The Wonderful Visit'' (1895), it was not until the 20th century that fantasy fiction began to reach a large audience.
Lord Dunsany established the genre's popularity in both the novel and the short story form.
H. Rider Haggard,
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work.
...
, and
Edgar Rice Burroughs began to write fantasy at this time. These authors, along with
Abraham Merritt
Abraham Grace Merritt (January 20, 1884 – August 21, 1943) – known by his byline, A. Merritt – was an American Sunday magazine editor and a writer of fantastic fiction.
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame inducted him in 1999, ...
, established what was known as the "lost world" subgenre, which was the most popular form of fantasy in the early decades of the 20th century, although several classic children's fantasies, such as ''
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...
'' and ''
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' is a children's novel written by author L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. It is the first novel in the Oz series of books. A Kansas farm girl named Dorothy ends up in the magical Land of Oz afte ...
'', were also published around this time.
Juvenile fantasy
Children's fantasy is children's literature with fantasy elements: fantasy for young readers. It may also mean fantasy read ''by'' children (regardless of intended audience).
The genre has roots in folk tales such as ''Aesop's Fables'' that wer ...
was considered more acceptable than fantasy intended for adults, with the effect that writers who wished to write fantasy had to fit their work into forms aimed at children.
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion.
He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associated with that t ...
wrote fantasy in ''
A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys'', intended for children, although works for adults only verged on fantasy. For many years, this and successes such as ''
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creature ...
'' (1865), created the circular effect that all fantasy works, even the later ''
The Lord of the Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's b ...
'', were therefore classified as children's literature.
Political and social trends can affect a society's reception towards fantasy. In the early 20th century, the
New Culture Movement's enthusiasm for Westernization and science in China compelled them to condemn the fantastical
shenmo
Gods and demons fiction () is a subgenre of fantasy fiction that revolves around the deities, immortals, and monsters of Chinese mythology. The term ''shenmo xiaoshuo'', coined in the early 20th century by the writer and literary historian Lu ...
genre of traditional Chinese literature. The spells and magical creatures of these novels were viewed as superstitious and backward, products of a feudal society hindering the modernization of China. Stories of the supernatural continued to be denounced once the Communists rose to power, and mainland China experienced a revival in fantasy only after the
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...
had ended.
Fantasy became a genre of
pulp magazines published in the West. In 1923, the first all-fantasy fiction magazine, ''
Weird Tales
''Weird Tales'' is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine founded by J. C. Henneberger and J. M. Lansinger in late 1922. The first issue, dated March 1923, appeared on newsstands February 18. The first editor, Edwin Baird, pri ...
'', was published. Many other similar magazines eventually followed, including ''
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Press. Editors Anthony Boucher ...
''; when it was founded in 1949, the pulp magazine format was at the height of its popularity, and the magazine was instrumental in bringing fantasy fiction to a wide audience in both the U.S. and Britain. Such magazines were also instrumental in the rise of science fiction, and it was at this time the two genres began to be associated with each other.
By 1950, "
sword and sorcery" fiction had begun to find a wide audience, with the success of
Robert E. Howard's
Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, films (including '' Conan the Barbarian'' and '' Conan the Destroyer'') ...
and
Fritz Leiber
Fritz Reuter Leiber Jr. ( ; December 24, 1910 – September 5, 1992) was an American writer of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He was also a poet, actor in theater and films, playwright, and chess expert. With writers such as Rober ...
's
Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser
Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are two sword-and-sorcery heroes appearing in stories written by American author Fritz Leiber. They are the protagonists of what are probably Leiber's best-known stories. One of his motives in writing them was to have ...
stories. However, it was the advent of
high fantasy
High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, or plot.Brian Stableford, ''The A to Z of Fantasy Literature'', (p. 198), Scarecrow Press, ...
, and most of all J. R. R. Tolkien's ''
The Hobbit
''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the ''N ...
'' and ''The Lord of the Rings'', which reached new heights of popularity in the late 1960s, that allowed fantasy to truly enter the mainstream.
Jane Yolen
Jane Hyatt Yolen (born February 11, 1939) is an American writer of fantasy, science fiction, and children's books. She is the author or editor of more than 350 books, of which the best known is ''The Devil's Arithmetic'', a Holocaust novella. He ...
