One of the (many) tasks of Christian writers is to understand genre and the importance of genre in writing and marketing a book.
Some genres are more popular than others, of course. Romance and women’s contemporary rule Christian fiction, while Christian living and devotional books are among the more popular genres in Christian nonfiction.
But every once in a while, something new pops up. In the last few years, a new genre called “romantasy”—combining romance and fantasy, in case that wasn’t obvious—has gained popularity in the general market. While that hasn’t caught on (and likely won’t) among Christian readers, I thought it might be fun to explore other potential new genres. You know, to make sure we’re ahead of the game, so to speak. How about these, for starters?
Alternate Church History: Speculative fiction exploring alternate scenarios in the history of the church. Titles include Pope Martin Luther I and Nicaea, Wouldn’t Wanna Be Ya.
Amish Time Travel: Seems like a slam dunk. Amish characters travel back (or forward) in time. For example, Amity Hershberger in King Arthur’s Court or Charity Crosses the Rubicon. What’s not to love?
BibliHorror as a nonfiction genre. This would feature the most horrifying takes on Bible stories and Christian theology. Some might say this genre already exists; it just needs its own category.
BibPunk: Biblical fiction meets steampunk. Just imagine if Aaron had built the golden calf using industrial age technology. Or Paul’s journeys in a steam-powered vessel.
Bildungsromystery: Coming-of-age novels in which the protagonist solves crimes.
Cozy Horror: Cozy mysteries are a thing (though not so much in the Christian market), so why not cozy horror? In other words, no blood or gore but jump scares and stuff like that.
Finantasy: Personal finance books by authors who understand nothing about personal finance.
Real Estate Novels: First suggested by Billy Joel in his hit song “Piano Man.” Maybe the time has come for gripping tales of property sales.
Robotmance: This could be the next natural step from romantasy. Right?
Obviously, these are only a start. And not a particularly good one. But you can do better, right? Give it a go in the comments.
