Image via WikipediaAgents and publishers, with a few notable exceptions, frequently reject fantasy as a genre. It is the genre most frequently excluded in the details given by literary agents and publishers. I wonder why this is. Fantasy incorporates a huge variety of novel types. Obviously Lord of the Rings is included in the genre, but so are such classic novels as Animal Farm, Gulliver's Travels, Vanity Fair, Utopia, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and many others. Do publishers and agents simply see the swords and sorcery or dragons of conventional modern fantasy and assume that all deal with the same subjects? There is a long history of admiration by publishers and academics for the works of the Ancient Greeks; and if their works aren't fantasy, then nothing is. But modern fantasy seems to leave them feeling slightly uneasy, for a number of unspecified reasons. It is easy to suspect that some form of literary snobbery is at large here. Perhaps some of those who reject the genre would like to enlighten me and my readers about the reason for this apparent prejudice.
2 comments:
You've got a point there. I do sometimes see agents who will not represent fantasy. As for publishers, the big 6 (as I recall) all have imprints that handle fantasy, usually bundled in with science fiction, and smaller publishers often specialize in one genre or set of "related" genres. I know of one in Kansas City that does fantasy and sci/fi.
Still, fantasy is not fully treated as "just another genre" and does seem the one most likely to be ostracized, followed by science fiction. For what it's worth, I'm sure that there are agents who don't want to handle other genres, like romance (even though it sells well) and fantasy does sell better than westerns these days.
Thanks for your comment, Edward. I'm more familiar with the UK market, where fantasy is definitely not looked on with favour, in spite of the great historic pedegree.
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