, "Introduction" p vii–viii ''After the King: Stories in Honor of J.R.R. Tolkien'', ed, Martin H. Greenberg, Several other series, such as C. S. Lewis's ''
Chronicles of Narnia
''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven high fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' has been adapted for radio, telev ...
'' and
Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the '' Earthsea'' fantasy series. She was ...
's
Earthsea
''The Earthsea Cycle'', also known as ''Earthsea'', is a series of high fantasy books written by the American writer Ursula K. Le Guin. Beginning with ''A Wizard of Earthsea'' (1968), '' The Tombs of Atuan'', (1970) and '' The Farthest Shore'' ...
books, helped cement the genre's popularity.
The popularity of the fantasy genre has continued to increase in the 21st century, as evidenced by the best-selling status of
J. K. Rowling
Joanne Rowling ( "rolling"; born 31 July 1965), also known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author and philanthropist. She wrote ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume children's fantasy series published from 1997 to 2007. The ser ...
's
Harry Potter series,
Robert Jordan
James Oliver Rigney Jr. (October 17, 1948 – September 16, 2007), better known by his pen name Robert Jordan," Robert Jordan" was the name of the protagonist in the 1940 Hemingway novel ''For Whom the Bell Tolls'', though this is not how the n ...
's ''
The Wheel of Time
''The Wheel of Time'' is a series of high fantasy novels by American author Robert Jordan, with Brandon Sanderson as a co-author for the final three novels. Originally planned as a six-book series, ''The Wheel of Time'' spans 14 volumes, in ad ...
'' series,
George R. R. Martin
George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948), also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels ''A Song ...
's ''
Song of Ice and Fire'' series,
Steven Erikson's
Malazan Book of the Fallen
''Malazan Book of the Fallen'' is a series of epic fantasy novels written by the Canadian author Steven Erikson. The series, published by Bantam Books in the U.K. and Tor Books in the U.S., consists of ten volumes, beginning with '' Gardens of ...
sweeping epic,
Brandon Sanderson's ''
The Stormlight Archive
''The Stormlight Archive'' is a series of epic fantasy novels written by American author Brandon Sanderson, planned to consist of ten novels. As of 2022, the series comprises four published novels and two novellas. The first novel, ''The Way of ...
'' series and ''
Mistborn
''Mistborn'' is a series of epic fantasy novels written by American author Brandon Sanderson and published by Tor Books. The first trilogy, published between 2006 and 2008, consists of ''The Final Empire'', ''The Well of Ascension'', and ''Th ...
'' series, and
A. Sapkowski
Andrzej Sapkowski (; born 21 June 1948) is a Polish fantasy writer, essayist, translator and a trained economist. He is best known for his six-volume series of books ''The Witcher'', which revolves around the eponymous "witcher," a monster-hunte ...
's ''
The Witcher
''The Witcher'' ( pl, Wiedźmin ) is a series of six fantasy novels and 15 short stories written by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. The series revolves around the eponymous "witcher", Geralt of Rivia. In Sapkowski's works, "witchers" are be ...
'' saga.
Media
Several fantasy film adaptations have achieved blockbuster status, most notably
''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy directed by
Peter Jackson, and the ''
Harry Potter'' films, two of the
highest-grossing film series in cinematic history. Meanwhile,
David Benioff
David Friedman (; born September 25, 1970), known professionally as David Benioff (), is an American writer, director and producer. Along with his collaborator D. B. Weiss, he is best known as co-creator and showrunner of '' Game of Thrones'' (2 ...
and
D. B. Weiss
Daniel Brett Weiss (; born April 23, 1971) is an American television writer, director, and producer. Along with his collaborator David Benioff, he is best-known as co-creator of ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), the HBO adaptation of George R. ...
would go on to produce the television drama series ''
Game of Thrones'' for
HBO, based on the book series by George R. R. Martin, which has gone on to achieve unprecedented success for the fantasy genre on television.
Fantasy
role-playing games cross several different media. ''
Dungeons & Dragons
''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TS ...
