Genres

There are a lot of genres out there. Some refer to the format of the writing, some to the age group, and others to the type of story. It's confusing, so I put together this list of genres and subgenres for you all to enjoy and utilize.

By Age Group

Juvenile

Spans from first grade through highschool, as many teens enjoy this genre as well as elementary students. Reading difficulty can vary, and even adults can enjoy these books.

Middle Grade

Ages 8-13.

Teen

Ages 14-19.

Young Adult

Typically targeted towards highschool through college age.

Adult

Ages 18+.

By Format

Narrative

A narrative is

any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether nonfictional or fictional.

Fiction

Any literature or media that is imaginary.

Non-Fiction

Any literature or media that is not imaginary.

Essay

An essay is a short piece of writing and is about a specific subject. Essays are often written as school assignments.

Article

Articles are commonly found in newspapers, magazines, and journals, and are written for a broad audience.

Genre Fiction

Genre fiction is also known as popular fiction and is used to refer to books that are written to fit in a genre (like fantasy or mystery).

Short Story

Short stories are technically any length above 1,000 words but typically lie between 5,000-10,000.

Flash Fiction

Flash fiction is a story that is 500 words or less.

Memoir

Memoirs are often similar to biographies and autobiographies. Memoirs, however are written from personal experience and knowledge.

Literary Fiction

Literary fiction is whatever people think has more meaning and importance than genre fiction. 

Book Review

It's a review of a book to let other people know what your opinion on it is.

Thesis

A statement of theory that can be put out to be tested and possibly disproven. This is the kind of paper that PhD students write.

Autobiography

A biography of a person written by them.

Biography

It's an account of a person's life that is not written by them and is, instead, written by someone else.

Graphic Novel

It's a novel but in comic format. Graphic novels come in paperback and hardback and are growing increasingly popular.

Poetry

Everyone knows poetry when they see it. It's just really hard to define, but usually pretty easy to spot.

Board Book

It's a children's book printed on "boards" or really thick cardboard.

Picture Book

A book made of pictures, sometimes with or without a storyline.

Self-Help

Any book that teaches a person how to do something.