contemporary fiction
Today's literary works
Contemporary fiction is literature set in the present day or recent past, dealing with current social realities rather than historical, fantastical, or futuristic settings.
The term distinguishes works grounded in recognizable modern life from genre fiction like science fiction or fantasy: The bookstore's contemporary fiction section featured stories about suburban families and office life.
What counts as contemporary shifts over time—novels from the 1990s once shelved as contemporary may now feel dated.
- novelsExtended prose fiction
- short storiesBrief prose narratives
- book club pickShared reading assignment
- romanceLove and its excitement
- slow burnGradual buildup of rage
domestic thriller · intertextuality · metafiction · identity · autofiction · diversity · fragmented narrative · coming of age · graphic novels · mental health · environmental concerns · generational conflict · debut · small press · bestseller · paperback · bookshelf · voice
- genresaction, comedy, fantasy, horror, documentary
- literaturebooks, book, poetry, stories, novels
- book genresnovels, nonfiction, mystery, thriller, romance
- literary worldauthors, writers, poets, novelists, literary agents
- fiction genresfantasy, novel, horror, thrillers, thriller
- modern fictionnovels, novel, modern literature, debut novels, novellas
contemporary fictionhistorical fiction
Novels set in actual pasts
period fiction · historical novel · Victorian fiction · costume drama · Regency romance
contemporary fictionfantasy
Imaginative mental wandering
science fiction · speculative fiction · high fantasy · epic fantasy · supernatural fiction
contemporary fictioncreative nonfiction
Fact-based artistic prose
current affairs · journalism · reportage · memoir · biography