8 Types of Nonfiction: Nonfiction Genres to Know

Nonfiction is a genre of literary works with content that concerns real people, events, and stories. While fiction relies on imagined circumstances and characters, nonfiction aims to depict true events, present and historical. A literary category unto itself, nonfiction also encompasses several subgenres—biographies, history books, and true crime are all examples of nonfiction writing. Nonfiction authors aim to share the factual stories of real-life people, events, and movements.

Nonfiction includes a variety of topics and genres for readers of all ages. Types of nonfiction works include:

1. 1. Biographies: Autobiographies and biographies document a person’s life, offering a particular window into the subject’s hardships, successes, relationships, and overarching life story.
2. 2. Business books: Books tracking business trends, economic theories, and wealth across time fall under the umbrella of nonfiction.
3. 3. Cookbooks: Cookbooks with recipes and books about different cuisines and lifestyle diets are nonfiction writing.
4. 4. Creative nonfiction: Nonfiction can also be a form of creative writing. Creative nonfiction or narrative nonfiction features true stories written in the style of novels; this may include a book of essays or a memoir.
5. 5. History books: Historical nonfiction analyzes the sociopolitical and anthropological elements of eras across time. While historical fiction often instates imagined characters into real time periods, historical nonfiction depicts real-life people in those equally real events.
6. 6. Travel: Travel guides and short stories of people’s adventures abroad are other popular types of nonfiction.
7. 7. True crime: True crime is a form of nonfiction dealing with the investigations and sociological implications of real criminal activity, such as murders and theft.
8. 8. Self-help books: Psychologists and self-help gurus write books centering on physical, mental, and emotional wellness and their theories on how to best unlock it.

Literary nonfiction comes in various forms, from autobiographies to books for early readers. Some examples of nonfiction books include:

1. 1. Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela (1994): South African President Nelson Mandela’s autobiography discusses his early life, political rise, and twenty-seven years in prison under apartheid.
2. 2. Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow (2004): Chernow’s gripping biography of the United States’s first Secretary of the Treasury became a bestseller and inspired Lin-Manuel Miranda to musicalize the Founding Father’s story in the Broadway musical Hamilton (2015).
3. 3. Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (2006): Gilbert’s travel memoir depicts her international travels as she searched for happiness in the wake of her divorce. Julia Roberts starred in the 2010 film adaptation.
4. 4. Seashells: More Than a Home by Melissa Stewart (2019): Stewart writes children’s nonfiction, covering scientific and animal topics in her colorful books for beginners. In Seashells, Steward explores the interesting role seashells play in nautical ecosystems in accessible ways for early learners to grasp.

Become a better writer with the MasterClass Annual Membership. Gain access to exclusive video lessons taught by the world’s best, including Roxane Gay, Neil Gaiman, Walter Mosley, Margaret Atwood, Joyce Carol Oates, Dan Brown, and more.