify the reader sexually.
Return to top or post contents	Plot, character development, and romance are NOT primary to these stories; the sex does nothing to move the story forward. They are designed to incite the reader to orgasm and nothing else (Sylvia Day). Cock, cunt, and clitoris are the mildest sexual terminology used and may be considered too tame. See also romance, erotic romance, erotica, sexy romance, and sweet romance.
	Cat Grant and Rachel Haimowitz’s Power Play series Anna March’s “Ménage a Tracy”
Small Town Romance	Definition: Usually includes more than one couple in a series of interconnected standalones with a variety of vibes from light and sexy to more intense and spicy.
Return to top or post contents	Lisa Kleypas’ Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor Nora Roberts’ The Return of Rafe McKade Jill Shalvis’ Animal Magnetism and The Sweetest Thing Rachael Bloom’s The Hope in Hot Chocolate
Sports Romance	Definition: The central theme is about some aspect of the sports world. The main characters in this sub-genre are usually athletes, coaches, owners, agents, etc.
Return to top or post contents	Meghan Quinn’s Right Man, Right Time Jaci Burton’s Perfect Play and Play-by-Play sports series Hannah Grace’s Icebreaker Erin McCarthy’s Flat-Out Sexy
Romantic Suspense	Definition: Suspense, mystery, or thriller elements constitute an integral part of the plot, but romance is the most important part.
Return to top or post contents	J.D. Robb’s In Death series Christy Reece’s Last Chance Rescue series Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series Cindy Gerard’s overall series starts with The Bodyguards series, is followed by her Black Ops, Inc. series, and then continues with her One-Eyed Jacks series Lora Leigh’s Tempting SEALs series and herElite Ops series
Time Travel Romance	Definition: Associated with paranormal romance and focuses on romantic love and includes an element of time travel. It may result in a culture clash between two otherwise suited people, since different times have different manners and mores; may force a protagonist to make a decision between returning home or staying in a different era; a a force which reluctantly separates the couple, if one must return to his or her original time; saving one’s beloved from a horrible fate, etc. The story may or may not have a happy ending.
Return to top or post contents	Ursula K. Le Guin’s “April in Paris: Connie Willis’ Blackout and To Say Nothing of the Dog Harry Turtledove’s Crosstime Traffic series Diana Wynne Jones’s The Crown of Dalemark
Uniform / Military Romance	Definition: With an emphasis on a military or a security person it feature “strong, sexy heroes and strong, sexy heroines” in dramatic, high conflict situations. Source: Rodale
Return to top or post contents	Tawny Weber’s Christmas with a SEAL Sara Jane Stone’s Full Exposure Laura Kaye’s Hard as It Gets Cindy Gerard’s Show No Mercy
Western Romance	Definition: Takes place in a western setting, frequently the American frontier. A.k.a. cowboy romance
Return to top or post contents	Lorelei James’ Tied Up, Tied Down and Corralled Vicki Lewis Thompson’s Thunder Mountain Brotherhood western romance series B.J. Daniels’ Crime Scene at Cardwell Ranch
Workplace Romance	Definition: The focus is on two people working for the same company. It can be between colleagues, an employee and a supervisor, the boss and his/her secretary, etc.
Return to top or post contents	Laura Griffin’s Untraceable Christina Lauren’s Beautiful Bastard Judith McNaught’s Paradise Nora Roberts’ Irish Thoroughbred Julie Ann Walker’s Hell for Leather
Young Adult	Definition: A romance geared toward young adult readers with a suitably lower level of sexual content.
Return to top or post contents	Katie McGarry’s Pushing the Limits series Teresa Mummert’s White Trash Trilogy series John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars Nancy Garden’s Annie on My Mind
Science Fiction
Definition: A book or series genre which focuses on scientific, technological, social, and/or environmental changes that affect the potential future of our race. It frequently includes space or time travel and/or life on other planets and tends to be set far in the future or on a new world entirely. The genre continues to evolve with a number of different subgenres and can mix with completely separate genres. It is actually a sub-genre of speculative fiction. A.k.a. scientifiction
Alternate History	Definition: A reality in which historical events diverged from the main timeline through the actions of a time traveller or other temporal phenomena, what-if scenarios. These alterations can be prevented from having ever come to pass, although memories of them are usually retained. A.k.a. alternate timeline, alternative history
