Literary fiction is a term that has come into common usage since around 1960, principally to distinguish serious fiction (that is, work with claims to literary merit Literary merit is a quality of written work, generally applied to the genre of literary fiction. A work is said to have literary merit if it is a work of quality, that is if it has some aesthetic value. The concept of "literary merit" is practically impossible[citation needed] to define, and it is hard to see how such an idea can be used) from the many types of genre fiction Genre fiction, also known as popular fiction, is a term for fictional works written with the intent of fitting into a specific literary genre in order to appeal to readers and fans already familiar with that genre. In contemporary fiction an elastic term used to group works sharing similarities of character, theme, and setting—such as mystery, and popular fiction (i.e. This page lists direct English translations of Latin phrases, such as veni vidi vici and et cetera. Some of the phrases are themselves translations of Greek phrases, as Greek rhetoric and literature reached its peak centuries before that of ancient Rome, paraliterature). In broad terms, literary fiction focuses more on style, psychological depth, and character[1][2], the plot may or may not be important. Mainstream commercial fiction focuses more on narrative A narrative is a story that is created in a constructive format that describes a sequence of fictional or non-fictional events and plot A literature term, a plot is all the events in a story particularly rendered toward the achievement of some particular artistic or emotional effect or general theme. An intricate, complicated plot is known as an imbroglio, but even the simplest statements of plot can have multiple inferences, such as with songs the ballad tradition.[citation.
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Definition
What distinguishes literary fiction from other genres is somewhat subjective, and as in other artistic media, genres may overlap. Even so, literary fiction is generally characterized as distinctive based on its content and style ("literariness", the concern to be "writerly"). The term literary fiction is considered hard to define very precisely[3] but is commonly associated with the criteria used in literary awards A literary award is an award presented to an author who has written a particularly lauded piece or body of work. There are awards for forms of writing ranging from poetry to novels. Many awards are also dedicated to a certain genre of fiction or non-fiction writing . Most literary awards come with a corresponding award ceremony and marketing of certain kinds of novels, since literary prizes usually concern themselves with literary fiction, and their shortlists can give a working definition.
Scope
Literary fiction includes works written as short story A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels or books. Short story definitions based upon length differ somewhat even among professional writers, due somewhat in part to the fragmentation of the medium, novella A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000. Other definitions start as low as 10,000 words and run as high as 70,000 words, novel A novel is a long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century and novel sequence A novel sequence is a set or series of novels which share common themes, characters, or settings, but where each novel has its own title and free-standing storyline, and can thus be read independently or out of sequence. In the world of comic writing, graphic novels A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format. The term is employed in a broad manner, encompassing non-fiction works and thematically linked short stories as well as fictional stories across a number of genres are sometimes considered literary fiction, as represented by Watchmen Watchmen is a twelve-issue comic book limited series created by writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colorist John Higgins. The series was published by DC Comics during 1986 and 1987, and has been subsequently reprinted into collected form. Watchmen originated from a story proposal Moore submitted to DC featuring superhero characters that. Michiko Kakutani, writing in The New York Times The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. Although it remains both the largest local metropolitan newspaper in the United States as well as third largest overall behind The Wall Street Journal and USA Today, the weekday circulation of the paper has fallen precipitously in, has described literary fiction as having a distinctive "vision and language."[4]
Literary magazines A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry and essays along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letters. Literary magazines are often called literary journals, or little magazines, which is not meant as a, especially those affiliated with universities, or annual anthologies like the Pushcart Prize The Pushcart Prize is a prestigious American literary prize by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are invited to nominate up to 6 works they have featured. Anthologies of the selected works, The Best American Short Stories The Best American Short Stories yearly anthology is a part of the The Best American Series published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Since 1915, the BASS anthology has striven to contain the best short stories by some of the best-known writers in contemporary American literature, O. Henry Awards, or Booker Prize The Man Booker Prize for Fiction, is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original full-length novel, written in the English language, by a citizen of the Commonwealth of Nations, Ireland, or Zimbabwe. The winner of the Booker Prize is generally assured of international renown and success and, for this reason, the prize is of great typically restrict their selections to literary fiction. A no-genre-fiction rule for submissions is common, although slipstream (genre) Slipstream is a kind of fantastic or non-realistic fiction that crosses conventional genre boundaries between science fiction/fantasy and mainstream literary fiction or magic realism Magic realism is an aesthetic style or genre in literature in which magical elements are blended into a realistic atmosphere in order to access a deeper understanding of reality. These magical elements are explained like normal occurrences that are presented in a straightforward manner which allows the "real" and the "fantastic" is sometimes included.
