We often see trends when looking at the bestselling genres over time. Here's what we know about genre success factors and what genres are consistently popular.

What Are the Bestselling Genres?

The types of books that are popular vary among different reader demographics over time. There are a lot of genre success factors that come into play when it comes to determining the most popular books of the day.

However, a trend we consistently see when looking at bestselling genres, whether it's for 2024 or earlier, is romance, crime, and mystery dominance. Whatever the time period or demographic, it's likely you will see a book that falls under one of these categories. There are other genres that have their moments in the sun, such as fantasy and horror, and different trends come in and out of fashion. But over time, we always see romance, crime, and mystery books showing up at the top of the charts as very profitable genres.

Romance, Crime, and Mystery Domination

So just why are romance, crime, and mystery consistently at the top of the bestselling genre list?

For romance, we can look at the fact that romantic love is basically a universal theme across all cultures. Stories from folklore from different ancient societies often revolve around an element of romance. Typically, there would be a hero trying to rescue or win the heart of their love. Traditionally, stories would have almost entirely focused on a man (a brave prince or warrior) trying to rescue a woman (usually a princess), but nowadays, we see a much broader example of romantic love. For one, we see same-sex relationships explored. But even in heterosexual couples, the dynamic is no longer always expected to be a man rescuing a woman. We see now in modern literature that women are getting more agency.

Romance has always been a popular theme in stories. Particular relationships include first love and forbidden love. Throughout the world, love and romance are natural parts of human life. And while romantic relationships may look different across generations or cultures, they are always there.

As for crime and mystery, you could argue there is a universal element to those genres too. For crime books, they play on our fears of something happening to us or someone we love. It's a kind of morbid curiosity we have for tragedy. Think about how many old stories involve theft or murder.

Similarly, every ancient culture has mysteries in its stories. And we still do today. Whether it's Loch Ness Munster, Big Foot, or UFOs, there have always been stories of strange creatures or occurrences that couldn't be easily explained. Even today, we see thriller and horror stories that have elements of mystery.

So, the dominance of romance, crime, and mystery we consistently see is that those themes are very relatable across different cultures and generations. In a lot of ways, they play on the fact that we are humans.

Genre Success Factors

There are genre success factors that explain not only romance, crime, and mystery dominance but also the success of books in any genre whether it's fiction or nonfiction. Let's look at the factors that contribute to a genre of book becoming a bestselling genre.

• Pop-Culture: Throughout time, there have been era-defining films and TV shows, as well as books. The success of one piece of media within a genre, for example, a sci-fi film, leads to a growth in interest in other pieces of media in that genre. So if an audience is exposed to popular mystery films, it gives them a taste for that type of story and makes them want more.
• Reflection of Society: Different generations are exposed to different political and social movements and living situations. Popular literature of any time often reflects what is going on in real life. While you wouldn't have seen any books featuring social media before the 21st century, in stories based on the present time, social media is a given. If there are major social movements happening, such as LGBTQ+ rights, then you will likely see books that reflect those themes growing in popularity.

Research can indicate which genre of book is going to go through a period of particular popularity among different audiences. Every generation has its own trends and styles, which greatly reflect the types of stories that are popular.

Nonetheless, when we look into which book genres are most popular at a given time and try to predict what genre will be popular in the future, the popularity of other pieces of media and the universality of themes will always play a contributing role. Still, in order for a fiction book to be successful, it needs to be well-written and compelling, regardless of genre. So, writing mastery and adequate research also play a part.

• Nostalgia: On the other hand, people enjoy books that reflect what life was like growing up. We will always see romance novels cover the topic of young love, and oftentimes mystery stories feature characters coming of age. So genres that work well with incorporating elements of nostalgia will always be successful.
• Universal Themes: As we have touched on, if a genre features tropes that are relatable and largely universal, then the genre will always be fairly successful. This is why we consistently see horror and fantasy books alongside mystery, crime, and thriller stories in fiction, and spirituality and self-help books do well in non-fiction.

Final Thoughts

It's likely that when we look at the bestselling genres of the future, we will still see an element of romance, crime, and mystery dominance due to the various genre success factors in those types of stories. If you're interested in creating your own fiction bestseller, take a look at our fiction writing packages to get started on your journey.