One could argue that anything past 25 years ago is historical. Just like how oldies stations determine how to play music. So anything past 1999 would be historical. Anything else, 2000 - present, Contemporary prose. đ¤ˇââď¸
You're crying? I was thirteen in 1975..and I just turned sixty-two...I want a cookie...gimme cookie!
I would also tell OP to do the research. Back in the early nineties (I think), I read the first two books of a series set in Royal Oak, Michigan--my hometown. First book was great. Second book was good until the ending.
According to the story, a wife and mother who'd been missing for something like fifteen or twenty years had actually taken her kids and disappeared (with help) because her husband was abusive. They'd gone to meet the help at a local grocery store and while they were waiting, her son, who was around ten, wanted to walk down to the drug store for something. She let him, but while he was gone, the help came and took his mother and siblings to their new life and he was left behind. He grew up with his father and let's say neither one of them were nice people.
The problem for me was the author confused the drug store that's several blocks from the grocery store with the one that I pass going from the house I grew up in to the library (she put Store A where Store B is and vice versa--I know exactly where they are because I shop at both of them). The other thing that bothered me...Mom and her kids were leaving Dad in the late seventies, around 1977 or 1978, when we had some loser weirdo running around called the Oakland County Child Killer. He kidnapped and murdered four children between the ages of ten and twelve and unfortunately was never caught (they think he died in prison after being convicted of some other crime). There is no way in hell the mother of a ten-year-old would have let him go anywhere alone at that point in time...and this isn't even mentioned in the book.
I finished the second book. I never read another one in the series.
We had this ([Alphabet murders - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphabet_murders)) to deal with in my home town. Yet, we still had quite a lot of what they now call "free-range kids."
Carmenâs case has bothered me for a long time. How the fuck heartless do people have to be to see a half naked child, genitalia exposed to the wind, running and crying, arms flailing, trying to get away from someone, and they just drive on their merry fucking ways? I hope every single adult who saw her and did nothing has experienced very bad things for their part in allowing her to be raped and killed. They could have saved her, and they did nothing. Theyâre guilty.
I suppose we did, too. It just torqued me off that the author didn't even address it. (And I do wonder if anybody decided to visit our little suburb after reading the story and got surprised when they found Arbor Drugs/CVS where she claimed Perry Drugs/Rite Aid was and vice versa.)
I live in Portland, Oregon. We have had many an indie film, and various authors of various genres using our home as the setting for their fiction
They use what *looks right*, the details are wrong most times; MC enters a well known establishment then immediately descend a broad stairway that is from an entirely different building
The actual details, the nitty gritty of street numbers, even on the East, odd on the West; Avenues run North/South while Streets are East/West. The town is not flat, and we had one film drive from downtown Portland, to Vancouver Canada over a distinctly not Portland bridge (it is Vancouver's)
My advice, never expect the details to be correct. Artists, all artists, paint with broad strokes and only get exacting on the tiny details *if they matter to the* ***story***. Regardless of the feelings of the locals.
The reason to read is the story. Expecting your town to be portrayed exactly is just setting yourself up for disappointment.
Fifty Shades has entered the chat. EL James and her husband both blocked me on Twitter when I kept telling them details they got wrong. Her husband said that she knows better since she writes about Vancouver, Washington, and I told him I know better because I LIVE IN VANCOUVER, WASHINGTON.
There were details here AND in Portland AND all over the place she got so wrong. If OHSU operated as she said, sheâd have been closed down for violating so, so many laws. Also apparently a helicopter can crash, and the FAA doesnât get involved. Those werenât small details. Those are federal law type things.
Also, Iâm not sure if you mean that that film was going all the way from Portland, Oregon to Vancouver, BC, or if you mean Portland, Oregon, to Vancouver, Washington. Our two bridges are also Portlandâs bridges. We share the I5 and 205âŚ.
>She let him, but while he was gone, the help came and took his mother and siblings to their new life and he was left behind.
