Literary Fiction

Literary fiction is a term that has come into common usage in the early 1960s. The term is principally used to distinguish "serious fiction" which is a work that claims to hold literary merit, in comparison from genre fiction and popular fiction. The name literature is sometimes used for this genre, although it can also refer to a broader category of writing. ...more

Cursed Daughters
The Merge
Queen Esther
Some Bright Nowhere
Lightbreakers
Like Family
The Tortoise's Tale
Slow Gods
Town & Country
The White Hot
The Silver Book
The Eleventh Hour: A Quintet of Stories
A Love Story from the End of the World: Stories
Other People's Fun
Flat Earth
  • No Friend to This House by Natalie Haynes
    No Friend to This House: A Novel
    by

    Release date: Mar 10, 2026
    No Friend to This House is an extraordinary reimagining of the myth of Medea from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Stone Blind, Natalie Haynes.

    T
    ...more
    View Details »

    Format: Print book

    Giveaway ends in: a

    Number of copies: 50

    Giveaway dates: Nov 13 - Dec 13, 2025

    Countries available: U.S.

  • Penelope's Web by Stefania Lucchetti
    Penelope's Web
    by

    Release date: Nov 24, 2024
    We are offering you to read AWARD WINNING ITALIAN CONTEMPORARY POET Stefania Lucchetti's collection including her POEMS inspired by MYTHOLOGY FIGURES ...more
    View Details »

    Format: Kindle book

    Giveaway ends in: a

    Number of copies: 100

    Giveaway dates: Nov 26 - Dec 13, 2025

    Countries available: U.S.

  • Swallowed by Darkness by William Graham
    Swallowed by Darkness: A Novel (American Reflections Book 10)

    Release date: Nov 28, 2025
    Enter for a chance to win a Kindle edition of Swallowed by Darkness: A Novel
    View Details »

    Format: Kindle book

    Giveaway ends in: a

    Number of copies: 100

    Giveaway dates: Dec 06 - Dec 13, 2025

    Countries available: U.S.

  • Heart the Lover
    The Four Winds
    The Academy
    Flesh
    The Mad Wife
    Twice
    The Compound
    Wreck
    Tom Lake
    Culpability
    The Bright Years
    Writers & Lovers
    Finding Grace
    A Guardian and a Thief
    The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
    Fingersmith by Sarah WatersTipping the Velvet by Sarah WatersAnnie on My Mind by Nancy GardenFried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie FlaggThe Price of Salt by Claire  Morgan
    Best Lesbian Fiction
    2,025 books — 2,648 voters
    Life of Pi by Yann MartelThe God of Small Things by Arundhati RoyThe Remains of the Day by Kazuo IshiguroMidnight’s Children by Salman RushdieThe Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
    Booker Prize Winners
    60 books — 1,985 voters

    Things Fall Apart by Chinua AchebeThe Poisonwood Bible by Barbara KingsolverHalf of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieHeart of Darkness by Joseph ConradCry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
    Africa (fiction and nonfiction)
    1,755 books — 1,631 voters

    Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire SáenzThe Song of Achilles by Madeline MillerThe Color Purple by Alice WalkerThe Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar WildeCall Me By Your Name by André Aciman
    Best LGBTQIA literature
    1,757 books — 2,167 voters
    The Book Thief by Markus ZusakCatch-22 by Joseph HellerSlaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony DoerrAtonement by Ian McEwan
    World War II Fiction
    1,286 books — 2,014 voters

    Normal People
    The Secret History
    Yellowface
    The Goldfinch
    Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
    A Little Life
    Never Let Me Go
    The Great Gatsby
    My Year of Rest and Relaxation
    On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
    The Vanishing Half
    To Kill a Mockingbird
    The Bell Jar
    The Handmaid's Tale
    Little Fires Everywhere

    Related Genres

    Related News

    As you might expect, we are book people here at Goodreads World Headquarters—rather intense book people, actually. And when the holidays roll...
    A.R. Merrydew
    What in the name of Llar was that all about?’ Colin asked, his face still drained of colour. ‘I have no bloody idea,’ William said his voice quivering.
    A.R. Merrydew, The Girl with the Porcelain Lips

    J. Rose Black
    Callan stared at the door. Raw and razed and present. A crucial moment—when he wasn’t the one with his finger on the trigger.
    J. Rose Black, Losing My Breath

    More quotes...
    Just follow my lead. Embark on a literary journey curated by me. Let's remove all the uncertain…more
    1 member, last active 25 days ago
    Silent World — A discussion group A place to discuss all the unique aspects of Deaf culture as highlighted in the thriller Silent …more
    1,542 members, last active 6 days ago
    Just some girls trying to read more
    3 members, last active 38 days ago
    20- and 30-Somethings Book Club (Paris) Welcome to Books & Brew (20- and 30-Somethings Book Club, Paris) a friendly reading community wh…more
    1 member, last active 9 days ago

    Tags

    Tags contributing to this page include: literary-fiction, fiction-literature, literary, and literature-fiction