What Is Science Fiction? A Genre Definition for Readers and Writers

What is science fiction, exactly?

It’s a simple question on the surface. But if you were to ask a dozen different publishers or writers this question, you’d probably get as many different answers.

Most people agree on the basic definition of science fiction, which you’ll find below. But they don’t always agree on where the “boundaries” lie, or how to distinguish sci-fi from related genres like fantasy, alternate history and post-apocalyptic.

This article explains (1) what science fictio...