Mythpunk

Mythpunk is a subgenre of mythic fiction that reworks folklore and myth using postmodern literary technique rather than retelling a traditional story directly. The term was coined in 2006 by the author Catherynne M. Valente, half in jest, to describe her own folklore-based fantasy writing and that of others working in a similar vein. Mythpunk fiction favors nonlinear narrative, deliberate worldbuilding, confessional or poetic language and other unconventional storytelling methods, and Valente has described the genre as using folklore to question inherited assumptions about whose stories get told, often centering women, queer characters and people of color who were left out of the myths it draws on. Writers associated with the genre include Valente herself, Neil Gaiman, Ekaterina Sedia, Theodora Goss, Sonya Taaffe and Adam Christopher, with much of the genre's work published through small presses willing to take on experimental fiction.