How Cosy Can You Get?
By Juliet Marillier | November 9, 2022 |
In my workshops for aspiring writers, I am often asked how best to categorize a manuscript when submitting it to an agent or publisher. As I’m mainly a writer of fantasy, this question usually comes from fledgling writers of speculative fiction. Where does their work fit into the various sub-genres of fantasy, or is it actually science fiction? If there’s a love story, maybe it’s romantic fantasy, fantasy-romance, paranormal romance? Fantasy comes in many varieties. We have epic/high fantasy (think Tolkien), fairytale fantasy, low fantasy, urban fantasy. Then there are sword and sorcery, grimdark, and magic realism. And don’t forget cosy fantasy, a sub-genre I hadn’t heard of until a couple of weeks ago. I’ll come back to that later. A similar range of variants exists in other kinds of genre fiction, such as romance, crime and mystery.
When this comes up in a workshop, I usually say, forget this for now. First get the manuscript all set for submission. That means not only finished, but polished and edited to the very best standard the writer can achieve. I explain about the value of critique partners or writing groups, the need to seek feedback from someone with the appropriate expertise, the value of beta readers and so on. A writer who reads widely is less likely to ask that question about sub-genre – they will already have a fair idea of where their work fits in. Others may need to think it through, in particular to be clear about the difference between science fiction and fantasy. The generally accepted definitions are that SF contains elements that do not and cannot exist in the world of today, but that might exist in the future, eg human contact with life elsewhere in the universe, where fantasy contains elements that do not and could not exist in our world now or in the future eg magic, supernatural beings (though that definition is crying out to be challenged.) Just to confuse the issue, it is possible for a story to be a blend of science fiction and fantasy. Steampunk, with its combination of magic and technology, has the potential to be both at once. Once the manuscript is as perfect as it can be, the writer does need to decide how they’ll describe it in their cover letter to the agent/publisher. I remind them that if they’re lucky enough to have someone read it, that person will first be looking for outstanding storytelling and originality, whatever the genre or sub-genre.
Genre categories can be misleading. They don’t mean the same thing to everyone. What led me to write this blog post was an invitation to participate in a panel about Cosy Fantasy. I was startled, to say the least. I had never thought of my books as in any way cosy. To me the term suggested the fantasy equivalent of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple series, something set in a quaint English village or equivalent, with a cast of (mostly) loveable or amusing characters and a story the reader can breeze through without being too troubled. As it happened, I couldn’t do the panel in question because of time zone problems. I asked why they would put me on a cosy fantasy panel when I don’t write in that sub-genre. The answer was, more than one reader had identified my work as cosy fantasy. I was shocked. I imagined a person unfamiliar with my work trying out one of the books on the recommendation that it was a comfort read and being confronted with characters battling severe mental illness, scenes of fratricide, assault, torture, cruel incarceration, and human sacrifice (not all in the same book, I hasten to say.) So I decided I’d better investigate.
It was true. Bloggers and other readers had recommended my work – very positively – as cosy fantasy. Had those dark plot lines and troubled characters somehow been overlooked because I sometimes included a cast of small, benign uncanny folk? Or was it the fact that most of the books/series include a happily resolved love story? Was I writing cosy books without even knowing it?
Next step: find a definition for cosy fantasy. Google brought me many results. ”A feel-good story with low stakes in a fantasy setting.” ”It’s light-hearted and fun. The characters are not constantly in peril.” Or this one, from the Cosy Fantasy forum on Reddit: “Cozy Fantasy is a genre of imaginative fiction involving magic and adventure that gives a feeling of comfort, warmth, and relaxation.” The comments on that forum were enlightening – it seemed like serious themes could be included and stakes could be high, but the dark scenes were in the background rather than shown graphically on the page. I’ve included the link to that discussion, as it makes insightful reading.
Goodreads has a listing of cosy fantasy books, based on how readers ”shelve” what they read. To my surprise, I found several of my favorite authors on this list, including the wonderful T. Kingfisher. It all started to make sense. Yes, those books are a form of comfort reading, though the stakes are often very high indeed and characters are put through some grueling experiences. I’ve cried over a heroic death in one of the novels on the list. In another I’ve seen a kind of bravery I wish there was more of in the real world. For me, the comfort in reading these authors comes in their underlying humanist message: no matter what hardships we face, we can feel empathy for our fellow creatures. No matter what befalls us, we can reach out a hand to help one another. And yes, that’s exactly what I try to convey in my own storytelling. Despite the fantasy elements, these are stories about real people and their life journeys. Did I mention that my favorite authors all write characters who come alive on the page?