Return to top or post contents	Taylor Anderson’s Destroyermen series in which a WWII destroyer is sent to an alternate timeline during a battle Sophia McDougall’s Romanitas series in a world where Rome never fell Rachel Caine’s The Great Library series in which the Library of Alexandria never burned Eric Flint and David Drake’s Belisarius series
Alternate Planes of Existence	Definition: A world that exists along with our world, but can’t be seen or accessed without supernatural means: subspace in science-fiction games, astral planes, or any time you enter a world where things look all funky.
Return to top or post contents	Many times this is how cloaking technology is explained, a person is “out of phase”, and as such can’t be seen by those in this dimension. It’s also quite a popular way to depict how demons or shadows can move around without being seen. A.k.a. alternate dimensions Credit to: Planes
	Sandy Williams’ Shadow Reader series in which the heroine pops back and forth from one plane to another Angela Knight’s erotic paranormal romance series, Mageverse, with its Disney-gone-wild architecture Credit to: Planes
Alternate Universe	See Parallel World.
Apocalyptic	Definition: It revolves around a world-changing, cataclysmic event: floods, an EMP burst, zombies, the super flu, earthquakes, solar flares, the moon falling out of alignment, etc.
Return to top or post contents	The event could have already happened, or is in the process of happening, but post-apocalyptic novels are about the survivors and how they deal with this new, deadly world. It could even have hints of dystopia in it, as new societies emerge from the remains of civilization. A.k.a. post-apocalyptic
	Faith Hunter’s Rogue Mage series S.M. Stirling’s Emberverse series John Varley’s Slow Apocalypse
Dystopian	Definition: Focuses on what society has done wrong that led to this awful world in a timeline that veers off from our own reality. If the story incorporates fantasy, you may want to check out Grim Dark.
Return to top or post contents	Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games series George Orwell’s 1984 Alexandra Bracken’s Darkest Minds series Mercedes Lackey, Cody Martin, Dennis Lee, and Veronica Giguere’s The Secret World Chronicles series
Erotic	Definition: Offers up the same possibilities as other genres (fantasy, fiction, romance, and thriller) creating new cultures with imagined genders, different sexual relationships, different social structures surrounding sex, and even completely different sexual acts.
Return to top or post contents	When the erotic expands into erotica, it becomes “more than just explicit sex in a sci-fi setting” with explorations of “atypical sex with nonhumans (aliens, machines, robots, etc.), sexual equality, changes in the construction of gender roles, homosexuality and bisexuality, virtual reality, taboos and morality, and the impact of technology on sex. Credit to: Erotica SciFi
	Jaid Black’s The Empress’ New Clothes Laurann Dohner’s Cyborg Seduction series Evangeline Anderson’s Brides of the Kindred series
Fantasy	Definition: A softer science fiction that combines fantasy and science, but may lean more toward the fantasy OR the science. (It’s a science that may violate the scientific laws of the real world, but this world will still be logical with science-like explanations.)
Return to top or post contents	Piers Anthony’s Apprentice Adept series Roger Zelazny’s Lord of Light, Creatures of Light and Darkness, Jack of Shadows, and the Changeling Saga series Susan Ee’s Penryn & the End of Days series Mira Grant’s Rolling in the Deep series Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time Edgar Rice Burroughs’ A Princess of Mars Poul Anderson’s The High Crusade Frank Herbert’s Dune series Anne McCaffrey’s Pern series Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court Lucian of Samosata’s A True Story
Military Science Fiction	Definition: Involves “conflict of the worst kind, usually with all-out warfare. Oftentimes, the main characters are part of a military organization and are involved in conflicts much greater than their own parts, but they might be pivotal to the overall conflict to some degree”. There is a lot of overlap with space opera.
Return to top or post contents	John Ringo’s Posleen War series Tanya Huff’s Confederation series Timothy Zahn’s Blackcollar, Cobra, Cobra War, and Cobra Rebellion series
Parallel World	Definition: A theme within science fiction, fiction, and fantasy, etc., that focuses on a world or universe that mirrors our own.
Return to top or post contents	They may be similar, they may be completely different with the very laws of nature being different — for example, one in which there are no relativistic limitations and the speed of light can be exceeded or telekinetic abilities exist or cybernetic forms are common — would, in general, count as a parallel universe, but not an alternative reality. Most stories in a parallel world depict the same characters in each universe, but each has made a different choice which resulted in different life outcomes. A multiverse is a specific group of parallel universes. A.k.a. parallel universe, alternative reality (sometimes defined as being a variant of our own), alternate universe (sometimes defined as being a variant of our own) Credit to: Miller; Stack: Is