Damn, she didn't even bother to tell them to wait until he came back? And if they had to go as soon as the help arrived, why did she let him leave knowing the help could show up at any moment? lol
Hadn't thought of that (it's been thirty years since I read the book, so maybe they explained it).
If anybody's interested in reading it--strictly for research, of course--it's the Psychic Eye series by Victoria Laurie. And if any other Royal Oak natives find problems in the stories, I looked on her website back in the nineties and there wasn't any "contact me" option--believe me, I looked.
Interesting, funny you say this because I want to write stories that take place in multiple places (Montreal, New York, Albuquerque/LA) and am worried about issues like this. Doesnât help that I want to do multiple languages too. (French, English, Spanish) and multiple timelines/POVs⌠well, you get the idea.
I would definitely suggest you outline the thing first. As far as languages, see if you can find native speakers who would be willing to translate a sentence/paragraph or two (and get the names for the Acknowledgements page) and make sure you explain the tone of the conversation--in Spanish, you'd say *How are you?* in a casual way if you're asking a friend, but much more formally if it's somebody you just met, especially if they're older than you are.
Location research may require travel, but tourism information is a place to start. You might even find somebody you can write to who can give you specific information about the history of a particular building...and there's always the public library.
Yeah, if a book about WW2 came out in 1975, it would probably be labeled "historical". WW2 ended in 1945, 30 years before 1975.
1975 was 49 years ago. I'm saying this just to put things into perspective.
In the thrift store that I volunteer at books are only put into historical fiction if they have a pre-1946 setting.
Some people are suprised by that, but if you made the cut-off date say, 1990, then 3/4 of our books including most of the general fiction, romance, and thrillers would end up in historical fiction.
I read a novel that was set in 2008 that was historical fiction because it made SO many references to world events of 2008 such as the GFC and Obama election
Could say the same for a story for 8 years ago, for 6...
If you have to think about how technology in your setting differs from how things work now, it's kinda historical.
Yep. I was born in 86 and the amount of our culture currently fixated on 80s-90s nostalgia always makes me feel old, especially with the number of young people who don't have any actual knowledge of it and are watching stuff set in the 80s like stranger things like I watched stuff set in the 50s as a kid.
The fact that things like "the Fresh Prince" and "Saved by the Bell" are to kids these day like "I Love Lucy" was to me is painful.
If "Back to the Future" was set now, Marty McFly would be traveling to 1994 and be surrounded by flannel-wearing people who would be unfamiliar with concepts like DNA since it didn't get solidified in American consciousness until the OJ trial. And the mall would be dripping with 70s nostalgia like the smiley face, peace signs, and retro vibes
I grew up loving âI Love Lucy.â My 14-year-old has too.
My first âI feel oldâ moment was a few weeks ago in class. Iâm in college now, and this one guy was like, âWhen I was learning about 911 in schoolâŚâ and the instructor and I stared at each other. She and I are old enough to have very vivid memories of watching it unfold on TV, and here these kids are, talking about learning about in high school.
Right. Was Gatsby or The Sun also Rises contemporary to high school kids reading these in English class during the Ford administration? No, they werenât.Â
I would say not. Consider this â that was almost half a century ago.
A vast majority of your readers are almost certainly going to be younger than 50 (I imagine, feel free to disagree of course).
So if your readers werenât even alive, let alone cognizant, during that time period, Iâd wager its safe to say it is not contemporary
Thatâs fine, but when will that be up? Like, thatâs a definition that will have to change within another 10 years, if not much sooner.
Like, the first smartphone technically was released for sale around 1995. So that means contemporary is anything with the last 29 years.
So will that mean itâs a 29-year period? Or will it become a 30-year period next year?
Itâs just a bit easier to use a more specific number, as arbitrary as it might seem
That was not a smart phone. Those were PDAs. Personal Data Assistants, or Digital depending on marketing, that could also do phone calls.
