The Geek Fiction Genre Defined

Posted on 07. May, 2009 by Chris Matney in Book Publishing, Front Page Posts

Wow. Working on marketing plans must make me foul-tempered. Yesterday was a bit of a rant.

I spent this morning drinking coffee and refining my definition of geek fiction – which may apply more to the audience than the book itself. I will probably move this section of the blog to the About Us page on the website, but I would love to get your comments on the concept.

Technology, intellectual promiscuity, and scientific thought are becoming increasingly appealing to a wider audience of sophisticated, socially-connected readers. These readers have higher-than-average IQs, advanced educations, and are looking for intellectual challenges and extraordinary entertainment well beyond the “lowest common denominator” content that is so often provided through mass media outlets. Trapdoor Books publishes well-crafted fiction that transcends traditional genre boundaries, providing both literary character development and an interesting plot.

Geek fiction, in our minds, breaks the boundaries of formulaic writing. It introduces intellectual acumen – anything from Assyrian history to plasma physics, and provides a thoughtful, entertaining diversion for the reader. While the settings can be niche – mysteries, thrillers, fantasy, gothic/horror, science fiction, etc. – the best geek fiction challenges readers and surprises them with well-paced, well-researched and compelling stories.

Now, the first thing to remember is that I am a geek. I have degrees in Astrophysics as well as English Literature. I worked for 21 years as a consultant in high tech, as my LinkedIn profile shows. One thing that always amazes me about geeks is the wide variety of their interests, and the passion which they have for knowledge. So, in defining geek fiction, I am really talking more about the audience than the books. Trapdoor Books is a reflection of those traits.

As an aside, I did read an interesting book on marketing recently, Microtrends (2007) by Mark Penn. This is a great reference for pinpointing niche markets – like-minded groups with at least 3 million people – enough to start a small business. With more than 70 groups listed, I found myself nodding at a number of the classifications. The book opened my eyes to how mainstream many of the “fringe” groups in the US are – Video Game Grown-Ups, Social Geeks, Long Attention Spanners, etc. The section on Social Geeks shows how the stereotype of geeks as loners living in their parent’s basement has been broken, and it demonstrates that the time has come for geeks to have their own publishing genre.