	Robert Heinlein’s The Number of the Beast Steven King’s The Dark Tower series Harry Turtledove’s Crosstime Traffic series C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia series
Space Opera	Definition: Space opera was originally a pejorative term referring to simple and melodramatic science fiction.
Return to top or post contents	Today, it’s defined as “colorful, dramatic, large-scale science fiction adventure competently and sometimes beautifully written, usually focused on a sympathetic, heroic central character and plot action (often pitting the protagonists against powerful opponents), and usually set in the relatively distant future, and in space or on other worlds, characteristically optimistic in tone. It often deals with war, piracy, military virtues, and very large-scale action, large stakes. The actual science that defines science fiction is not necessarily at the forefront of the story. And, yes, it’s easy to mistake space opera for military science fiction as there is a lot of overlap. Credit to: Hartwell, 10-18
	David Weber’s Honor Harrington series The Star Wars saga Timothy Zahn’s The Conquerors’ Saga series
Steampunk	Definition: Typically features steam-powered machinery and/or gears. Inspired by industrialization, steampunk is generally a Victorian or Victorian-inspired setting in a parallel world.
Return to top or post contents	Meljean Brook’s The Iron Seas series Gail Carriger’s YA series Finishing School and her adult series Parasol Protectorate Caitlin Kittredge’s Iron Codex series Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan series
Time Travel	Definition: Characters travel through time instead of space. It’s usually into the past, but Dr. Who tends to go every which way.
Return to top or post contents	A few include Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, which has been a longtime favorite. L. Sprague de Camp’s Lest Darkness Fall H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine Eoin Colfer’s middle-grade reader W.A.R.P. series Jack Finney’s Time series Julie Cross’ Tempest series Connie Willis’ Oxford Time Travel series
Suspense
Definition: A book or series genre which features a danger of which the main character may only become gradually aware, even as the reader has the slowly growing feeling that something bad is going to happens (and knows things that the character does not, which only increases the reader’s anxiety over something happening in the future). The pace is sometimes slower, and it’s not necessarily action-oriented and violence is optional, although there must be some level of threat and recognizable fear to/or the main characters. Suspense will have elements of mystery and thriller. God knows, it’s easy to confuse suspense with mystery or thriller as they are so similar, however, in suspense, you may know who the killer is — or at least experience the killer’s point of view — but the goal is the “emotional roller coaster” of watching the hero’s struggle to escape great danger. If you want to further categorize suspense, refer to other subgenres under Mystery and Thriller. Credit to: Suspense
Return to top or post contents	The author Gillian Flynn W.W. Jacob’s “The Monkey’s Paw“ Paula Hawkins’ The Girl on the Train S.J. Watson’s Before I Go To Sleep Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s The Shadow of the Wind Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None
Thriller
Definition: A book or series genre that begins with a catastrophe and the reader and/or hero knows who the villain is early on with the hero’s objective to stop the bad guy through action. The protagonist is in danger from the outset and the thrill is in wondering if our hero(ine) is successful! Sometimes involving larger-scale villainy such as espionage, terrorism, and conspiracy, thrillers rely heavily on suspense, tension, threat, mystery, psychology, and excitement as the main elements to stimulate the readers’ moods, giving them a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, surprise, anxiety, and terror to keep them on the “edge of their seats”. The thriller is usually a villain-driven plot in which the antagonist presents obstacles that the protagonist must overcome and includes plot devices such as red herrings, plot twists, and cliffhangers. A thriller usually focuses on the emotions and inner workings of the protagonist who is: a) often running away from or running towards something that is both very dangerous and life-threatening, an ordinary person caught in extraordinary circumstances or b) a protagonist with the skills to fight back, but who is facing overwhelming odds. Typically, the protagonist will turn to face and ultimately triumph over the danger. It’s easy to confuse thriller with mystery or suspense as they are so similar, however, the thriller has higher stakes with the entire town, country, or world in danger. And the thriller does overlap with horror and crime genres and continues to evolve with a number of different subgenres and can mix with completely separate genres. Credit to: Wiki: Thriller; W2P