Limitation
To understand what literary fiction is, it's probably easier to look at what it isn't. Literary fiction is not about chick lit, mystery, science fiction or horror although they are marvellous literature in themselves and literary fiction can incorporate certain aspects of them. [5]
Literary is not precisely defined and it might be difficult to state whether Science fiction Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with the impact of imagined innovations in science or technology. It differs from fantasy in that, within the context of the story, its imaginary elements are largely possible within scientifically established or scientifically postulated laws of nature . Exploring the consequences of such differences classics like, The Time Machine The Time Machine is a science fiction novel by H. G. Wells, first published in 1895 and later directly adapted into at least two feature films of the same name, as well as two television versions, and a large number of comic book adaptations. It indirectly inspired many more works of fiction in all media. This 32,000 word novella is generally or The War of the Worlds The War of the Worlds is a science fiction novel by H. G. Wells. It describes the experiences of a journalist (narrator) in Woking and his brother, a medical student from London as the Earth is invaded by Martians. It is said to be the first story that details a conflict between mankind and an alien race are or are not literary fiction.
As a genre
It has become a commonplace idea that literary fiction is in itself just another genre Genre (pronounced /ˈʒɑːnrə/, also /ˈdʒɑːnrə/; from French, genre , "kind" or "sort", from Latin: genus , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for a category of literature, as well as various other forms of art or culture, based on some loose set of criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time as. This is in accord with the marketing Marketing is the process by which companies create customer interest in products or services. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business development. It is an integrated process through which companies build strong customer relationships and create value for their customers and for themselves practices now general in the book trade. It may also be taken to be the latest version of the death of the novel debate that has run from 1950, and reflects the importance of the novel A novel is a long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century as it replaced poetry Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning. Poetry may be written independently, as discrete poems, or may occur in conjunction with other arts, as in poetic drama, hymns, lyrics, or prose poetry. It is published in dedicated magazines ( as the central literary form in Western Europe Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the westernmost region of Europe, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a cultural entity—the region lying west of Central Europe. Another definition was created during the Cold War and North America North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific Ocean; South America lies to the southeast from the 1930s. However, literary fiction does not precisely fit the general definition of a genre, as it lacks the cohesion of genres such as westerns or romance.
In a June 2006 interview with John Updike John Hoyer Updike was an American novelist, poet, short story writer, art critic, and literary critic on The Charlie Rose Show, Updike stated that he felt this term, when applied to his work, greatly limited him and his expectations of what might come of his writing, and so does not really like it. He said that all his works are literary simply because "they are written in words." [6]
Notes
- ^ http://www.storyinliteraryfiction.com/essays-on-writing/character-in-literary-fictional-story/
- ^ http://absolutewrite.com/novels/create_literary.htm
- ^ A Guide to Literary Fiction
- ^ Michiko Katutani, Books of the Times, The New York Times, June 4, 1984
- ^ http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art10543.asp
- ^ The Charlie Rose Show from June 14, 2006 with John Updike
External links
- The end of literary fiction
- Most Honored Literary Fiction at the Award Annals
Bibliography
- Robert Rebein. Hicks, Tribes, & Dirty Realists: American Fiction After Postmodernism. University Press of Kentucky, 2001. ISBN 0813121760
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Categories: Literary fiction | Style (fiction) |
Publishers Weekly
... we are going to examine this question: What makes a mystery, and why does there continue to be a bias and divide between "genre" and " literary " fiction ? ...
James Grainger
Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:08:11 GM
Without knowing it, I was being initiated into the uniquely immersive power of . literary fiction. (and poetry and memoir, for that matter), an immersion that achieves its power precisely through the level of attention, commitment and ...
Q. How a fictin can be made a literary work?
Asked by azhi - Fri Oct 27 07:59:06 2006 - - 2 Answers - 0 Comments
A. Deeper and multiple themes, finer vocabulary, of cultural interest--these are three distinguishments of a literary novel.
Answered by *babydoll* - Fri Oct 27 08:07:27 2006
