Speculative fiction is a term we now use to describe several genres and sub-genres of literature. Think of it as an all-encompassing umbrella term for:
- science fiction
- fantasy
- horror
- dystopia
- magic realism
- alternative history…
Speculative fiction simply means: somewhere other than the world you live in right now.
I have a Masters degree in Popular Literatures (after completing a BA hons in English Literature) and I genuinely don’t remember speculative . I can’t guarantee that this is 100% true (because how much of university can anyone remember, really?) but I definitely don’t recall it.
We studied China Mieville, JRR Tolkein, Octavia Butler and HG Wells but that word doesn’t ring any bells. I never came across it when I went into teaching and taught A Level and GCSE English Literature, either. We studied The Handmaid’s Tale and Animal Farm but not once did I hear the term speculative to describe these books.
I first came across speculative fiction on Substack in 2024. I was a new author and trying to figure out where my work belonged when it came to fiction categories (this is harder than you’d think). Speculative was generally understood to mean ‘a world that is different to this one.’
For example, a fictional world where vampires exist, or where mankind has colonised the stars and Earth is just a page in a history book.
Both of these things are speculative. This term can also apply to worlds that seem normal in the most part: Think Harry Potter or One Hundred Years Of Solitude. The magic in the world doesn’t always have to be explained: it can just be a part of the world.
Horror is speculative because the world that the characters live in could include supernatural forces, folkloric monsters or even diseases that have broken out of their top-secret laboratories and turned everyone who needs air to breathe into monsters.
This is all speculative fiction.
But what does the term mean to you as a reader?
Do you think this is a help or a hindrance? At first, it confused me but it does apply to most things I like to read. I like horror, fantasy, sci-fi and everything in-between.
As an author, I’m not so sure about using it when trying to market my books on social media or explain to people I meet what it is that I write. In conversation, it might be easier to say ‘I write speculative fiction’ but do readers understand that? Isn’t it easier to say ‘I write horror and sci-fi’ when you’re at a barbecue or a Christening?
Hanna Delaney is a speculative fiction author from Liverpool. She writes Gothic Horror, fantasy and science fiction.
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