How fantasy subgenres have changed in the last decade

Bookshop display of romantasy and romance books with a sign that reads "our booksellers recommend"
Romantasy and romance books on display at Avid Reader bookshop in Brisbane, 2026 (Photo: Nicola Alter)

Over ten years ago I wrote a post that ended up being one of my most read of all time. I had just come out of tutoring a course on genre fiction, and I was frustrated by the fact that when I looked up fantasy subgenres online I would get one of three things: a detailed look at a few specific subgenres that ignored all the others, a breakdown of someone’s own very personalised way of categorising things, or an epic three-digit list of every fantasy sub-genre under the sun, many of which I’d never heard of.

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18 common fantasy subgenres

A colourful word cloud of fantasy subgenre terms such as paranormal, epic, heroic and young adult

The fantasy genre is rich with a myriad of subgenres, and each has its own conventions and trends. With the different terms floating around out there it can be easy to confuse or overlook key subgenres. Finding a succinct list of the most notable ones – particularly a list with definitions and examples – is not always straightforward. So I thought I’d put my reading and researching to use and assemble one.

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