Book Genres List

Children's Books

  • Chapter Books
  • Coloring Books
  • Juvenile Fiction
  • Juvenile Nonfiction
  • Middle-Grade Book
  • Picture Book
  • Youth Adult Fiction
  • Youth Adult Nonfiction

Fiction

  • Action
  • Action Adventure
  • Adventure
  • Alternate History
  • Apocalyptic
  • Biographical Fiction
  • Black Comedy
  • Chick Lit
  • Children’s
  • Christian Fiction
  • Comedy
  • Coming of Age Fiction
  • Commercial Fiction
  • Contemporary Fantasy
  • Contemporary Fiction
  • Contemporary Realistic
  • Crime Fiction
    • Whodunit Fiction
  • Dark Fantasy
  • Detective Fiction
  • Disaster Thriller
  • Drama Fiction
  • Dystopian
  • Epic Fiction
  • Erotic Fiction
  • Espionage
  • Ethnic Fiction
  • Faction
  • Fable
  • Fairy Tale
  • Family Saga
  • Fan Fiction
  • Fantasy
  • Fiction (General?)
  • Flash Fiction
  • Folklore & Mythology
  • Folktale
  • Gay Fiction
  • Ghost Story
  • Glitz Fiction
  • Gothic Fiction
  • Graphic Novel & Comics
  • Hardboiled Crime
  • Historical Fiction
  • Horror (special thanks to Horror on Screen – Perspective)
    • Body Horror
    • Comedy Horror
    • Creepy Kid
    • Gore & Disturbing
      • Cannibal
      • Extreme (crossed with Psychological)
      • Splatter (crossed with Psychological)
      • Torture
    • Gothic Horror
    • Horror Romance
    • Killer
      • Backwoods & Redneck (crossed with Monster)
      • Crime & Giallo (crossed with Psychological)
      • Home Invasion (crossed with Psychological)
      • Slasher
    • Monster
      • Aliens (crossed with Paranormal)
      • Animals & Nature
      • Backwoods & Redneck (crossed with Killer)
      • Classic & Mythological
      • Devil & Demon & Hell (crossed with Paranormal)
      • Giant Monsters
      • Neo-Monsters
      • Small Creatures
      • Vampire
      • Werewolf
      • Zombies (??)
    • Paranormal
      • Alien (crossed with Monster)
      • Devil & Demon & Hell (crossed with Monster) 
      • Ghost & Spirits
      • Haunted House
      • Possession
      • Witches & Occult
      • Supernatural
    • Psychological
      • Crime & Giallo (crossed with Killer)
      • Extreme (crossed with Gore & Disturbing)
      • Fanaticism
      • Home Invasion (crossed with Killer)
      • Madness & Paranoia (crossed with Killer)
      • Phobia & Isolation
      • Splatter (crossed with  Gore & Disturbing)
    • Zombies (??)
      • Undead
      • Virus
  • Inspirational Fiction
  • Legal Fiction
  • Lesbian Fiction
  • Literacy Fiction
  • Magical Realism
  • Mainstream Fiction
  • Manga
  • Military Fiction
  • Modern Fiction
  • Monster Fiction
  • Multicultural Fiction
  • Murder Mystery
  • Mystery
  • Mythic Fiction
  • Narrative Fiction
  • New Adult
  • Noir
  • Occult Fiction
  • Paranoid Fiction
  • Paranormal Fiction
  • Parody
  • Period Piece Fiction
  • Philosophical Fiction
  • Poetry
  • Police Procedural
  • Political Fiction
  • Post-Apocalyptic
  • Prose
  • Psychological Fiction
  • Psychological Thriller
  • Pulp Fiction
  • Realistic Fiction
  • Romance
  • Romance Comedy
  • Satirical Fiction
  • Science Fiction
    • Anthropological science fiction
    • Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction
    • Biopunk
    • Christian science fiction
    • Climate fiction
    • Comic science fiction
    • Cyberpunk
    • Dieselpunk
    • Dying Earth
    • Feminist science fiction
    • Gothic science fiction
    • Libertarian science fiction
    • Military science fiction
    • Mundane science fiction
    • Planetary romance
    • Social science fiction
    • Space opera
    • Space western
    • Steampunk
    • Apocalyptic
    • Parallel
    • Dystopian
  • Short Story
  • Slasher Fiction
  • Slice of Life Fiction
  • Southern Fiction
  • Southern Gothic
  • Speculative Fiction
  • Sports Fiction
  • Spy Fiction
  • Steampunk Fiction
  • Supernatural Fiction
  • Survival Fiction
  • Suspense
  • Techno-Thriller
  • Thriller
  • Tragedy
  • Urban Fantasy
  • Upmarket Fiction
  • Urban Fiction
  • Utopian Fiction
  • Vampire Fiction
  • Werewolf Fiction
  • Western
  • Women’s Fiction

