A literary genre is a category of literary composition. Genres may be determined by literary technique, tone, content, or even (as in the case of fiction) length. Genre should not be confused with age category, by which literature may be classified as either adult, young-adult, or children's. They also must not be confused with format, such as graphic novel or picture book. The distinctions between genres and categories are flexible and loosely defined, often with subgroups.

List of genres:

All Fiction

Drama

Stories composed in verse or prose, usually for theatrical performance, where conflicts and emotion are expressed through dialogue and action.

Fable

Narration demonstrating a useful truth, especially in which animals speak as humans; legendary, supernatural tale.

Fairy Tale

Story about fairies or other magical creatures, usually for children.

Fantasy

Fiction with strange or other worldly settings or characters; fiction which invites suspension of reality.

Fiction

Narrative literary works whose content is produced by the imagination and is not necessarily based on fact.

Fiction in Verse

Full-length novels with plot, subplot(s), theme(s), major and minor characters, in which the narrative is presented in (usually blank) verse form.

Folklore

The songs, stories, myths, and proverbs of a people or "folk" as handed down by word of mouth.

Historical Fiction

Story with fictional characters and events in a historical setting.

Horror

Fiction in which events evoke a feeling of dread in both the characters and the reader.

Humor

Fiction full of fun, fancy, and excitement, meant to entertain; but can be contained in all genres

Legend

Story, sometimes of a national or folk hero, which has a basis in fact but also includes imaginative material.

Mystery

Fiction dealing with the solution of a crime or the unraveling of secrets.

Mythology

Legend or traditional narrative, often based in part on historical events, that reveals human behavior and natural phenomena by its symbolism; often pertaining to the actions of the gods.

Poetry

Verse and rhythmic writing with imagery that creates emotional responses.

Realistic Fiction

Story that can actually happen and is true to life.

Science Fiction

Story based on impact of actual, imagined, or potential science, usually set in the future or on other planets.

Short Story

Fiction of such brevity that it supports no subplots.

Tall Tale

Humorous story with blatant exaggerations, swaggering heroes who do the impossible with nonchalance.

All Nonfiction

Biography/Autobiography

Narrative of a person's life, a true story about a real person.

Essay

A short literary composition that reflects the author's outlook or point.

Narrative Nonfiction

Factual information presented in a format which tells a story.

Nonfiction

Informational text dealing with an actual, real-life subject.

Speech

Public address or discourse.

Genres

Practicing exercise

1. Genre means
   1. almanac
   2. type of
   3. generous
   4. read about

    

2. An old story that has been told many times, passed on from generation to generation.
   1. autobiography
   2. fantasy
   3. mystery
   4. folktale

    

3. This kind of book tells about the life of a real person.
   1. Folktale
   2. Mystery
   3. Biography
   4. historical fiction

    

4. A type of book with magic or some kinds of events that could not really happen.
   1. Mystery
   2. fantasy
   3. folktale
   4. biography

    

5. The life history of a person told in his or her own words.
   1. realistic fiction
   2. Folktale
   3. historical fiction
   4. autobiography

Genres

Practicing exercise-Answer key

1. b
2. d
3. c
4. b
5. d

Genres

Quiz

1.  A story about a dog and cat traveling together across the country.  They stop at a farmhouse to ask for food.
a.  Informational Article
b.  Fantasy
c.  Modern Realistic Fiction
d.  Historical Fiction

2. You're reading non-fiction about Native Americans and the Iroquois Confederacy.
a. Historical Fiction
b. Informational Article
c. Fantasy
d. Modern Realistic Fiction

3. A young girl travels on a ship to America in 1903.
a. Historical Fiction
b.  Fantasy
c.  Modern Realistic Fiction
d. Informational Article

4. Molly wants to start a club for girls who want to baby-sit.
a. Historical Fiction
b. Fantasy
c. Modern Realistic Fiction
d. Informational Article

5. Mary Ellen helps a soldier who's been injured in the war in 1777.
a. Modern Realistic Fiction
b. Historical Fiction
c. Informational Article
d.  Fantasy

Genres

Quiz-Answer key

1. b
2. b
3. a
4. c
5. b

Genres

Test

Ray Bradbury
By Jamie Kee              

1     American author Ray Bradbury has written a variety of genres: short stories, essays, plays, poems, and books. He is best known for his writings in science fiction and fantasy. Most of Bradbury's books are short story collections. His novels are essentially short stories stitched together, and his plays are adapted from short stories. Bradbury is in essence a short story writer. He focuses on such themes as the conflict between human life and machine control, the creative individual and group conformity, and the darkness and joy in every human soul.

2     Ray Bradbury was born on August 22, 1920, in Waukegan, Illinois, to Leonard and Esther Marie Bradbury. His early childhood was positively influenced by his loving extended family. Bradbury's father, a lineman for an electric company, moved the family frequently between Waukegan and Tucson, Arizona, between the years 1926 and 1933. At the age of eleven, Bradbury started writing stories on butcher paper. When he was fourteen, his family moved to Los Angeles, California, and Bradbury enjoyed roller-skating through Hollywood in hopes of finding celebrities. He often made friends with talented people who would later have careers in creative fields. Bradbury enjoyed the drama club at Los Angeles High School and had hopes of becoming an actor one day. His writing talents, however, were noticed by two of his teachers who encouraged him to focus on his writing skills. After more than sixty years, these two teachers still have a lasting influence on Bradbury.