'' was the first
tabletop role-playing game
A tabletop role-playing game (typically abbreviated as TRPG or TTRPG), also known as a pen-and-paper role-playing game, is a form of role-playing game (RPG) in which the participants describe their characters' actions through speech. Participa ...
and remains the most successful and influential. According to a 1999 survey in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, 6% of 12- to 35-year-olds have played role-playing games. Of those who play regularly, two thirds play ''D&D''. Products branded ''Dungeons & Dragons'' made up over fifty percent of the RPG products sold in 2005.
The
science fantasy role-playing game series ''
Final Fantasy
is a Japanese video game, Japanese science fantasy anthology media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi and developed and owned by Square Enix (formerly Square (video game company), Square). The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and ...
'' has been an icon of the
role-playing video game genre ( it was still among the top ten
best-selling video game franchises). The first
collectible card game, ''
Magic: The Gathering
''Magic: The Gathering'' (colloquially known as ''Magic'' or ''MTG'') is a Tabletop game, tabletop and Digital collectible card game, digital Collectible card game, collectable card game created by Richard Garfield. Released in 1993 by Wizards ...
'', has a fantasy theme and is similarly dominant in the industry.
Classification
By theme (subgenres)
Fantasy encompasses numerous
subgenre
Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
s characterized by particular themes or settings, or by an overlap with other literary genres or forms of speculative fiction. They include the following:
*
Bangsian fantasy, interactions with famous historical figures in the afterlife, named for
John Kendrick Bangs
John Kendrick Bangs (May 27, 1862 – January 21, 1922) was an American author, humorist, editor and satirist.
Biography
He was born in Yonkers, New York. His father Francis N. Bangs was a lawyer in New York City, as was his brother, Francis S ...
*
Comic fantasy
Fantasy comedy or comic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is primarily humorous in intent and tone. Typically set in imaginary worlds, fantasy comedy often involves puns on and parodies of other works of fantasy.
Literature
The subgenre rose ...
, humorous in tone
*
Contemporary fantasy
Contemporary fantasy, also known as modern fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy, set in the present day or, more accurately, the time period of the maker. It is perhaps most popular for its subgenre, urban fantasy.
Strictly, supernatural fiction c ...
, set in the modern world or a world based on a
contemporary era
Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it i ...
but involving magic or other supernatural elements
*
Dark fantasy, including elements of
horror fiction
Horror is a genre of fiction which is intended to frighten, scare, or disgust. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror, which is in the realm of speculative fiction. Literary historian ...
*Extruded fantasy product, derogatory term for derivative works
*
Fable
Fable is a literary genre: a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse (poetry), verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphized, and that illustrat ...
s, stories with non-human characters, leading to "morals" or lessons
*
Fairy tales themselves, as well as
fairytale fantasy
Fairytale fantasy is distinguished from other subgenres of fantasy by the works' heavy use of motifs, and often plots, from folklore.
History
Literary fairy tales were not unknown in the Roman era: Apuleius included several in ''The Golden Ass' ...
, which draws on fairy tale themes
*
Fantastic poetry, poetry with a fantastic theme
*''
Fantastique
''Fantastique'' is a French term for a literary and cinematic genre that overlaps with science fiction, horror, and fantasy.
The ''fantastique'' is a substantial genre within French literature. Arguably dating back further than English lan ...
'', French literary genre involving supernatural elements
*
Fantasy of manners
The fantasy of manners is a literary genre, subgenre of fantasy literature that also partakes of the nature of a comedy of manners (though it is not necessarily humorous). Such works generally take place in an urban setting and within the confines ...
, or mannerpunk, focusing on matters of social standing in the way of a
comedy of manners
In English literature, the term comedy of manners (also anti-sentimental comedy) describes a genre of realistic, satirical comedy of the Restoration period (1660–1710) that questions and comments upon the manners and social conventions of a gr ...
*
Gaslamp fantasy
Gaslamp fantasy (also known as gaslight fantasy or gaslight romance) is a subgenre of both fantasy and historical fiction. Generally speaking, this particular realm of fantasy employs either a Victorian or Edwardian setting (i.e. a between th ...
