The Reader Connection: Genre Wars: Real or Imaginary?

by MaryAnn Diorio, PhD, MFA

I've noticed lately that novels are increasingly being categorized across several genres, making it difficult for readers to find the books they are looking for. For example, a novel whose genre is "Romantic Suspense" may also be categorized under "Sports" if there is a sports element in the story. But when romance novels begin taking over the sports shelves, we've got a problem.

Such confusing categorization, in my opinion, makes for what I call "genre wars"—not in the traditional sense of the term but in the sense of genre competition for a particular genre. When both the sports shelves and the romance shelves compete for the same novel, a genre war ensues in the reader's mind. The reader becomes confused. She wonders if she will find a romantic suspense novel on the romantic suspense shelf or on the sports shelf? In my humble opinion, a romantic suspense novel should be placed on the shelf of the primary genre—romantic suspense—not on the shelf of a sub-genre.

And herein lies the root of the confusion. When book listings allow—indeed, require—a listing to include several subcategories, such sub-categories (aka sub-genres) complicate the issue. To fulfill the listing requirement, publishers pick and choose elements in the story that do not directly affect the genre–such as my example above of the sports element.

This genre confusion also occurs when authors and/or publishers incorrectly describe the genre of their books. For example, there is no such thing as a "fictional memoir." Yet, authors have been known to label their books as fictional memoirs when, in reality, there is no element of fiction in their books. To describe a memoir as fictional is a contradiction in terms. A memoir, by its very nature, is not fiction but nonfiction. It is a true story. By the same token, a so-called "novel" based on the true story of one's life is not a novel but an autobiography.

In order to win the genre wars, those of us who are writers must be more careful in listing our books according to their primary genre. And those of us who are readers must insist that books be placed on the shelves whose genre they most accurately reflect.

What are your thoughts? Have you engaged in genre wars in your writing or reading experience? Please share your comments with us in the comment box below. Thank you!

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NOTE: The Italian Chronicles is a compilation in a single volume of all three of the following novels in the trilogy: The Madonna of Pisano, A Sicilian Farewell, and Return to Bella Terra. So, when you purchase The Italian Chronicles, be aware that you are purchasing all three books in the trilogy.