Around the publishing industry there has long been a hankering for a certain type of book that is both literary and yet commercial, familiar and yet exotic, well-written but not too dense, accessible but with some depth. They are books that are kind of tough to categorize, because they don’t exactly fit into any one genre. I’d often hear people calling them either literary commercial fiction or commercial literary fiction.
But during my last trip to New York I heard an apt label for this category: book club fiction*. And lots of editors want it.
What books are in this category? Think:
- Life of Pi
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time
- The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
- The Kite Runner
- Everything is Illuminated
- The Lovely Bones
- The Secret Life of Bees
- (Eat Pray Love would be an example of book club memoir)
What these books have in common is that they appeal to the book club format. Anyone who has ever belonged to a book club knows the complex calculus that goes into making a good selection. It has to be a book that people can get through in a month, but still have enough depth so that there are things to talk about at the get-together. It has to be a book that would appeal to a wide variety of people. Bonus points for being set in a location that lends itself to themed cooking.
Book clubs are an extremely important market for publishers, so much so that books that would appeal to book clubs often have supplementary material in the back (such as discussion questions), and many publishers provide additional web resources. The books that are able to catch fire in book clubs are often the non-genre books that land themselves on bestseller lists and catch on through word of mouth, hence the clamor from editors for books that fall into this category.
Now, I wouldn’t go and call your manuscript “book club fiction” in a query letter, because it’s still not exactly a recognizable genre. But if you’re brainstorming for novel ideas, think about what your book club would want to read.
*(I should clarify that I’m referring to friends/family book clubs, and not necessarily BOMC, although sometimes there’s overlap in titles)
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Thanks for this! For a while I’ve been wondering where my type of writing falls, and I honestly think this is it. (And I’m not just saying that because you’re saying it’s popular!!)
I think Amy Tan’s work would also fall into this category, no?
Brilliant idea. I’ve had a couple book ideas I plan to pursue but have pondered what genre they would best fit…the commercial literary or literary commercial category best describes these. But the book club approach is right on. Of course, as you point out, that ‘category’ isn’t recognized yet…but perhaps that day is soon approaching.
Wow, you gave me a genre! Thanks!
I’ve always been kind of annoyed by the distinction between literary and commercial fiction. It strikes me as somewhat arbitrary and not very meaningful. We definitely need a new name for fiction that is accessible but deep. “Book club fiction” might not be ideal, but it’s something to be going on with.
I have to say, though, discussion questions at the back of a book really bug me. I finished high school and even college as a literature major, thank you very much; I don’t need a list of printed questions to help me think or talk about what made a book meaningful for me.
I’d agree about The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society – seemed like great book club fodder to me (and I do mean that as a compliment). I’ve lent my copy to several people who’ve all enjoyed it, and had it recommended by people who didn’t know I’d read it, so the word of mouth thing is surely happening.
I see exactly what you mean by this ‘category’. It’s the space where much of my current fiction reading resides. While The Memory Keeper’s Daughter was hurled at the wall (hated that one, unlike many people I know), for instance, The Time Traveler’s Wife is among my favourite books ever.
On the TBR pile at present are The Story of Edward Sawtelle (not because of Oprah, just because), The Good Thief, The Outlander (not Gabaldon, which I’ve read, but the recent one with a definite article in the title), The People of the Book…I don’t belong to a book club, but this lot sounds like it (only more voracious than a book a month).
I’d be interested to see what others suggest as books which would fit into this category. Commercial literary fiction? Good enough to read, satisfying enough to want to finish. Sounds just fine to me.
This type of classification reminds me of something I saw on an agent blog recently where she didn’t accept “literary” works but would accept queries of books that were “literary with a commercial bent.”
Maybe she meant “book club fiction?”
No wonder writers are confused.
“BC fic” – yeah, I like it. The themed food thing has great potential. I can’t help picturing in my mind those tiny tea sets they used to make for girls, that came in a REALLY BIG BOX! Woo-hoo! As a child you could hardly pick that box up, it was so big!
I’m not in a fiction reading group, but a poetry reading group – it’d be great to get a box of goodies to go along with the poetry – wouldn’t have to be food necessarily. Just some fun stuff to “get the party started” as they say.
Here’s a link to art-o-mat – the original art vending machine! Check out the cool art pieces, and imagine them getting passed out at a book club meeting, sort of like…I can’t think of anything…dinner rolls…Godiva chocolate…
https://www.artomat.org/
artomat_artists.php
Kindles and book clubs and small pieces of art…
If people are reading stuff on their Kindles, and they don’t have the physical book as “proof” of their having read it, then small art pieces could serve as ‘avatars’ or ‘icons’ of books – so you’d have a shelf full of them, alongside your Kindle, so when someone comes over, instead of checking out your bookcases to get a sense of the kind of person you are, they would browse through your avatars/icons/art pieces:
Guest: (Picking up a wood block with a bee painted on it): “So, you’ve read The Secret Life of Bees? What did you think of it?”
Oh well, back to work
Hey if any of you guys are interested, I followed this blog to Aubrey’s blog and found that they are doing a giveaway of a classic “book club” book. Go check it out…
https://myfavoriteauthor.blogspot.com/
Hi, Nathan,
Whoa, your “Book Club Fiction” blog post has me very excited and motivated to finish the novel I’m writing. A few agents have expressed interest in reading it when it’s completed, and I thought maybe that was just a fluke. I’ve been worried because the novel’s both literary and science fiction, shaking my head as I write it, thinking to myself, Why can’t I write in one-and-only-one genre and jettison the literary aspects? As I read your blog, I realized that the novel I’m working on fits that category. Also, within the novel, I’ve made up quite a few futuristic foods for which recipes could definitely be created, and I could name specific types of book clubs that might enjoy the book. I’m going to buckle down, get the book finished, just see what happens. 🙂
Nathan, you’ve made my day. I’m thrilled to discover I have a genre. Up till now I’ve been literary/commercial-women’s/men’s-historical/contemporary crossover. Always nervous work: am I falling between several stools? But so far I’m managing to dance on all of them at once, which is just as well, as it’s what I write, and I can’t do much about that.
The book clubs I’ve been invited to join for the discussion have been really interesting and perceptive about my work. And no themed cooking (just as well again, given the settings of the novel)
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Well I'm about a year late commenting on this, but I only just found the blog.
This post really brightened my day, I can picture exactly what "Book Club Fiction" is in this context and it thrills me because that's what I write. I have been so loathe to call it "Women's Fiction".
You say in this article not to query using it as a genre, I wonder if, in the months that have passed since you wrote this, has that changed? If not I suspect that agents will have an eye for picking it up from a well written synopsis and the sample chapters?
Thanks again.
In book clubs' defense, they do do genre fiction occasionally, though i cant give a comprehensive list. i know that all 3 books in the "his dark materials" trilogy have been chosen by the Book of the Month club. i would classify that as YA/fantasy. even if it does deal with weightier themes than usual, it's not "literary" writing, which i usually take to mean "artsy and slightly pretentious". note that not all of the books on the above list do i consider literary by this definition.
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