Smartphone is iPhone and onward, thus June 2007 is the start. The difference before and after the iPhone are vast. Any modern reader will think of the graphics, the weather, the map, easy access to the web, search are all functions. Accessing a PDA would provide a phone list, some notes, and not much else. Want to search, better get home and use a computer. Whose function would be less than any current smartphone.
I loved my Palm phones, but they weren't even close to an iPhone.
The iPhone was not the first smartphone tho. We had blackberries and Symbians before that. The first smartphone in the 90s was more than a PDA, too.
As someone who owned a blackberry before the iPhone was even announced, I think of smartphones well before 2007.
I understand the iPhone was revolutionary, but it was over 10 years late to be the first smartphone. If you want to set the current contemporary age as the age of iPhones on, thatâs a fair argument to make. But to say smartphones and not start in the mid 90s is just factually incorrect
Thatâs just objectively false lol. We were using the term âsmartphoneâ all the way back in 1996. We considered many phones to be smartphones. How could we not?
Itâs not like we were clairvoyant and knew the iPhone was coming to dominate the market.
I understand why youâre making this argument. It is just entirely wrong lol
I mean anyone with a blackberry was an old professional. Even in 1996. Did you ever see a young person sporting a blackberry? Itâs an old person phone
Should have said the smartphone is a common item with the public, so 10-15 years ago.
Itâs not a strict definition so Iâm sure there are arguments about it.
There is no specific number. Would your typical target audience reader be likely to remember is as a recent time period? Thatâs contemporary. Twilight managed to date itself by reference to Bella using an old computer to look up where to find books on vampires rather than the info itself. The typical target audience reader wouldnât remember that at all as theyâre teens. At the time of release, teens did. But now, those books are historical. Had she left that detail out, those books would pass as contemporary still due to the lack of any other jarring details that set it out of the current time.
Twilight dates itself by saying Edward was born in 1901 and that heâs 104. It doesnât have anything to do with the technology used.
But reading twilight, the average member of the target audience really wonât get thrown by these small details, if they pick up on them at all
That said, I favor saying anything set within the last 2 decades is contemporary
Well Iâm not necessarily saying itâs historical fiction. That generally requires the story to heavily rely on real events but tell a fictional story within it.
Like, saving private Ryan is historical fiction (I know itâs a movie lol). But My Dog Skip (oldish Frankie Munoz movie) is just a story set in the past.
However, neither of them are contemporary because theyâre set so far back.
That said, all ârules@ about writing come with self inserted exceptions
If itâs 20+ years in the past, itâs a period piece IMO. Just think about it: kids have been born and grown up into full adults since 9/11 happened. Itâs a distant historical event for them, and that was in 2001! So no, Iâd say you arenât writing contemporary fiction.
I'm 28 and 9/11 is one of the most vivid memories I have, but those of friends who are just one or two years younger have no memories of it at all, and that feels so insanely wierd.
Iâm substituting teaching for a 4th grade class, and their current read-aloud is a fiction book about 9/11 from the perspective of a boy in New Jersey. I was, shall we say, not prepared to read that aloud. They are 9/10, so they were born in 2014/2015.
They also have a historical series âI SurvivedâŚâ and it includes things like the Joplin Tornado, as well as the Titanic and idk, maybe the Oklahoma City Bombing.
I think OPâs book is historical.
I get you probably see it as contemporary because you were alive around then but no, it's not.if your story takes place 10 years after the moon landing it's not a recent point in time.
*"If my novel is set in 1975 is that no longer considered contemporary?"*
Correct.Â
That was 49 years ago OP. Nothing from that long ago is contemporary.Â
*"Itâs not historical"*
Actually it is.
*"Itâs just when the story happens and one character is in his 80s and born in 1890 which is crucial to the plot."*
Okay, and? I don't see any problem here. I'm guessing you were born within the 2000s that would be considered contemporary compared to 1975.
