Inspirational fiction
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Inspirational fiction is a term which may be used in various ways.
[edit] Christian literature
The most common use of the term in the United States and Canada is as a euphemism for "Christian fiction".[1] Some inspirational fiction is written to appeal to a general Christian audience, but more often in the United States "inspirational fiction" (and especially "inspirational romance") is written for the Evangelical Protestant market.[2] Although American literature has always been infused with religion,[3] the popularity of Christian romance dates to the 1940s, as leaders of the Evangelical movement attempted to bring their faith into the mainstream both religiously and culturally.[2] Some works of inspirational fiction have also been written to appeal to Roman Catholic or Orthodox Christian readers. More recently, writers in other genres (including general fiction and children's fiction) have begun to use the term.[4] Some bookstores and libraries[4][5] consider inspirational fiction to be a separate genre and shelve books accordingly, while others do not.
Inspirational fiction (in this definition of the term) is not necessarily literally inspirational; the term is meant solely as a euphemism.
[edit] Misery literature
In the UK, "inspirational fiction" (or, more commonly, "inspirational lit" or "inspi-lit") is sometimes used as a euphemism for "misery lit".[6]
[edit] References
- ^ Adult Reading Roundtable - Genre meanings.
- ^ a b Neal, Lynn S. Romancing God: Evangelical Women and Inspirational Fiction. University of North Carolina Press, 2006. ISBN: 0807856703. Through Google Books.
- ^ All About Romance: At The Back Fence - Inspirational Romance" by Ellen Micheletti and Rachel Potter.
- ^ a b Inspirational Fiction for Teens. Appleton Public Library.
- ^ Inspirational Fiction. City of London (Ontario) Public Library.
- ^ "Misery lit...read on". BBC News, April 17, 2007.
