Genre

Speculative Fiction

Speculative and Fantastic Fiction

Speculative fiction is an umbrella genre of fiction encompassing all the subgenres that depart from realism, or strictly imitating everyday reality, instead presenting fantastical, supernatural, futuristic or other highly imaginative realms or beings. This catch-all genre includes, but is not limited to, fantasy, science fiction, social science fiction, science fantasy, superhero fiction, paranormal and supernatural horror, alternate history, magical realism, slipstream, weird fiction, utopia, dystopia, and apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction.

Facts

Place of Origin

The term speculative fiction is usually attributed to the American writer Robert A. Heinlein, who used it in a 1947 editorial in The Saturday Evening Post, with an earlier 1889 use traced to the American periodical Lippincott's Monthly Magazine. 1

Notable Example

Frankenstein is listed as a genre example under the science fiction subgenre in the article's own genres table, alongside works such as Halo and The Time Machine. 1

Defining Trait

Speculative fiction is an umbrella genre encompassing every subgenre that departs from realism, presenting fantastical, supernatural, futuristic, or other highly imaginative realms or beings. 1

Defining Trait

Subject Matter 1

FAQs

Who first used the term speculative fiction?

Usually credited to Robert A. Heinlein in a 1947 Saturday Evening Post editorial.

The term is usually credited to the American writer Robert A. Heinlein, who used it in an editorial in The Saturday Evening Post in 1947. Heinlein used it as a synonym for science fiction, and in a later article said his use of the term excluded fantasy. Earlier uses exist, so he may have invented it independently rather than first.

Connections

Features Author

China Miéville

Source China Miéville (Wikipedia)

Margaret Atwood

Source Wikipedia: Margaret Atwood

The Handmaid's Tale

Source Wikipedia: The Handmaid's Tale

William Gibson

Source Wikipedia: William Gibson

Subgenres

Alternate History

Source Alternate history (Wikipedia)

Chuanyue

Source Chuanyue - Wikipedia

Grimdark

Source Grimdark (Wikipedia)

Hopepunk

Source Hopepunk (Wikipedia)

Portal Fantasy

Source Portal Fantasy (Wikipedia)

Quantum Fiction

Source Quantum fiction (Wikipedia)

Slipstream Fiction

Source Slipstream Fiction (Wikipedia)

Subterranean Fiction

Source Wikipedia: Subterranean fiction

Superhero Fiction

Source Superhero Fiction (Wikipedia)

Supernatural Fiction

Source Supernatural fiction - Wikipedia

Utopian and Dystopian Fiction

Source Utopian and dystopian fiction (Wikipedia)

Visionary Fiction

Source Visionary fiction (Wikipedia)

Weird Fiction

Source Weird Fiction (Wikipedia)

Xenofiction

Source Wikipedia: Xenofiction

Sources

1. Speculative Fiction (Wikipedia)

Wikimedia Foundation

lead section, paragraph 1
umbrella genre of fiction that encompasses all the subgenres that depart from realism, or strictly imitating everyday reality, instead presenting fantastical, supernatural, futuristic, or other highly imaginative realms or beings
Genres table, Science Fiction row
Frankenstein, Halo, The Time Machine
History section, paragraph 1
the term speculative fiction has often been attributed to Robert A. Heinlein, who first used it in an editorial in The Saturday Evening Post
Lead paragraph, defining sentence
Speculative fiction is an umbrella genre of fiction that encompasses all the subgenres that depart from realism, or strictly imitating everyday reality, instead presenting fantastical, supernatural, futuristic, or other highly imaginative realms or beings.
In Group: Umbrella and Cross-Genre Speculative Fiction, Lead
Speculative fiction is an umbrella genre of fiction that encompasses all the subgenres that depart from realism, or strictly imitating everyday reality, instead presenting fantastical, supernatural, futuristic, or other highly imaginative realms or beings.