, using a
Victorian or
Edwardian
The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...
setting, influenced by
gothic fiction
Gothic fiction, sometimes called Gothic horror in the 20th century, is a loose literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name is a reference to Gothic architecture of the European Middle Ages, which was characteristic of the settings of e ...
*
Gods and demons fiction
Gods and demons fiction () is a subgenre of fantasy fiction that revolves around the deities, immortals, and monsters of Chinese mythology. The term ''shenmo xiaoshuo'', coined in the early 20th century by the writer and literary historian Lu ...
(''shenmo''), involving the gods and monsters of
Chinese mythology
Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature in the geographic area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology includes many varied myths from regional and cultural traditions.
Much of t ...
*"
Grimdark
Grimdark is a subgenre of speculative fiction with a tone, style, or setting that is particularly dystopian, amoral, and violent. The term is inspired by the tagline of the tabletop strategy game ''Warhammer 40,000'': "In the grim darkness of ...
" fiction, a somewhat tongue-in-cheek label for fiction with an especially violent tone or
dystopian themes
*
Hard fantasy
Hard fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy literature that strives to present stories set in (and often centered on) a rational and knowable world. Hard fantasy is similar to hard science fiction, from which it draws its name, in that they all aim to ...
, whose supernatural aspects are intended to be internally consistent and explainable, named in analogy to
hard science fiction
Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by concern for scientific accuracy and logic. The term was first used in print in 1957 by P. Schuyler Miller in a review of John W. Campbell's ''Islands of Space'' in the Novemb ...
*
Heroic fantasy
Heroic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy in which events occur in a world where magic is prevalent and modern technology is nonexistent. The setting may be entirely fictitious in nature or based upon Earth with some additions. Unlike dark fiction ...
, concerned with the tales of heroes in imaginary lands
*
High fantasy
High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, or plot.Brian Stableford, ''The A to Z of Fantasy Literature'', (p. 198), Scarecrow Press, ...
or epic fantasy, characterized by a plot and themes of epic scale
*
Historical fantasy
Historical fantasy is a category of fantasy and genre of historical fiction that incorporates fantastic elements (such as magic) into a more "realistic" narrative. There is much crossover with other subgenres of fantasy; those classed as Arthu ...
,
historical fiction with fantasy elements
*
Isekai
is a Japanese genre of speculative fiction—both portal fantasy and science fiction are included. It includes novels, light novels, films, manga, anime and video games that revolve around a person or people who are transported to and have to ...
, people transported from the real world to a different one, mainly in Japanese fiction (
anime
is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
,
light novel
A light novel (, Hepburn: ''raito noberu'') is a style of young adult novel primarily targeting high school and middle school students. The term "light novel" is a '' wasei-eigo'', or a Japanese term formed from words in the English languag ...
s and
manga)
*
Juvenile fantasy
Children's fantasy is children's literature with fantasy elements: fantasy for young readers. It may also mean fantasy read ''by'' children (regardless of intended audience).
The genre has roots in folk tales such as ''Aesop's Fables'' that wer ...
,
children's literature
Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader.
Children's ...
with fantasy elements
*
LitRPG
LitRPG, short for literary role playing game, is a literary genre combining the conventions of computer RPGs with science-fiction and fantasy novels. The term was introduced in 2013. In LitRPG, games or game-like challenges form an essential par ...
, set in a table-top or computer role-playing game, and depicting the progression and mechanics of the game
*
Low fantasy, characterized by few or non-intrusive supernatural elements, often in contrast to high fantasy
*
Magic realism, a genre of
literary fiction
Literary fiction, mainstream fiction, non-genre fiction or serious fiction is a label that, in the book trade, refers to market novels that do not fit neatly into an established genre (see genre fiction); or, otherwise, refers to novels that are ch ...
incorporating minor supernatural elements
*
Magical girl fantasy, involving young girls with magical powers, mainly in Japanese fiction
*
Paranormal romance
Paranormal romance is a subgenre of both romantic fiction and speculative fiction. Paranormal romance focuses on romantic love and includes elements beyond the range of scientific explanation, blending together themes from the speculative fiction ...
