Editing Contemporary fantasy (section)

==Definition and overview==
The term is used to describe stories set in the putative real world (often referred to as ''[[consensus reality]]'') in contemporary times, in which magic and magical creatures exist but are not commonly seen or understood as such, either living in the interstices of our world or leaking over from [[Parallel universe (fiction)|alternate world]]s.

Frances Sinclair, determining what to call fantasy set in our known world, contrasts contemporary fantasy with [[magical realism]]. She notes that in contemporary fantasy magical elements are often kept secret from most people, and notes the amount of young adult fantasy in the subgenre. In contrast, Sinclair points out that in magical realism "the impossible can occur without comment", and the relationship between reader and narrator may be stronger.<ref>{{cite book
	| last = Sinclair
	| first =  Frances  
	| date = 2008
	| title = Fantasy Fiction
	| publisher = [[School Library Association]]
	| page = 34
    | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=DX2O_0df_REC
    | access-date = 2023-08-09
	| isbn = 9781903446461
}}</ref>

[[Brian Stableford]] attempts to narrowly define the genre, excluding [[portal fantasy]] and fantasy "in which the magical entity is a blatant anomaly".<ref name=Stableford>{{cite book
	| last = Stableford
	| first = Brian 
    | author-link = Brian Stableford
	| date = 2009
	| title = The A to Z of Fantasy Literature
	| publisher = [[Scarecrow Press]]
	| page = 86
    | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=7JKw5FYA4GgC&dq=%22contemporary+fantasy%22&pg=PA86
    | access-date= 2023-08-09
	| isbn = 9780810863453
}}</ref> He arrives at a definition of fantasy set in the mundane world, often including an "elaborate secret history". He notes that much contemporary fantasy is set in rural settings, but also notes the subgenre of [[urban fantasy]], and that both children's fiction and literary fiction often fall within this genre.<ref name=Stableford/>

The ''[[Encyclopedia of Fantasy]]'' similarly suggests that the mundane and fantastic are contrasted within the genre. The ''Encyclopedia''{{'}}s definition includes "portal fantasy in which transition between the two realms occurs regularly", as well as several other subgenres; it cites [[Peter S. Beagle]]'s ''Lila the Werewolf'' as a classic of the type. It also notes that in many contemporary fantasies, the fantastic "colonizes" the mundane home.<ref name=CluteGrant>{{cite book
	| last1 = Clute
	| first1 = John
	| last2 = Kaveney
	| first2 = Roz
	| editor-last = Clute
	| editor-first = John
	| editor-last2 = Grant
	| editor-first2 = John
	| date = 1997
	| title = The Encyclopedia of Fantasy
	| publisher = [[Orbit Books]]
	| url = https://sf-encyclopedia.com/fe/contemporary_fantasy
	| access-date = 2023-08-09
	| isbn = 978-1-85723-368-1
	}}{{Dead link|date=December 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Greg Bechtel agrees with the ''Encyclopedia'', saying the sub-genre "explicitly depicts the collision of the contemporary world with a world of magic and spirits".<ref name=Bechtel>{{cite journal
	| last1 =  Bechtel 
	| first1 = Greg
	| date = 2007
	| title = The Word for World Is Story: Syncretic Fantasy as Healing Ritual in Thomas King's Green Grass, Running Water
	| journal = [[Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts]]
	| volume = 18
	| issue = 3
	| pages = 204–223, 285
}}</ref> He notes the distinction between this genre and magical realism, crediting Greer Watson,<ref>{{cite journal
	| last1 = Watson
	| first1 = Greer
	| date = 2000
	| title = Assumptions of Reality: Low Fantasy, Magical Realism, and the Fantastic
    | url = https://www.jstor.org/stable/43308437
	| journal = [[Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts]]
	| volume = 11
	| issue = 2
	| pages = 165–172
	| jstor = 43308437
	| access-date = 2023-08-11
}}</ref> but says that there can be overlap.<ref name=Bechtel/>

Grzegorz Trebicki describes "contemporary" fantasy works "set in our 'primary' world, in which the textual reality has been enriched by various fantastical elements, usually borrowed from particular mythologies or folk traditions".<ref name=Trebicki>{{cite journal
	| last1 = Trebicki
	| first1 = Grzegorz
	| date = 2014
	| title = Subverting Mythopoeic Fantasy: Miyuki Miyabe's the Book of Heroes
	| url = https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol32/iss2/5/
	| journal = [[Mythlore]]
	| volume = 32
	| issue = 124
	| pages = 49–63
	| access-date = 2023-08-09
}}</ref> He says that such works are usually driven by genre conventions other than mythical archetypes.

The term has also been equated with "Paranormal Fantasy", due to the frequency of "paranormal characters ([[werewolves]], [[vampire]]s, [[Wizard (fantasy)|wizards]], [[fairies]], etc.)"<ref name=Burcher>{{cite journal
	| last1 = Burcher
	| first1 = Charlotte
	| last2 = Hollands
	| first2 = Neil
	| last3 = Smith
	| first3 = Andrew
	| last4 = Trott
	| first4 = Barry
	| last5 = Zellers
	| first5 = Jessica
	| date = Spring 2009
	| title = Core Collections in Genre Studies: Fantasy Fiction 101
	| jstor = 20865077
	| journal = Reference & User Services Quarterly 
	| volume = 48
	| issue = 3
	| pages = 226–231
}}</ref>

=== A broad definition ===

[[Camille Bacon-Smith]] uses the term to describe fantasy stories set in the time they were written, and provides [[H.P. Lovecraft]] and [[Fritz Leiber]]'s novel ''[[Conjure Wife]]'' as examples. She states that "contemporary fantasy belongs to the Gothic tradition of Bram Stoker's ''[[Dracula]]'' and Poe's '[[The Fall of the House of Usher]]'", noting also that "contemporary fantasy has been a part of the genre since its beginning".<ref name=Bacon-Smith>{{cite book
	| last = Bacon-Smith 
	| first = Camille 
    | author-link = Camille Bacon-Smith
	| date = 2000
	| title = Science Fiction Culture
	| publisher = [[University of Pennsylvania Press]]
	| page = 250
	| isbn = 9780812215304
}}</ref> She notes that the genre was less popular by the 1960s, considering it supplanted by [[New Wave science fiction|New Wave]] and [[Celtic Twilight]] books. Bacon-Smith credits [[Terri Windling]]'s 1986 introduction of [[Borderland (book series)|Borderland]] as a key event in improving interest in the genre, also noting the earlier influence of [[Anne Rice]]'s ''[[Interview With The Vampire]]'' which she says has a "contemporary background".<ref name=Bacon-Smith/>