Action / Adventure Thriller	Definition: Stories that range from treasure hunters to exploration to survival to mercenary and more, and often features a race against the clock, lots of violence, and an obvious antagonist.
Return to top or post contents	Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt, NUMA Files, and Fargo Adventure series John Darnton’s Neanderthal Michael Crichton’s Congo Jerry Ahern’s Survivalist series David Brin’s The Postman Frederick Forsyth’s The Dogs of War
Comedic Thriller	Definition: A thriller that goes against type by playing for laughs, albeit amid serious action.
Return to top or post contents	Author Carl Hiaasen Mabel Maney’s Bond parodies: Kiss the Girls and Make Them Spy and The Girl with the Golden Bouffant Dave Barry’s Big Trouble
Conspiracy Thriller	Definition: The protagonists of conspiracy thrillers are often journalists or amateur investigators who find themselves (often inadvertently) pulling on a small thread which unravels a vast conspiracy that ultimately goes “all the way to the top”.
Return to top or post contents	Usually the hero becomes a threat to the conspirators and must escape their response. Often these stories depict the aberrations caused by secrecy and the corrupting influence of power. Sometimes the conspiracy is broken up, or at least revealed to the world, but in many tales it is not, and the broken protagonist is allowed to live. A.k.a. paranoid thriller Credit to: Conspiracy
	Robert Ludlum’s The Chancellor Manuscript John Le Carré’s The Karla Trilogy series David Khara’s Consortium series
Corporate or Financial Thriller	Definition: The corporate environment is the backdrop with the financial system and economy playing a major role.
Return to top or post contents	Joseph Finder’s Nick Heller series James Patterson’s Black Friday Michael M. Thomas’ Black Money Michael Crichton’s State of Fear Paul Erdman’s The Billion Dollar Sure Thing Luca Pesaro’s Zero Alternative
Crime Thriller	Definition: Incorporates the suspenseful aspects of a thriller with a crime plot, which usually centers on a serial killer, murderer, robbery, or manhunt.
Return to top or post contents	The storyline focuses around the point-of-view of the criminal and the impact of the crime on the protagonist generally running for their lives due to some criminal activity or other, using action and psychological aspects to build tension and suspense. The pace is fast, less dramatic than crime mysteries, and usually involves espionage, frequent killings, and other non-criminal conflicts. Crime may also be a mystery.
	Authors Jeff Abbott, Simon Kernick, Robert Crais Eric Matheny’s The Victim Robert Galbraith’s Career of Evil Sara Paretsky’s Critical Mass John Connolly’s Charlie Parker series
Disaster Thriller	Definition: Usually involves the response of those in power to an impending threat. Often some industrial carelessness provides the threat, and thus an incentive to cover it up. A policy that “panic must be prevented” via secrecy gives the hero (often a reporter) something to pursue.
Return to top or post contents	Thomas N. Scortia and Frank M. Robinson’s The Glass Inferno and The Prometheus Crisis Stanley Johnson’s The Virus Paul Gallico’s The Poseidon Adventure
Eco-thriller	Definition: The hero battles some ecological calamity — and often has to also fight the people responsible for creating that calamity.
Return to top or post contents	Richard Rashke’s The Killing of Karen Silkwood: The Story Behind the Kerr–McGee Plutonium Case Paul Tabori’s The Green Rain John Grisham’s The Pelican Brief
Erotic Thriller	Definition: A blend of illicit romance or erotic fantasy with suspense, tension, and excitement. The erotic subgenre can also be found under fantasy, romance, fiction, and science fiction.
Return to top or post contents	James Dearden and H.B. Gilmour’s Fatal Attraction Robert Bloch’s Psycho Tess Gerritsen’s Body Double James M. Cain’s “Double Indemnity“ Elizabeth McNeill’s “Nine and a Half Weeks: A Memoir of a Love Affair”
Forensics Thriller	Definition: Features the work of forensic experts, whose involvement often puts their own lives at risk. Forensics may also be a mystery.
Return to top or post contents	Karin Slaughter’s Grant County series Kathy Reichs’ Temperance Brennan series Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta series
Historical Thriller	Definition: Takes place in a specific and recognizable historic period.
Return to top or post contents	Clive Cussler’s Isaac Bell series Katharine Weber’s Triangle