,
romantic fiction
A romance novel or romantic novel generally refers to a type of genre fiction novel which places its primary focus on the relationship and Romance (love), romantic love between two people, and usually has an "emotionally satisfying and optimis ...
with
supernatural or
fantastic
The fantastic (french: le fantastique) is a subgenre of literary works characterized by the ambiguous presentation of seemingly supernatural forces.
Bulgarian-French structuralist literary critic Tzvetan Todorov originated the concept, charac ...
creatures
*
Romantic fantasy
Romantic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy fiction, describing a fantasy story using many of the elements and conventions of the chivalric romance genre.
One of the key features of romantic fantasy involves the focus on relationships, social, ...
, focusing on romantic relationships
*
Science fantasy, fantasy incorporating elements from
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
such as advanced technology, aliens and space travel but also fantastic things
*
Steampunk, a genre which is sometimes a kind of fantasy, with elements from the 19th century steam technology (historical fantasy and science fantasy both overlap with it)
*
Sword and sorcery, adventures of sword-wielding heroes, generally more limited in scope than epic fantasy
*
Urban fantasy
Urban fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy which places imaginary and unreal elements in an approximation of a contemporary urban setting. The combination provides the writer with quixotic plot-drivers, unusual character traits, and a platform for c ...
, set in a city
*
Weird fiction
Weird fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction originating in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Weird fiction either eschews or radically reinterprets ghosts, vampires, werewolves, and other traditional antagonists of supernatural horr ...
, macabre and unsettling stories from before the terms "fantasy" and "horror" were widely used; see also the more modern forms of
slipstream fiction and the
New Weird
*
Xianxia (genre)
''Xianxia'' ( zh, s=, t=仙俠), directly translated to 'immortal heroes', is a genre of Chinese fantasy heavily inspired by Taoism and influenced by Chinese mythology, Chan Buddhism, Chinese martial arts, traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese ...
, Chinese martial-arts fiction often incorporating fantasy elements, such as gods, fairies, demons, magical realms and reincarnation
By the function of the fantastic in the narrative
In her 2008 book ''Rhetorics of Fantasy'',
Farah Mendlesohn
Farah Jane Mendlesohn (born 27 July 1968) is a British academic historian, writer on speculative fiction, and active member of science fiction fandom. Mendlesohn is best-known for their 2008 book '' Rhetorics of Fantasy'', which classifies fanta ...
proposes the following
taxonomy
Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification.
A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...
of fantasy, as "determined by the means by which the fantastic enters the narrated world", while noting that there are fantasies that fit none of the patterns:
Subculture
![Avon Fantasy Reader 18](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Avon_Fantasy_Reader_18.jpg)
Professionals such as publishers, editors, authors, artists, and scholars within the fantasy genre get together yearly at the
World Fantasy Convention
The World Fantasy Convention is an annual convention of professionals, collectors, and others interested in the field of fantasy. The World Fantasy Awards are presented at the event. Other features include an art show, a dealer's room, and an ...
. The
World Fantasy Awards
The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous annu ...
are presented at the convention. The first WFC was held in 1975 and it has occurred every year since. The convention is held at a different city each year.
Additionally, many science fiction conventions, such as Florida's
FX Show and
MegaCon
MegaCon, short for Mega Convention, is a large speculative fiction convention that caters to the comic book, sci-fi, anime, fantasy, and gaming communities, often occurring in spring at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. Th ...
, cater to fantasy and horror fans. Anime conventions, such as
Ohayocon
Ohayocon is a three-day anime convention typically held during January in Columbus, Ohio, at the Hyatt Regency Columbus and the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Ohayocon's name is derived from the similarity between "Ohio", the convention's l ...
or
Anime Expo
Anime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA). The convention is traditionally held annually on the first w ...
frequently feature showings of fantasy, science fantasy, and dark fantasy series and films, such as ''
Majutsushi Orphen'' (fantasy), ''
Sailor Moon'' (urban fantasy), ''
Berserk'' (dark fantasy), and ''
Spirited Away
is a 2001 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Nippon Television Network, Dentsu, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Tohokushinsha Film, and Mitsubishi and distrib ...
