Classic – fiction that has become part of an accepted literary canon, widely taught in schools
Crime/detective – fiction about a crime, how the criminal gets caught and serve time, and the repercussions of the crime
Epic – a genre of narrative poetry in a time before history about extraordinary feats that involve religious underpinnings and themes
Fable – legendary, supernatural tale demonstrating a useful truth
Fairy tale – story about fairies or other magical creatures
Fantasy – fiction in an unreal setting that often includes magic, magical creatures, or the supernatural
Folktale – the songs, stories, myths, and proverbs of a people or "folk" as handed down by word of mouth
Gothic fiction or Gothic Romanticism, a literary genre
Historical fiction – story with fictional characters and events in a historical setting
Horror – fiction in which events evoke a feeling of dread and sometimes fear in both the characters and the reader
Humor – usually a fiction full of fun, fancy, and excitement, meant to entertain and sometimes cause intended laughter; but can be contained in all genres
Legend – story, sometimes of a national or folk hero, that has a basis in fact but also includes imaginative material
Magical realism – story where magical or unreal elements play a natural part in an otherwise realistic environment
Meta fiction (also known as romantic irony in the context of Romantic works of literature) – uses self-reference to draw attention to itself as a work of art while exposing the "truth" of a story
Mystery – fiction dealing with the solution of a crime or the revealing of secrets
Mythology – legend or traditional narrative, often based in part on historical events, that reveals human behavior and natural phenomena by its symbolism; often pertaining to the actions of the gods
Mythopoeia – fiction in which characters from religious mythology, traditional myths, folklore and/or history are recast into a re-imagined realm created by the author
Realistic fiction – story that is true to life
Romance – genre which place their primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, which usually has an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending".
Satire usually fiction and less frequently in non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, with the intent of shaming individuals, corporations, government, or society itself into improvement.[1]
Science fiction – story based on the impact of actual, imagined, or potential science, often set in the future or on other planets
Short story – fiction of great brevity, usually supports no subplots.
Spy fiction – fiction involving espionage and establishment of modern intelligence agencies.
Superhero fiction – fiction involving costumed crime fighters known as superheroes who often possess superhuman powers and battle with similarly powered criminals known as supervillains.
Swashbuckler – story based on a time of swordsmen, pirates and ships, and other related ideas, usually full of action
Tall tale – humorous story with blatant exaggerations, such as swaggering heroes who do the impossible with nonchalance
Theological fiction – explores the theological ideas which shape attitudes towards religious expression.
Suspense/thriller – fiction about harm about to befall a person or group and the attempts made to evade the harm
Tragicomedy – a play or novel containing elements of both comedy and tragedy.
Travel – literature containing elements of the outdoors, nature, adventure, and traveling
Western – fiction set in the American Old West frontier and typically in the late nineteenth to earl