Speculative fiction is a large category of stories that includes many types of stories not based on real life. Instead, these stories have magical, supernatural, futuristic, or other imaginative elements.

This group includes, but is not limited to: fantasy, science fiction, social science fiction, science fantasy, superhero stories, paranormal and supernatural horror, alternate history, magical realism, slipstream, weird fiction, utopia and dystopia, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction. In other words, the genre includes stories about people, events, or places that are not part of the everyday real world.

The term speculative fiction is used for stories found in books, movies, TV shows, plays, video games, radio, and other forms of media.

Speculative versus realistic fiction

The broad category of speculative fiction is defined by a less strict focus on realistic portrayals of people, events, or places. In contrast, the broad category of realistic fiction (which sometimes overlaps with literary realism) is defined by a stronger focus on accurate and believable portrayals. For example, speculative fiction might describe a completely imaginary world or one where the rules of the real world do not apply (such as the subgenre of fantasy). It might also describe real historical events that end in imaginary ways or are followed by imaginary events (like the subgenre of alternative history). Another possibility is that it describes technology that is impossible or goes beyond what science currently understands (like the subgenre of science fiction).

Realistic fiction, on the other hand, is a story set in a real place where events could reasonably happen in the real world. A subgenre of realistic fiction is historical fiction, which centers on actual important events and time periods from the past. The effort to create stories that closely match real life or describe details objectively—and the 19th-century artistic movement that promoted this approach—is called "literary realism." This includes both fiction and non-fiction works.

The term "speculative fiction" is sometimes shortened to "spec-fic," "spec fic," "specfic," "S-F," "SF," or "sf." However, the last three abbreviations can be confusing because they are also used for science fiction, which is a type of speculative fiction. The term is sometimes called "the fantastic" or "fantastika." The latter term was created by science fiction scholar John Clute in 2007, inspired by the name of the genre in some Slavic languages.

Some critics and writers use the term "speculative fiction" to address what they see as a limitation in science fiction: the need for stories to follow scientific rules. They argue that speculative fiction better describes a wider, more imaginative type of fiction than the categories of fantasy, mystery, horror, or science fiction. Harlan Ellison used the term to avoid being labeled a science fiction writer. Ellison, who supported writers exploring more literary and modernist styles, worked to expand the possibilities of speculative fiction by breaking away from traditional genre rules.

The term "suppositional fiction" is sometimes used to describe a type of fiction where characters and stories follow their own consistent rules, but these rules do not have to fit into a specific genre.

History

Speculative fiction is a type of storytelling that includes works from ancient times to modern ones. It includes stories that challenge traditional ideas or use new approaches. Characteristics of speculative fiction can be found in older works, even when the authors’ intentions or the social context of the stories are known. For example, the ancient Greek writer Euripides (c. 480–c. 406 BCE) wrote a play called Medea, in which the main character, Medea, is shown as killing her own children. This story upset Athenian audiences because it suggested a different explanation for events than what was commonly accepted at the time.

In the study of history, what is now called speculative fiction has been called by other names, such as historical invention or historical fiction. These terms have been used to describe the works of William Shakespeare. For instance, in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare places characters from different places and times into a fictional world ruled by a mythical figure named Oberon. These characters include the Athenian Duke Theseus, the Amazonian Queen Hippolyta, the English fairy Puck, and the Roman god Cupid.

In the study of myths, speculative fiction has been described as mythopoeia, a term that refers to creating new myths or stories for fictional works. This term was first used by J. R. R. Tolkien, whose book series The Lord of the Rings is an example of this process. Themes such as the supernatural, alternate history, and sexuality are often explored in modern speculative fiction.

Speculative fiction, in the general sense of imagining different histories or explaining events in new ways, has been used by authors in non-fiction writing since the time of Herodotus (5th century BCE), who wrote Histories. Early writers like Sima Qian (c. 145 or 135 BCE–86 BCE), who wrote Shiji, also included and later removed speculative elements from their works.

These examples show that many works now considered speculative fiction were created long before the genre was named. In its broadest form, speculative fiction helps people understand the world by reflecting both conscious and unconscious parts of human thought. It also responds to the world by creating imaginative and artistic stories that can influence society, culture, science, and philosophy.

In English-language arts and literature since the mid-20th century, the term "speculative fiction" was first used by Robert A. Heinlein in an editorial in The Saturday Evening Post (February 8, 1947). He used it as a synonym for science fiction but later said it did not include fantasy. Earlier uses of the term appear in an 1889 article in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine and a 1900 article in The Bookman, which mentioned a novel called Etidorhpa and its connection to speculative fiction. A similar term, "speculative literature," is also used.

The term "speculative fiction" became more widely used in the 1960s and 1970s by writers like Judith Merril and others in the New Wave movement. However, its use declined by the mid-1970s.

In the 2000s, the term became a common way to describe a group of related genres. Some writers, like Margaret Atwood, use "speculative fiction" to describe stories that focus on events that could realistically happen, rather than those involving impossible elements like Martians.

The term is also used to describe stories that mix different genres, such as science fiction, horror, fantasy, and mystery, into one fictional world.

The Internet Speculative Fiction Database lists many subtypes of speculative fiction to help organize and document the genre.

According to publishing data, men make up about two-thirds of English-language speculative fiction writers who try to publish professionally. However, the number of men and women varies by genre. For example, women outnumber men in genres like urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and young adult fiction.

Academic journals that publish essays on speculative fiction include Extrapolation and Foundation.