Literary Genres

Fiction genres

These are genres belonging to the realm of literary fiction. Some genres listed may reappear throughout the list, indicating cross-genre status.

• Dystopian
• Absurdist fiction
  • Literary nonsense
• Adventure novel
  • Epic
  • Imaginary voyage
  • Lost World
  • Men's adventure
  • Milesian tale
  • Picaresque novel (picaresco)
  • Robinsonade
    • Apocalyptic robinsonade
    • Science fiction robinsonade
  • Sea story
• Brit lit
• Children's literature
  • Young-adult fiction
    • Class S
    • Light novel
• Comic novel
  • Black comedy
  • Parody
  • Romantic comedy
  • Satire
    • Picaresque novel
    • Political satire
• Education fiction
  • Campus novel
    • Campus murder mystery
  • School story
  • Varsity novel
• Experimental fiction
  • Antinovel
  • Ergodic literature
• Erotic fiction
  • Erotic romance
  • Picaresque novel (picaresco)
  • Women's erotica
• Historical fiction
  • Historical romance
    • Metahistorical romance
  • Historical whodunnit
  • Holocaust novel
  • Plantation tradition
  • Prehistoric fiction
  • Regency novel
    • Regency romance
• Memoir
  • Autobiographical novel
  • Bildungsroman
  • Slave narrative
    • Contemporary slave narrative
    • Neo-slave narrative
• Metafiction
• Nonfiction novel
  • Biographical novel
    • Autobiographical novel
      • Semi-autobiographical novel
        • I novel
• Occupational fiction
  • Hollywood novel
  • Legal thriller
  • Medical fiction
    • Medical romance
  • Musical fiction
  • Lab lit
  • Sports fiction
• Philosophical fiction
  • Existentialist fiction
  • Novel of ideas
  • Philosophical horror
  • Platonic Dialogues
• Political fiction
  • Political satire
• Pulp fiction
• Religious fiction
  • Christian fiction
    • Christian science fiction
    • Contemporary Christian fiction
    • LDS fiction
  • Luciferian literature
• Saga
  • Family saga
• Speculative fiction
  • Science fiction
    • Hard science fiction
    • Soft science fiction
    • Space opera
    • Military
    • Punk
      • Cyberpunk
        • Biopunk
        • Nanopunk
        • Postcyberpunk
      • Steampunk
        • Clockpunk
        • Dieselpunk
        • Atompunk
    • Alternative universe
      • Alternative history
    • Post-apocalyptic
    • Post Modern vorticism extension Literary Fiction Blitz Genre
    • Alien invasion
    • Scientific romance
  • Horror
    • Gothic fiction
      • Southern Gothic
    • Supernatural / Paranormal
      • Ghost story
      • Monster literature
        • Vampire fiction
        • Werewolf fiction
      • Cosmic (Lovecraftian)
      • Occult detective
    • Psychological
    • Erotic
    • Body horror
      • Splatterpunk
  • Fantasy
    • by Theme
      • Comic fantasy
      • Dark fantasy
      • Contemporary fantasy
      • Heroic fantasy
      • Magic realism
      • Fantasy of manners
      • Mythic
      • Paranormal fantasy
      • Superhero fantasy
      • Sword and sorcery
    • By setting
      • Epic / High fantasy
      • Low fantasy
      • Hard fantasy
      • Historical fantasy
        • Prehistoric fantasy
        • Medieval fantasy
        • Wuxia
      • Urban fantasy
        • Paranormal romance

• • Speculative Cross Genre fiction
    • Science fantasy
      • Planetary romance
        • Sword and planet
    • Dying Earth
    • Weird fiction
• Suspense fiction
• Crime fiction
• Detective fiction
• Mystery fiction
• The Marriage Plot (romantic comedy)
• Westerns
• Women's Fiction
  • Class S
  • Femslash
  • Matron literature
  • Romance novel
  • Yaoi
  • Yuri
• Workplace tell-all
• Tragedy
  • Melodrama
• Urban fiction
• Thriller
  • Conspiracy fiction
  • Legal thriller
  • Medical thriller
  • Political thriller
    • Spy fiction
  • Psychological thriller
  • Techno-thriller