Thanks to astute readers I’ve learned something from this. It doesn’t matter how readers choose to classify my books. A novel is something different in every reader’s hands – their own background and experience inform their response. What really matters is good storytelling. As for that query letter to the agent or publisher, the aspiring writer might play safe and just call the work fantasy. Or take the alternative route of ”this should appeal to readers of (insert name of popular author who writes similar work.)” Either way, to new writers, I wish you good fortune on the journey, and to teachers and mentors, keep up the great work!
What have you learned from your readers? What is your best advice for aspiring writers querying an agent or publisher? How do you go about defining the genre of your work, and does it really matter?
Photo credit: 135193136 © Chriskiely | Dreamstime.com
Juliet Marillier has written twenty-four novels for adults and young adults and two collections of short fiction. Her works of historical fantasy have been published around the world and have won numerous awards. Juliet’s most recent series was Warrior Bards, of which the third and final book, A Song of Flight, was published in 2021. Her collection of reimagined fairy tales, Mother Thorn and Other Tales of Courage and Kindness, had its trade release in 2022. Mother Thorn is illustrated by Kathleen Jennings and published by Serenity Press.
Juliet is currently working on a two-book fantasy series. The first book in this duology, The Amber Owl, will be published by New Dawn in February 2025.
When not writing, Juliet looks after a small crew of rescue dogs.
Hi Juliet — I’ve got to admit, I felt a pang of defensiveness in regard to your being labeled as a Cozy Fantasy author. You go on to illustrate the reasons for that perfectly. But… all things considered, there is a coziness to reading your work. I recall, after a particularly devastating batch of rejections, wanting nothing more than what I then termed a comfort read. What did I choose? A Juliet Marillier epic, of course (this was long enough ago that I wasn’t yet through all of the Sevenwaters books yet, so I had the perfect antidote to my blues).
I’ve been hearing rave reviews for Travis Baldree’s book, Legends and Lattes–about a battle orc who decides she’s tired of rampaging and pillaging, and decides to open a coffee shop instead. In which she finds a love interest, of course. Many in the fantasy review arena are referring to the book as a “palette cleanser.” I suppose sometimes even the most battle-hardened of can get tired of rampaging across the page, lol.
As an aside, I find Baldree’s success quite heartening. He had the book rejected an absurd number of times and self-published. A year later, he’s got one of the hottest franchises in the genre. Thanks for the cozy reading experience–this morning, and through the years. Much appreciated! I hope you and the doggos are doing well.
Hi Vaughn. My local SF&F bookstore is holding a copy of Legends and Lattes for me to collect – I saw it on the Goodreads list of top cosy fantasies and thought it looked promising. I also recommend The House in the Cerulean Sea by T J Klune which is on that same list – I read that on a friend’s recommendation and loved it. There’s a certain controversy on social media attached to this book, best avoided until after you’ve read it so you can make up your own mind. And T Kingfisher’s Nettle and Bone is just wonderful.
Doggos and I are doing pretty well, thanks – Rocky is becoming a moody old man but we’re working on his reactivity with some success at last. Bramble is, as ever, a sweet and calm old lady.
I think genre matters for the agents we hope can sell our books by giving them genre, word-count, comps, and mashups (as in x meets y), and for editor pitching to their decision-makers. Good comps especially can provide those nuances that will shape a query-reader’s expectations. But the sub-genres can make a girl’s head spin. I agree, though, that first and foremost is a good story, well told. In the crazy political climate here in the US, I found myself drawn back to Tolkien for comfort. Yes, it’s dark, but it’s also a reminder that folks of good heart can win through. Fairytales do that for me as well. For me, they are teaching stories. Thanks for a wonderful post!
Hi Susan and thank you! I agree, really, but identifying genre is hard for newbie writers, that’s for sure. As for comfort reading in challenging times, I also tend to go back to old favourites – I love re-reading Dorothy L Sayers and Daphne du Maurier. But also fantasy, and I agree entirely about fairy tales. They capture the wisdom of the past, which is still entirely relevant, even if the dragons look more like politicians these days.
I love what you wrote: “A novel is something different in every reader’s hands – their own background and experience inform their response. What really matters is good storytelling.”
And yet.