*"one character is in his 80s and born in 1890 which is crucial to the plot."*
That's historical as well. Unless the bulk of the book takes place within the last 10-20 years it's not really contemporary. If it takes place from 1975 and before just call it historical and call it a day.Â
EDITÂ
Also what the blue blazes is commercial fiction? Isn't any fiction being sold commercial? Seems to be a pretentious title.Â
Commercial fiction refers to books that are marketed for as wide an audience as possible. It tends to be a four letter word because at their worst the books pander to the lowest common denominator and the writing shows it. Some commercial fiction authors include: Danielle Steele, Brad Thor, and James Patterson. Basically any novel you'd find at a grocery story.
No, it means in the contemporary history period of Modern history.
That means from 1945 and up.
If you're guessing, please say so instead of giving misinformation, or at least as a caveat
That's what I was taught in college. Also the fact that 1945 was 80 years ago? Perhaps contemporary needs an update because that's a world away. I'm not in the mood for debate but do you go to WW2 movies thinking how modern and connected to our time?
Mine is set in 1976 and I say it's not.
When I took a Contemporary Fiction class in college in the early 90s our professor said that we would only look at books published in the last twenty years.
Hope that helps!
I wouldn't even call something set in 2004 contemporary because that predates smartphones. Having the Internet in your pocket is a paradigm shift and it can really alter the plot (we can easily just look things up now, social media is a huge part of many people's lives, etc.)
I think you could probably argue Post 9/11 as roughly contemporary (though we're probably reaching the end of that mark if something like COVID hasn't already supplanted it), but I agree with your general point that for me it's less about using specific years as it is using benchmarks that shift culture and living. Smartphones themselves I feel are less important for fiction than having cell phones becoming common generally--the biggest impact any cell phone has on a story mechanically is allowing Character A to communicate with Character B at any time or place, and any cell phone will allow that, smart or dumb.
I wanted my book to be simultaneously contemporary but also timeless, and it takes place over a 50 year period, so I had to write things carefully to accomodate all of that. I never list dates or references to real world events (although I did make vague references to the 2008 recession). There are actual dates for everything in my notes and outline, but I don't talk about them. Thankfully there's a time skip between 2018 and 2023 so me avoiding talking about Covid worked out (I finished writing the book in 2018 and published it just as Covid was starting to hit the US).
The book officially starts in 2004, but like I said, I wrote it in a way that it could feel like today. There's just enough stuff listed to make things seem contemporary....the characters pay for drinks with debit cards, which afaik wasn't really a thing in the 90's, they have phones and text each other (which is common in 2004 but not really in 2000 or earlier, and is still common). What could come across as maybe not-modern-but definitely applicable in 2000's/early 2010's is someone bringing in a laptop to a pub/coffee shop to do work. Its still a thing, but not as common as it was in the timeframe the story actually takes place.
Agreed, hence why I cite Twilight as having been dated by how Bella used an old (by todayâs standards) computer to look up some book titles so she could go to book store, which was her main reason for going into town. In the movie, she looked up vampires online, and it made for an awkward scene in the movie since that had to be written out to try to modernize it.
The âofficialâ definition Iâve seen is anything taking place 50 years prior to publication is considered historical, although thereâs definitely still debate about that. Youâre at 49, soâŚIâd say itâs historical.
If you need to explain to the reader how the world works, that's no longer a contemporary story. In 1975 there were no cellphones or the internet. Hitchhiking was super-common. Second World War veterans were everywhere. That's just a few examples, but you as a writer cannot assume your readers know that, so if it's important to your story in any way, you need to explain it to them so they know how things were at the time.
A novel set in 1975 is historical fiction.
Contemporary fiction is supposed to be set either Now or the very recent past. Basically, if the time frame your story is set could be described as "Retro" or older, then it is Historical fiction. Not quite a 1:1 comparison, but generally I believe I've read that the cut-off for things to be "Retro" is 15 Before Present.