'' (fantasy). Many science fiction/fantasy and anime conventions also strongly feature or cater to one or more of the several subcultures within the main subcultures, including the
cosplay subculture (in which people make or wear costumes based on existing or self-created characters, sometimes also acting out skits or plays as well), the
fan fiction subculture, and the fan video or
AMV subculture, as well as the large internet subculture devoted to reading and writing prose fiction or
doujinshi
, also romanized as ', is the Japanese term for self-published print works, such as magazines, manga, and novels. Part of a wider category of ''doujin'' (self-published) works, ''doujinshi'' are often derivative of existing works and created by ...
in or related to those genres.
According to 2013 statistics by the fantasy publisher
Tor Books
Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles, and is the largest publisher of Chinese sci ...
, men outnumber women by 67% to 33% among writers of historical, epic or high fantasy. But among writers of urban fantasy or paranormal romance, 57% are women and 43% are men.
Analysis
Fantasy is studied in a number of disciplines including
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and other language studies,
cultural studies,
comparative literature
Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across linguistic, national, geographic, and disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role similar to that of the study ...
,
history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
and
medieval studies
Medieval studies is the academic interdisciplinary study of the Middle Ages.
Institutional development
The term 'medieval studies' began to be adopted by academics in the opening decades of the twentieth century, initially in the titles of books ...
. For example,
Tzvetan Todorov
Tzvetan Todorov (; ; bg, Цветан Тодоров; 1 March 1939 – 7 February 2017) was a Bulgarian-French historian, philosopher, structuralist literary critic, sociologist and essayist. He was the author of many books and essays, whi ...
argues that the fantastic is a
liminal space. Other work makes political, historical and literary connections between medievalism and popular culture.
[Jane Tolmie, "Medievalism and the Fantasy Heroine", '']Journal of Gender Studies
The ''Journal of Gender Studies'' is a leading British peer-reviewed journal for interdisciplinary gender studies, published by Routledge. It has been published since 1991, and publishes articles relating to gender from a feminist perspective cov ...
'', Vol. 15, No. 2 (July 2006), pp. 145–158. ISSN 0958-9236
Related genres
*
Horror
*
Science fantasy
*
Science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
*
Superhero fiction
*
Supernatural fiction
*
Utopian and dystopian fiction
Utopian and dystopian fiction are genres of speculative fiction that explore social and political structures. Utopian fiction portrays a setting that agrees with the author's ethos, having various attributes of another reality intended to appeal to ...
See also
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Fantasy literature
Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. Magic, the supernatural and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds. Fa ...
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Outline of fantasy
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List of fantasy authors
This is a list of fantasy authors, authors known for writing works of fantasy, fantasy literature, or related genres of magic realism, horror fiction, science fantasy. Many of the authors are known for work outside the fantasy genres.
A
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List of fantasy novels {{Short description, None
The list of fantasy novels has been divided into the following three parts:
* List of fantasy novels (A–H)
* List of fantasy novels (I–R)
* List of fantasy novels (S–Z)
Novels
A novel is a relatively long work ...
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List of fantasy worlds
This is a list of fictional fantasy worlds and lands. The best-known lands or worlds, not necessarily the most encompassing, are listed. For example, Middle-earth is only a region of Arda in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe, but it is far b ...
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List of genres
This is a list of genres of literature and entertainment ( film, television, music, and video games), excluding genres in the visual arts.
''Genre'' is the term for any category of creative work, which includes literature and other forms of a ...
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List of high fantasy fiction
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List of literary genres
Writing genres (more commonly known as literary genres) are categories that distinguish literature (including works of prose, poetry, drama, hybrid forms, etc.) based on some set of stylistic criteria. Sharing literary conventions, they t ...
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Fantastique
''Fantastique'' is a French term for a literary and cinematic genre that overlaps with science fiction, horror, and fantasy.
The ''fantastique'' is a substantial genre within French literature. Arguably dating back further than English lan ...
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Theosophical fiction
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Worldbuilding
Worldbuilding is the process of constructing a world, originally an imaginary one, sometimes associated with a fictional universe. Developing an imaginary setting with coherent qualities such as a history, geography, and ecology is a key task f ...
References
External links
The Fantasy GenreChildren's Literature Classics
{{Authority control
Speculative fiction