Literature

  • Literacy Fiction
  • Literature

Nonfiction

  • Activity & Game Books
  • Animals and Pets
  • Antiques & Collectibles
  • Architecture Book
  • Art Book
  • Art, Architecture & Photography
  • Astrology & Divination
  • Autobiography
  • Beauty Book
  • Bibles & Christianity
  • Biography
  • Biography
  • Business Book
  • Business Books
  • Celebrity Nonfiction
  • Child Guidance Book
  • Christian Nonfiction
  • Computer Book
  • Computers
  • Cookbook
  • Cookbooks, Food & Wine
  • Cooking Book
  • Crafts & Hobbies
  • Crafts Book
  • Creative Nonfiction
  • Cultural and Social Issues
  • Current Affairs & Politics
  • Current Affairs and Events
  • Dating Book
  • Design Book
  • Diet Book
  • Diet, Health & Fitness
  • Economics Book
  • Education
  • Education Book
  • Engineering
  • Entertainment Book
  • Environment Book
  • Ethnic Nonfiction
  • Family Book
  • Fashion Book
  • Film Book
  • Finance and Money
  • Fitness Book
  • Food and Drinks Book
  • Foreign Languages
  • Gardening Book
  • Gay Nonfiction
  • General Nonfiction
  • Gift and Novelty
  • Government
  • Health Book
  • History
  • Home & Garden
  • How-to
  • Humor
  • Humor Nonfiction
  • Inspirational Nonfiction
  • Investigative Nonfiction
  • Journalism Book
  • Law
  • Legal Nonfiction
  • Lesbian Nonfiction
  • Lifestyle
  • Medical and Medicine
  • Medicine & Nursing Books
  • Memoir Definition
  • Military Nonfiction
  • Mind, Body, Spirit
  • Multicultural Nonfiction
  • Music Book
  • Narrative Nonfiction
  • Nature Book
  • New Adult Nonfiction
  • New Age & Alternative Beliefs
  • New Age Book
  • Nonfiction
  • Nutrition
  • Parenting
  • Performing Arts
  • Personal Development
  • Pets
  • Philosophy
  • Photography
  • Political Nonfiction
  • Pop Culture
  • Practical Nonfiction
  • Prescriptive Nonfiction
  • Psychology
  • Reference
  • Relationship
  • Religion
  • Religious Nonfiction
  • Role-Playing & Fantasy Games
  • Science
  • Science & Technology
  • Self Help
  • Self-Help & Relationships
  • Sexuality
  • Social Sciences
  • Spirituality
  • Sports
  • Study Aids & Test Prep
  • Style
  • Technology
  • Transportation
  • Travel
  • True Adventure
  • True Crime
  • Upmarket Nonfiction
  • War
  • Weddings
  • Wellness
  • Women’s Issues
  • Women’s Studies

Got Something for Book Genres List?

Welcome to the booklover’s dream list of genres. We’ve compiled a huge database of genres, so you’ll be able to find the exact kind of book you’re looking for. So, sit back and browse around!

There are many, many genres of books on the market today.

You may think there are only a few genres of books, but there are actually many. Some of the most popular genres include romance, science fiction, fantasy, horror and mystery.

As you can see from this list of the top selling book genres for 2018:

  • Romance sold nearly 3 million copies in 2018 with approximately $1 billion dollars in sales.

  • Science Fiction sold 2 million copies with approximately $1 billion dollars in sales.

  • Fantasy sold 1 million copies with approximately $500 million dollars in sales.

  • Horror sold 800 thousand copies with approximately 400 million dollar sales revenue total.

Submit Book Genres

We love books. Everyone does. But what if you’re not sure which genre to choose for your next read? That’s where our book genres list comes in handy!

We’ve put together a comprehensive list of over 100 of the most common fiction and nonfiction genres, from chick lit to horror and sci-fi to romance. If there’s a category that describes what kind of stories interest you the most, chances are we have it listed here!

You can also submit your own additional genre suggestions through the form below.

Conclusion

If you’re having trouble figuring out what type of book you want to read next, try looking at your favorite books and see what genre they belong to. You might find that one particular genre is the right fit for all the types of stories you love! If, on the other hand, none of these categories seem like a good match for your current reading tastes—don’t despair! There are plenty more book genres out there, so keep exploring until something catches your eye.

Click Here to Suggest!

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