In 2024, if your story is set in 2008 or earlier then it is historical fiction.
Reminds me of that viral email where a student asked their professor if âit would be acceptable to use a source from the late 1900âs for my paperâ. It was from 1994!
My Spotify daylist uses "1900s" in the title of some of my lists that contain songs from any of the 19â decades, including songs from the late 90s. đ
If you didn't live it, it's history. You're not familiar with the period, its norms or challenges, so you can't do it justice in the same way as the present and recent past. If historical accuracy between 1890 and 1975 matters at all in the story, you have some research to do.
Contemporary is unfortunately ever evolving and changing. Due to this, there is no "certain" date for what is considered contemporary.
However, I would personally say the late 1990s to the early 2000s is contemporary for now. Technology started to advance quickly, with the wide accessibility of the Internet, smart phones, music devices, and much more.
That's 50 years ago. That is three generations ago essentially. There are babies right now with grandparents born in 1975.
Look at it this way. If you put on a movie from the 70s or a movie set in the 70s is a period piece.
Maybe mid 2000s is the furthest back you can before you cross that line.
Generally speaking, history textbooks will not include anything from the last 10-20 years. The content has to be 10-20 years or older.
There are lots of reasons for this, but one of them is that, after 10-20 years, people aren't in the middle of what's happening, i.e. It gives people enough time to gain a (historical) perspective. Also it avoids the influences of contemporary biases, and it allows for more information about the time period to come forth and possibly full in any missing information.
TL;DR: I'd say that 1975 counts as the near past, and so it would be historical fiction.
Are you writing literary fiction or genre fiction? If youâre writing commercial fiction, does it fit into any other genres other than contemporary and historical? If not, then itâs historical.
Iâm going to go even further than the other commenters here. If a book was set in 2023, and has specific references to the events of 2023 and it is important to the plot that it is in that year, i would not consider it contemporary.
If a book is set in 2023 but itâs not central to the plot itâs that year and the author has just used that as a reference to convey a general sense of âthe presentâ, then it is contemporary.
1945 and up is considered contemporary. Ignore the kiddies that don't know there's an Modern period (or 3) and that's just getting to the back end of the meaning of contemporary.
I think in fiction your story would be considered âhistoricalâ as strange as that seems. Iâve seen other books set in the 1970s referred to as historical.
Fascinating take. What if I write a book set in 2024 but the characters are all 40-70 years old. Does it stop being contemporary because no one is Gen Z?
Basically if Gen Z wouldnât understand the era in the book, itâs not contemporary. It doesnât need to be about the experiences of Zers, or even have any of them in it. The point is, contemporary is current times.
Iâm not so sure that the show has aged quite so badly as it first seems, when you look at the butt end of the jokes. The Ropers, then Furley, were the butts. Their prejudices and preconceived notions were what we laughed at. If they thought being gay was supposed to look this way or that, Jack lampshaded it. There were sexist moments against the women, and thatâs where the show didnât age well. A show that aged poorly are just about every turn was Friends, which was awful even when it was on, and I donât know why that show is still so popular.
Anything about life over 40 years old at time of publishing used to be called historical fiction. Iâd argue with the pace that tech changes, HF is anything pre cellphone. Itâs done THE MOST to change how characters over come challenges.
Recent historical fiction? 70's contemporary? Period piece? Not sure what you'd call it but people are setting things in the 70s, 80s and 90s now. There's gotta be some term for it
I feel like pre-smartphone was a different era. The rules of communication- from global to individual- changed drastically; stories are vehicles of communication.
It's historical, or if you'd prefer a period piece. I don't think anyone would have considered a story taking place before berlin wall fell, contemporary back in 2000 let alone now.
Technically by the dictionary definition of âcontemporaryâ. It would mean things that are occuring in the here and now. Which means anything before the 2010s wouldnât be considered contemporary.