Legal Thriller	Definition: Combines thrillers AND crime fiction, in which the major characters are lawyers and their employees. The system of justice itself is always a major part of these works, at times almost functioning as one of the characters.
Return to top or post contents	Author John Grisham Scott Turow’s Kindle County series David Ellis’ Line of Vision
Medical Thriller	Definition: The major characters are doctors, hospitals and their employees, medical researchers, scientists, etc.
Return to top or post contents	Often a doctor’s life is threatened (perhaps because they helped a certain patient) or a mysterious (usually artificial) disease has broken out. Often the authors are themselves doctors.
	Nelson DeMille’s Plum Island Robin Cook’s Coma Tess Gerritsen’s Harvest and Life Support Sandra Wilkenson’s Death On Call
Military Thriller	Definition: Features a military protagonist, often working behind enemy lines or as part of a specialized force.
Return to top or post contents	Lee Child’s Tripwire Tom Clancy’s Threat Vector Dale Brown’s Iron Wolf
Mystery Thriller	Definition: The hero must stop the horrific plans of an enemy — serial or mass murder, terrorism, assassination, or the overthrow of governments — rather than solve a crime that has already happened, because there is always something bigger and more important at stake behind the crime that may endanger more lives.
Return to top or post contents	It climaxes when the hero finally defeats the villain (after the reveal), saves his own life (sometimes) and often the lives of others.
	Author Lee Child, especially his Killing Floor Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy series Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl Steven King’s Mr. Mercedes
Paranormal Thriller	Definition: Set in a normal world, it incorporates experiences that lie outside “the range of normal experience or scientific explanation” or that indicates phenomena that are understood to be outside of science’s current ability to explain or measure.
Return to top or post contents	It may speculate about the things that cannot be seen or proved, such as extrasensory perception (ESP) and alien life. It’s very similar to horror, but incorporates mystery elements and plot twists that keep us on the edge of our seats, a sort of excitement characterized by fast-paced frequent action and resourceful heroes who must thwart the plans of more-powerful and better-equipped villains. If romance is one of the primary themes, it would be considered paranormal romance; if romance is merely one of the themes, it would be paranormal. A.k.a. supernatural thriller
	Dianne Emley’s The Night Visitor Chrysler Szarlan’s The Hawley Book of the Dead Dean Koontz’s Odd Thomas series
Political Thriller	Definition: Reflects poorly upon politicians and/or governments, usually on what Mark Twain called “America’s only native criminal class” — the U.S. Congress. Usually a low-level protagonist attracts unwelcome attention from the powerful and desperate.
Return to top or post contents	Author Brad Meltzer Jeffrey Archer’s Shall We Tell the President? Chester D. Campbell’s Overture to Disaster
Psychological Thriller	Definition: With psychology as an important feature, it builds up slowly, with ever-increasing doubt and tension, until some explicit action/violence takes place, usually at the finale.
Return to top or post contents	Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley Dennis Lehane’s Shutter Island
Religious Thriller	Definition: Uses the history and myths of religion — usually a sacred artifact or historical secret — to go up against known or secretive groups who vie for ownership and dominance.
Return to top or post contents	The protagonist is often drawn in through research into a seemingly innocent topic.
	Author Jon Land Julia Navarro’s The Brotherhood of the Holy Shroud Dan Brown’s The DaVinci Code
Spy or Espionage Thriller	Definition: Deals with fictional espionage, but is seldom about the routine lives of actual spies or analysts, but rather the mythical havoc created by relentless agents and those who oppose them.
Return to top or post contents	It’s usually set in periods of international tension, such as World War Two, the Cold War, and more recently the war against Islamic extremism. The authors frequently have some real-life experience.
	Authors John le Carré and Vince Flynn Ian Fleming’s James Bond series Robert Ludlum’s Jason Bourne series Clive Cussler’s The Oregon Files series (could also slip into action/adventure) John Le Carré’s The Karla Trilogy series Gay Courter’s Code Ezra
Techno-thriller	Definition: Overlaps with science fiction, in that cutting-edge technology always plays a key role in the premise and ongoing conflicts. Keep in mind that, that cutting-edge technology is “cutting-edge” for the time in which the story is set.
	Authors Tom Clancy, Dale Brown, Harold Coyle Dean Ing’s Loose Cannon Jerry Hatchett’s Unallocated Space Elleston Trevor’s The Flight of the Phoenix