Labels do matter. In a field of endless choices and possibilities, people sift and sort and make decisions based on them. It’s a big question, no easy answers, so I’m glad to see that writers in other genres struggle with it too! As I wrote about right here a few weeks ago (https://staging-writerunboxed.kinsta.cloud/2022/10/19/genre-and-gender-grappling-with-the-awkward-question-of-womens-fiction/), it is a messy issue when gendered words (like “cosy” or “soft”—and, of course, “women”) get attached to certain kinds of stories. Let’s keep unpacking it!!
Barbara, that was such an excellent post on so-called ”women’s fiction”. And it’s clear from the comments on that post that readers have all sorts of different ideas on what the label (and other such labels) might mean. Yes, it needs further discussion, that’s for sure. We all learn something in the process, as I did when investigating ”cosy”.
Hi Juliet, My take-away from your lovely post is how amazing there are still so many readers on our planet. And it is to your credit that you inspire the reading of fantasy and other genres with your many novels and your workshops. Recently, helping a relative move, I came upon a box set of all L. M. Montgomery’s novels. My daughter has always loved her work, and of course I encouraged that, but must confess, I have never read Anne of Green Gables! Now I will…I need to expand the genres that I read, your post underlies that.
Hi Elizabeth. I love Anne of Green Gables! A childhood favourite for me. I only discovered the later ones in the series a couple of years ago, but enjoyed them too. Great comfort reading.
Hi Juliet: I know that a number of crime writers rankled at the term “cozy” because it seemed so obviously a put-down. Thus the appearance of the term “traditional mystery,” which arguably was no better from a descriptive standpoint, but shook off the treacly/saccharine connotations. And for whatever reason, that sub-genre has significantly grown in popularity with “domestic thrillers” becoming so popular and such TV series as Broadchurch and Mare of Easttown expanding the thematic range of the genre. I can only imagine that “traditional fantasy” would be be as poor a descriptive (if not worse) as “traditional mystery,” but then again, who knows?
Hi David. Yes, I agree that ”traditional” is not a very meaningful description (but better than cosy)! I wonder where Anne Cleeves’ Shetland series would fit. Part crime, part mystery, but very much dependent on the setting for its appeal … Same with Elly Griffiths’ Ruth Galloway series.
You made me think. Hard.
I’ve always fought the label ‘Romance’ because I understand that genre to have certain specific tropes and memes (and covers) which don’t categorize my WIP, which is a mainstream contemporary novel with an embedded complicated love story. When readers expect one thing, and get another, unhappiness and bad reviews ensue.
But people categorize my work as Romance on their shelves on Goodreads – and the librarians won’t do anything about it.
With your post, I’m wondering if I’m not listening to a subgroup of Romance readers who MIGHT be interested in my kind of story.
Some Romance is much more complicated than simpler stories – pushing the boundaries imposed by the tropes and constraints.
I’ll have to figure out what that’s called.
Hi Alicia. Mainstream fiction with romantic elements? Not sure how you could cut that down into a neat label! But yes, I bet there’s a potential readership out there among Romance readers.
Both Romance and Fantasy are so much broader in scope than many people believe. When I tell people I write historical fantasy I get asked ”Is it like Harry Potter? Is it like The Lord of the Rings?”
Juliette, it’s always interesting to discover what readers think. I remembered Barb’s post on women’s fiction and how it can be perceived as somehow less. Cozy has a similar vibe. But as a reader, it’s helpful to have those labels.
My first novel has a lovely developmentally disabled character and it has given parents of these children much hope. I label the book as young adult (YA) but it definitely has crossover appeal. I thought my current WIP (a historical) as YA as well but two editors have advised me to pitch it as middle grade (MG) given my MC’s sensibilities and also because it’s very hard pitching books that fall in-between MG and YA. Apparently 13-yr-olds are hard to pin down. It’s really a pity but our readers need to be able to find our books. Labels are such an artificial construct (I’m still reading picture books!) but we do need them. It’s good that we can tag our books with different labels in the online world, even if they can only be shelved in one area in the library or bookstore. Thanks so much for shining a light on this.
Hi Vijaya and thank you! 13 year olds: some will be reading adult fiction, some will love graphic novels, some will still enjoy MG. And many will like YA, some of which is pretty adult in content these days. I don’t think they can really be pinned down, and maybe that’s a good thing!