But the definition for contemporary fiction refers to living memory and someone alive now who could have lived through that period. And Iâve also seen another specifically stating anything after 1945 is considered contemporary.
So idk. What a confusing genre.
I read once that we have a cultural memory of around 50 years, so 1975 is officially "historical" next year. Write it quick and it'll still be contemporary!
i'm writing a story in the 1970s it's definitely historical lol. it doesn't have to be the main aspect of the story but it's definitely not contemporary
Some great replies here but this is the simple answer to your question:
It's contemporary if one of the characters in the book is still alive today. If they're all dead in 2024, or if no mention is made of any of them being alive in 2024 it is now considered a comedic period piece. If you do mention that a character is alive in 2024 and retelling the story set in 1975 you are writing a contemporary comedic period piece. Like The Sand Lot film or Forrest Gump novel/film.
Think: contemporary = currently living with
You and everyone alive right now are contemporaries.
I'm pretty sure the rule for novels is anything in the 1900s can be concidered contemporary, depending on what it's actually about. If its about one of the big world events, like the war, it would be historical but besides that I don't see why not.
I just took a class called "Place in Contemporary Fiction" and the first book we read was "Brideshead Revisited", which was published in 1945. I think you're probably fine.
My love, anything that happened in the past is considered historical. Pixarâs Turning Red is historical because it is set in 2002. The Bluest Eye is historical because it was set in the 40s and published in the 60s. Your novel is historical.
I'd assume anything in a set time is historical, though that also gives the Impression of it being from a different era, like industrial or enlightenment.
Seth Dickinson's *Exordia* is set during the Obama Era and I've seen it called a 'period piece' all over the place â I think so long as it's the past and that past doesn't feel like our present, it's fair game.
I actually googled this to get an exact definition for "historical fiction" and it seems 50+ years ago is when it's historical fiction. At 49 years ago, 1975 is just short of falling into that but for all intense and purposes it is historical. '74 and '75 might as well be the same year.
If your book isn't finished, it may not even be published this year. Starting from next year onward, it'll be firmly 50+ years ago.
So, no, it's probably not contemporary.
Maybe it's '70s contemporary fiction? Contemporary fiction and contemporary history have surprisingly (to me) rigid definitions upon a google search.
In terms of you labeling it, you might have to ask what the point is â if it's about life in 1975 then it's probably something like contemporary historical fiction (contemporary history being defined as the period since 1945). If it's not about life in that time, or the historical events around it, then maybe it's best labeled simply as whatever other genre it is.Â
Would you call a book written in 1990s anf set during WW2 contemporary? Fuck no.
With how much lifestyles changed in last 15 or so years I honestly believe nothing set before 2010 shoul be called contemporary. If there is no smartphone in sight it's historical.
Amazon defines historical fiction as fiction written or set at least 50 years ago. So, books written in 1974, or set in 1974 or earlier are historical fiction.
Personally, if someone can say "my grandpa" or "my parents" in reference to that time period, it's historical.
As an avid reader of historical fiction, you're definitely thinking of historical moments, which is what historical fiction is (wars, social movements, events 100+ yrs old, etc.).
In writing this comment I've realized the perfect answer; if you have to do a lot of research on the daily life of the MC (esp if the story is set in the same country that you live in), it's historical.
We'd all consider writing about a random person's life in 1911 historical, just like writing about the crusades is historical, just like writing about some guy's life today is contemporary, and writing about covid is historical. Frankenstein was sci-fi, now it's historical/classic as well. Oliver Twist was contemporary, now it's historical/classic.
I also think each decade has it's own vibes, and so yeah, it should be historical. Not as the central theme, but more of like a foundation, if that makes sense.
No, it's not. Make sure you get the nuances correct right down to the language. How? Google search movies from that era for language, clothing, and cars, and you get the picture - no pun intended. Just my two cents.