3     During his high school years, Bradbury began taking his writing seriously. He was a member of the Poetry Club. He even contributed to fan publications and joined the Los Angeles Science Fiction League. Bradbury completed his formal education in 1938 with his high school graduation. He decided at this point to educate himself. During the day he sold newspapers on the Los Angeles street corners, and during the evenings he was either at the library or at his typewriter.

 4     Bradbury published his first short story in 1938. "Hollerbochen's Dilemma" was printed in Imagination!, an amateur fan magazine. The next year he created his own fan magazine, Futuria Fantasia, and wrote most of the content himself. His first publication for pay was "Pendulum" which appeared in Super Science Stories in 1941.

5     Eventually Bradbury found his own writing style in his 1942 story, "The Lake." He quit selling newspapers the following year and became a full-time writer. He published in other magazines such as Black Mask, Amazing Stories, and Weird Tales. His 1945 story, "The Big Black and White Game," was selected for the Best American Short Stories. The next year Bradbury met his future wife, Maggie McClure, and they married on September 27, 1947. They had four children between 1949 and 1958.

6     In 1947 Bradbury published his first collection of fantasy short stories, Dark Carnival. They contained such themes as the need to preserve human value and the significance of imagination. Bradbury's reputation strengthened with his 1950 publication, The Martian Chronicles, a book about people's attempts at conquering and colonizing Mars and the inadvertent consequences of doing this. Following The Martian Chronicles was The Illustrated Man (1951), Bradbury's second collection of short stories. The stories are mostly dark, science fiction stories full of fantasy and horror. He presents himself as a nameless narrator who meets the Illustrated Man, a wanderer whose body is covered with tattoos. Another important book by Bradbury is Fahrenheit 451 (1953), a futuristic novel about a self-indulgent American society whose critical thoughts are outlawed. In this society, firemen don't put out fires. They set fires so they can burn books. Fahrenheit 451 has been considered by many to be Bradbury's masterpiece. Just a few of the many other works by Bradbury are The October Country (1955), Dandelion Wine (1957), A Medicine for Melancholy (1959), Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962), Quicker Than the Eye (1996), Driving Blind (1997), One More For the Road (2002), and Farewell Summer (2006). In all, Bradbury has written more than five hundred short stories, novels, plays, and poems.
 
7     Bradbury's stories and novels have also been adapted to the theater and television. His novel, Something Wicked This Way Comes, became a movie as well as The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, which was based upon his story, "The Fog." The Martian Chronicles network miniseries was developed, but Bradbury was disappointed with it. Therefore, he developed his own series, Ray Bradbury Theater, which ran from 1986 until 1992. Bradbury was even nominated for an academy award for an animated film he created about the history of flight called Icarus Montgolfier Wright.

8     Bradbury's accomplishments have been recognized through numerous awards. He has received the O. Henry Memorial Award and the Benjamin Franklin Award. He also received the Aviation-Space Writer's Association Award for Best Space Article in an American Magazine. Bradbury won the Grand Master Award from the Science Fiction Writers of America as well as the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement. Bradbury was honored with the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters by the Board of Directors of The National Book Foundation. His highest honor was The National Medal of Arts presented to him by President George W. Bush. The National Medal of Arts is the highest award given to artists and art patrons by the United States government. Bradbury received his most unusual honor when Apollo astronauts named Dandelion Crater on the moon after Bradbury's novel, Dandelion Wine. Ray Bradbury even has an award named after him, the Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation, which is presented by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

9     As of 2010, Ray Bradbury still writes every day. In celebrating his eightieth birthday, he was quoted as saying, "The great fun in my life has been getting up every morning and rushing to the typewriter because some new idea has hit me. The feeling I have every day is very much the same as it was when I was twelve." This enthusiasm shows in his writings. From behind a typewriter, Ray Bradbury still continues to create and share his exciting adventures with his appreciative readers.

1.   Which of the following awards did Bradbury not receive?

World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement

National Medal of Arts

Grand Master Award

Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Presentation

2.   Bradbury has written in which literary genre?
Short stories
Poetry
Drama
All of the above

3.   What was the name of the fan magazine created by Bradbury?
Futuria Fantasia
Black Mask
Weird Tales
Imagination!

4.   Which of Bradbury's books tells the story of a self-indulgent America whose critical thoughts are outlawed?
Dark Carnival
The Martian Chronicles
Fahrenheit 451
The Illustrated Man

5.   Bradbury is best known for what kind of subject matter?
Science fiction and fantasy
Mystery and romance
Romance and fantasy
Nonfiction and drama

6. Which theme would you find in Bradbury's books and stories?
Creativity verses conformity
Darkness verses light
Humans verses machines
All of the above

7. What was Bradbury's first published collection of fantasy short stories?
The Illustrated Man
Fahrenheit 451
The Martian Chronicles
Dark Carnival

8.Why did Bradbury develop the Ray Bradbury Theater?

Genres

1  Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Presentation
2  All of the above
3  Futuria Fantasia
4  Fahrenheit 451
5  Science fiction and fantasy
6  All of the above
7  Dark Carnival
8  He was disappointed with the Martian Chronicles network miniseries.