Great post, Juliet. I would never have called your books “cosy” (which conjures uo pleasant unadventurous reads with tea and toast) but what I tell people when I’m recommending your books, is that no matter how dark a story might get, you always lead us back into the light, which is important for me, being something of a wimp. Maybe that “good ending” for the main characters is the reason they were called “cosy”. I’m also a fan of T Kingfisher for the same reason. My faves of hers are the Paladin series.
Thank you, Anne – lovely to hear from you! I can’t express how much I love this observation: <> Absolutely what I most wish to achieve with my writing!
I love the Paladin series too – such wonderful characters. Look out for a new novella by T Kingfisher, coming in 2023, entitled Thornhedge. I was lucky enough to get an advance copy to read and it’s one of her best.
I’ve been told my work qualifies as noblebright fantasy – coined as the opposite of grimdark – but I suspect it could also qualify as cozy fantasy, judging by your description! Something I should look into.
Hi Deborah. I’ve heard of noblebright – the term is a bit laboured, though I understand why someone felt the need to invent it. Sounds as if it should feature knights on horseback, who after the battle share jokes over tankards of ale. I wonder if something can be both epic and cosy at the same time??
So wonderful to read this Juliet and although I never think of your stories as cozy I confess that for everyone in our family they are comfort food we all reach for in troubled times. The wisdom at the heart of you stories is just what you said. “Empathy.” Complicated characters facing struggling with darkness and coming through wiser and realistic, knowing themselves and humanity more deeply. When the news is dark stories of courage, tenacity and holding onto hope are soul food and an emotional map for how to live in a world with Sauron. Lord of the Rings is dark but hobbits embody epic cozy to the core.
Lovely to hear from you, Torrie, and thanks for that excellent analysis! I guess Lord of the RIngs is about moving away from the cozy world and venturing into the epic dark?
Thank you for this post! I do believe you’ve hit the mark for my book series’ genre–cozy fantasy romance. Tales of humans and witches and fantasy-type races where there are some serious going’s on for sure, but tempered with humor, a comfortable heat level, and a myriad of adorable and fearsome creatures. I must add your books to my TBR pile as well as T Kingfisher’s.
Your books sound like a great fireside read, Barb! I predict you will love T KIngfisher (AKA Ursula Vernon) as much as I do. If you’re sampling mine, I suggest you start with either Wildwood Dancing (YA) or Heart’s Blood (adult fantasy stand-alone, based on Beauty and the Beast.)
Sorry a bit late to this discussion, but I wonder if you’ve since come across the designation noblebright? The kind of term that arises in response to attempts at defining grimdark (with corresponding nobledark and even grimbright categories), of course, but sounds very similar to the meaning given to cosy? And a little less… ‘tea and toast and low stakes,’ (though some definitions out there still make it seem lower-conflict than other types).
https://noblebright.org/noblebright-fantasy-an-overview/
(Myself, I think that’s what I’m currently writing, aside from the classification of historical fantasy, my wip being a fantastical exploration of 2 pivotal years in the life of Louis IX and Isabelle of 13th century France, basing as much off of their actual lives as possible, but taking some fantastical license to let the story–and the added dragons– take wing too. History–particularly medieval history in most people’s minds–having its gritty side, people most often seem to assume something like Game of Thrones is the model–but you already know that historical fantasy doesn’t have to be anything like that!)
While we certainly can’t control how readers and librarians shelve books, maybe spreading a term like noble bright can both help readers find what they want, and make for more appropriate use of terms (as cosy still seems to evoke different things, but etymologically just doesn’t seem quite as fitting a term for something that means more precisely a certain kind of positive ending, but not necessarily little risk along the way).
Hi Madeline. Your comment is very welcome! I did come across the term noblebright while I was researching the way readers categorise cosy. To me the term noblebright conjures up a grand story of knights in shining armour, and is therefore not really related to cosy. Seems like cosy includes both the ‘tea and toast and low stakes’ style of story (Legends and Lattes?) and also any story that includes hope and learning for characters, so we feel their journey has been in some way worthwhile, whatever the challenges and losses along the way. That’s more like what I write. I don’t really feel the need to call it anything but historical fantasy, or in some cases, folkloric fantasy.
As a reader, I don’t love too much categorisation of stories – you can end up with an awful lot of sub-genres, and often the really great reads defy categorisation, or embrace several sub-genres. Example (which I’ve read since writing this post) is Mark Lawrence’s new novel, The Book that Wouldn’t Burn. Epic in its coverage of time and space, yet set almost entirely within a library.
Your WIP sounds fascinating. Good luck with it!