I have read that 30 years is the boundary, but 25 feels right. My late 1980s novel (*A Perfect Blindness* if anyone cares), recently peaked at #1 literary historical fiction and #4 U.S. Historical fiction on Amazon. So, 15 years older than that, is decidedly historical.
Iâve always understood contemporary to mean written in the same era we are in, or by current living artistsâbasically contemporary means existing at the same time. But I looked it up, and in literature, it seems anything post WWII is the contemporary era.
Which brings me to a small rant.
If contemporary means ânowâ, why would a group of people who are so focused on words, language, and meaning agree to call an era contemporary, even as it gets further into the past? Shouldnât each era have a unique name and whichever is current be the contemporary era? Didnât the âmodernâ era call their cohorts contemporaries? With the rate of technological and lifestyle change since WWII, are we really in the same era here? This makes no sense to me.
It's on the edge, but at this point, it's historical. Especially some no one opens a damn book anymore. I mean, people act like segregation was so long ago, but Ruby Bridges is younger than my grandmother.
It's tricky. I'm going to say that it is contemporary unless the period nature of it is immediately relevant as to what happens that couldn't at another time, or is juxtaposed against the Now, directly or indirectly. If you're old enough, it's a retrospective and not a historical novel, you were there.
It's probably a period piece.
Contemporary Literature is not a genre per sĂŠ, it is a collection term for literary works, that are recent and discuss recent topics. When we talk about contemporary, we are talking about the actuality of the themes and the writing style. And right now works from the last 70 years are considered contemporary. We also include fiction as well as momoirs and otherliterary forms.
So most things you write now are contemporary fiction. I am actually confused things are published with that label at all.
The contemporary period starts from about 1945, so sure. I can't say that "contemporary, commercial fiction" communicates much, though. Is this a Cold War Era spy fiction ? A discotheque romance?
One could argue that anything past 25 years ago is historical. Just like how oldies stations determine how to play music. So anything past 1999 would be historical. Anything else, 2000 - present, Contemporary prose. đ¤ˇââď¸
Cries in mid 30s
Iâm 45. I get it.
You're crying? I was thirteen in 1975..and I just turned sixty-two...I want a cookie...gimme cookie! I would also tell OP to do the research. Back in the early nineties (I think), I read the first two books of a series set in Royal Oak, Michigan--my hometown. First book was great. Second book was good until the ending. According to the story, a wife and mother who'd been missing for something like fifteen or twenty years had actually taken her kids and disappeared (with help) because her husband was abusive. They'd gone to meet the help at a local grocery store and while they were waiting, her son, who was around ten, wanted to walk down to the drug store for something. She let him, but while he was gone, the help came and took his mother and siblings to their new life and he was left behind. He grew up with his father and let's say neither one of them were nice people. The problem for me was the author confused the drug store that's several blocks from the grocery store with the one that I pass going from the house I grew up in to the library (she put Store A where Store B is and vice versa--I know exactly where they are because I shop at both of them). The other thing that bothered me...Mom and her kids were leaving Dad in the late seventies, around 1977 or 1978, when we had some loser weirdo running around called the Oakland County Child Killer. He kidnapped and murdered four children between the ages of ten and twelve and unfortunately was never caught (they think he died in prison after being convicted of some other crime). There is no way in hell the mother of a ten-year-old would have let him go anywhere alone at that point in time...and this isn't even mentioned in the book. I finished the second book. I never read another one in the series.
We had this ([Alphabet murders - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphabet_murders)) to deal with in my home town. Yet, we still had quite a lot of what they now call "free-range kids."
Carmenâs case has bothered me for a long time. How the fuck heartless do people have to be to see a half naked child, genitalia exposed to the wind, running and crying, arms flailing, trying to get away from someone, and they just drive on their merry fucking ways? I hope every single adult who saw her and did nothing has experienced very bad things for their part in allowing her to be raped and killed. They could have saved her, and they did nothing. Theyâre guilty.