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Resources for Genres

Some of these links may be affiliate links, and I will earn a small percentage, if you should buy it. It does not affect the price you pay.

Rodale, Maya. “Six Reasons to Love Military Romances.” Huffington Post. Last updated 6 Dec 2017. Accessed 21 Jan 2024. <https://www.huffpost.com/entry/six-reasons-to-love-milit_b_5552120>.

“Aarne-Thompson-Uther Classification of Folk Tales.” Multilingual Folk Tale Database. n.d. Web. n.d. <http://www.mftd.org/index.php?action=atu>.

“Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index.” Wikipedia. n.d. Web. n.d. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aarne–Thompson_classification_systems>.

“About the Romance Genre.” Romance Writers of America. n.d. Web. n.d. <https://www.rwa.org/Online/Romance_Genre/About_Romance_Genre.aspx>.

“Anecdote.” Literary Devices. n.d. Web. n.d. <http://literarydevices.net/anecdote/>.

“Anecdote.” Literary Terms. n.d. Web. n.d. <http://literaryterms.net/anecdote/>.

“Arcanepunk-Fantasy.” Best Fantasy Books.com. n.d. Web. n.d. <http://bestfantasybooks.com/arcanepunk-fantasy.html#sthash.pMFbJfRD.dpuf>.

Baxter. “Dark Fantasy as a Writing Genre: What is it anyway?.” The Creative Penn. 19 July 2009. Web. n.d. <http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2009/07/19/dark-fantasy/>.

Cappa, Paula. “Quiet Horror, Still the Darling of the Horror Genre.” Paula Cappa. 13 Sept 2013. Web. n.d. <https://paulacappa.wordpress.com/2013/09/13/quiet-horror-still-the-darling-of-the-horror-genre/>.

“Chick Lit.” Wikipedia. n.d. Web. n.d. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chick_lit>.

“Conspiracy Fiction.” Wikipedia. n.d. Web. n.d. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conspiracy_fiction>.

Crampe, Christina. “Cha-ching! How To Write a Billionaire Romance Novel.” Servicescape. Last updated 6 Sept 2022. Accessed 21 Jan 2024. <https://www.servicescape.com/blog/cha-ching-how-to-write-a-billionaire-romance-novel>.

Day, Sylvia. “What is Erotic Romance?.” Sylvia Day. 2005. Web. n.d. <https://www.sylviaday.com/extras/erotic-romance/>.

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Aarne-Thompson-Uther Classification System

This relates to the Fiction: Folklore genre and provides links to different sites that may be useful in exploring the ATU. AT Types of Folktales seems to focus on Norwegian folktales and has a different take on the ATU’s usefulness. I rather like how D.L. Ashliman at the University of Pittsburgh has organized his Folklore and Mythology Electronic Texts. Now if you’re looking for a map to focus in on a particular tale type, explore Tale type and motif indices: maps (<http://starling.rinet.ru/kozmin/tales/>). You’ll need an ATU #!. Wikipedia has a fabulous list of tons of folklore subgenres.

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Revised as of 23 Jan 2024
By: Kathy Davie