Wiktionary
n. fictional works written with the intent of fitting into a specific literary genre (such as mystery, romance, or horror) with an existing audience.
Wikipedia
Genre fiction, also known as popular fiction, is plot-driven fictional works written with the intent of fitting into a specific literary genre, in order to appeal to readers and fans already familiar with that genre. Genre fiction is generally distinguished from literary fiction. Screenwriting teacher Robert McKee defines genre conventions as the "specific settings, roles, events, and values that define individual genres and their subgenres". These conventions, always fluid, are usually implicit, but sometimes are made into explicit requirements by publishers of fiction as a guide to authors seeking publication. There is no consensus as to exactly what the conventions of any genre are, or even what the genres themselves are; assigning of works to genres is to some extent arbitrary and subjective.
Genre fiction is often controversially dismissed by literary critics as being pure escapism, clichéd, and of poor quality prose.
Usage examples of "genre fiction".
You will learn the fundamentals of genre fiction and develop your style more easily if you write the same type of fiction again and again.
It's a shame that Tolkien's work has not produced a more substantial printed legacy, for despite his often annoying obsessions (endless dinner parties, songs, and so forth), his trilogy stands as a landmark work in genre fiction.
Every so often, I like to read genre fiction aimed at younger audiences.
They may be writing romances or Ace doubles for $500, they may be publishing in literary magazines with a circulation in double digits or in magazines considered low-end even for genre fiction, but when you find their work, when you read it, you just know.
If one removes all the bells and whistles of contemporary genre fiction -- the thrills, the suspense, the ghosts in the machines, the machines themselves, from computers to fembots to gene splicers and dicers in the grocery aisles -- one is left with very little to entertain or enlighten readers with a taste for transcendence, or even just something resembling Real Life in the 21st century, where the Future butts up against the Everyday, every day.
This is an excellent guide to the classics of genre fiction from 1592 until today, and a spur to make readers want to read the stories described.
In keeping with what I said about treating genre fiction as acceptable in lit surveys, I try to include at least some genre stories on the reading list for my fiction writing classes.
That was the sound of many (though surely not 8 billion) writers of genre fiction.