Mythic fiction is literature that is rooted in, inspired by, or that in some way draws from the tropes, themes, and symbolism of myth,

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

, and fairy tales. The term is widely credited to

Charles de Lint Charles de Lint (born December 22, 1951) is a Canadian writer of Dutch, Spanish, and Japanese ancestry. He is married to, and plays music with, MaryAnn Harris. Primarily a writer of fantasy fiction, he has composed works of urban fantasy, cont ...

and

Terri Windling Terri Windling (born December 3, 1958 in Fort Dix, New Jersey) is an American editor, artist, essayist, and the author of books for both children and adults. She has won nine World Fantasy Awards, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, and the Bram S ...

. Mythic fiction overlaps with

urban fantasy Urban fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy which places imaginary and unreal elements in an approximation of a contemporary urban setting. The combination provides the writer with quixotic plot-drivers, unusual character traits, and a platform for c ...

and the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, but mythic fiction also includes contemporary works in non-urban settings. Mythic fiction refers to works of contemporary literature that often cross the divide between

literary Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

and

fantasy fiction Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and dra ...

. Windling promoted mythic fiction as the co-editor (with

Ellen Datlow Ellen Datlow (born December 31, 1949) is an American science fiction, fantasy, and horror editor and anthologist. She is a winner of the World Fantasy Award and the Bram Stoker Award (Horror Writers Association). Career Datlow began her career ...

) of ''

The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror ''Year's Best Fantasy and Horror'' was a reprint anthology published annually by St. Martin's Press from 1987 to 2008. In addition to the short stories, supplemented by a list of honorable mentions, each edition included a number of retrospective ...

'' annual volumes for sixteen years, and as the editor of the Endicott Studio ''Journal of Mythic Arts''. Though mythic fiction can be loosely based in mythology, it frequently uses familiar mythological personages

archetype The concept of an archetype (; ) appears in areas relating to behavior, historical psychology, and literary analysis. An archetype can be any of the following: # a statement, pattern of behavior, prototype, "first" form, or a main model that ...

s (such as

trickster In mythology and the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a character in a story ( god, goddess, spirit, human or anthropomorphisation) who exhibits a great degree of intellect or secret knowledge and uses it to play tricks or otherwi ...

s, or the thunderer). This is in contrast to

mythopoeia Mythopoeia ( grc, , , myth-making), or mythopoesis, is a narrative genre in modern literature and film where an artificial or fictionalized mythology is created by the writer of prose, poetry, or other literary forms. This meaning of the word f ...

, such as the works of

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...

, which invent their own legends and folklore or construct entirely new pantheons.

Subgenres

*African Mythology. Home to a great many cultures, nations, religions and languages, African Mythology is vastly diverse. Despite no single set of mythos or legends uniting the continent, different cultures and groups share similarities such as the Deity Leza who exists amongst the Bantu people as well as in those from Central and Southern regions of Africa. *Asian Mythology *Folklores & Fairytales *

Greek Mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...

*Medieval Legends *Native American Folklore * Norse Mythology *

Roman Mythology Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. One of a wide variety of genres of Roman folklore, ''Roman mythology'' may also refer to the modern study of these representa ...

Notable authors

Angela Carter Angela Olive Pearce (formerly Carter, Stalker; 7 May 1940 – 16 February 1992), who published under the name Angela Carter, was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, and journalist, known for her feminist, magical realism, and picar ...

- Best known for her collection of short stories known as 'The Bloody Chamber', Angela Carter was a prominent rewriter of Western European fairytales, presenting them in various new lights, predominantly bringing them into the Gothic. * Gao Xinghian *

Madeline Miller Madeline Miller (born July 24, 1978) is an American novelist, author of ''The Song of Achilles'' (2011) and ''Circe'' (2018). Miller spent ten years writing ''The Song of Achilles'' while she worked as a teacher of Latin and Greek. The novel tell ...

- Madeline Miller wrote 'The Song of Achilles' that rewrites the Trojan War featuring a homosexual romance. * Mia Yun * John Crowley *

Rick Riordan Richard Russell Riordan Junior (; born June 5, 1964) is an American author, best known for writing the ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' series. Riordan's books have been translated into forty-two languages and sold more than thirty million co ...

- Best known for his series

Percy Jackson & The Olympians ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' is a series of five fantasy novels written by American author Rick Riordan, and the first book series in the '' Camp Half-Blood Chronicles''. The novels are set in a world with the Greek gods in the 21st centu ...

and

Heroes of Olympus ''The Heroes of Olympus'' is a pentalogy of fantasy-adventure novels written by American author Rick Riordan. The novels detail a conflict between Greek demigods, Roman demigods, and Gaia (Roman name Terra). In the fourth book of the series, ...

, Riordan's books are some of the most popular in the genre, for crossing multiple mythologies. * Susanna Clarke * Zora Neale Hurston - Published a collection of Southern, Black folklore called 'Mules & Men' as well as a fictional study of Caribbean voodoo practices called 'Tell my Horse'.

References

{{Fantasy fiction Fantasy genres *

Subgenres

Notable authors

See also

References