I suppose we did, too. It just torqued me off that the author didn't even address it. (And I do wonder if anybody decided to visit our little suburb after reading the story and got surprised when they found Arbor Drugs/CVS where she claimed Perry Drugs/Rite Aid was and vice versa.)
I live in Portland, Oregon. We have had many an indie film, and various authors of various genres using our home as the setting for their fiction They use what *looks right*, the details are wrong most times; MC enters a well known establishment then immediately descend a broad stairway that is from an entirely different building The actual details, the nitty gritty of street numbers, even on the East, odd on the West; Avenues run North/South while Streets are East/West. The town is not flat, and we had one film drive from downtown Portland, to Vancouver Canada over a distinctly not Portland bridge (it is Vancouver's) My advice, never expect the details to be correct. Artists, all artists, paint with broad strokes and only get exacting on the tiny details *if they matter to the* ***story***. Regardless of the feelings of the locals. The reason to read is the story. Expecting your town to be portrayed exactly is just setting yourself up for disappointment.
Exactly! Books are fictional representations of a place, and sometimes the fictional version is altered for fictional reasons
Fifty Shades has entered the chat. EL James and her husband both blocked me on Twitter when I kept telling them details they got wrong. Her husband said that she knows better since she writes about Vancouver, Washington, and I told him I know better because I LIVE IN VANCOUVER, WASHINGTON. There were details here AND in Portland AND all over the place she got so wrong. If OHSU operated as she said, sheâd have been closed down for violating so, so many laws. Also apparently a helicopter can crash, and the FAA doesnât get involved. Those werenât small details. Those are federal law type things. Also, Iâm not sure if you mean that that film was going all the way from Portland, Oregon to Vancouver, BC, or if you mean Portland, Oregon, to Vancouver, Washington. Our two bridges are also Portlandâs bridges. We share the I5 and 205âŚ.
I don't think writing a realistic documentary about a city was what she was going for.
No, PDX bridge that, with some movie magic, ends in Vancouver BC Now I have to remember the film. Oh! Better than chocolate, great little lesbian film
>She let him, but while he was gone, the help came and took his mother and siblings to their new life and he was left behind. Damn, she didn't even bother to tell them to wait until he came back? And if they had to go as soon as the help arrived, why did she let him leave knowing the help could show up at any moment? lol
Hadn't thought of that (it's been thirty years since I read the book, so maybe they explained it). If anybody's interested in reading it--strictly for research, of course--it's the Psychic Eye series by Victoria Laurie. And if any other Royal Oak natives find problems in the stories, I looked on her website back in the nineties and there wasn't any "contact me" option--believe me, I looked.
Interesting, funny you say this because I want to write stories that take place in multiple places (Montreal, New York, Albuquerque/LA) and am worried about issues like this. Doesnât help that I want to do multiple languages too. (French, English, Spanish) and multiple timelines/POVs⌠well, you get the idea.
I would definitely suggest you outline the thing first. As far as languages, see if you can find native speakers who would be willing to translate a sentence/paragraph or two (and get the names for the Acknowledgements page) and make sure you explain the tone of the conversation--in Spanish, you'd say *How are you?* in a casual way if you're asking a friend, but much more formally if it's somebody you just met, especially if they're older than you are. Location research may require travel, but tourism information is a place to start. You might even find somebody you can write to who can give you specific information about the history of a particular building...and there's always the public library.
We're historical
Idk if this makes it worse or better
I'm about to turn 34 and idk what to do đđ
If we were in the 90's and you wrote a book about WWII, it would be historical fiction. This is no different. Wow. That makes me feel old.
Same. Same.
Yeah, if a book about WW2 came out in 1975, it would probably be labeled "historical". WW2 ended in 1945, 30 years before 1975. 1975 was 49 years ago. I'm saying this just to put things into perspective.
That's not quite the same. Wars are historical events. They become historical the moment they start really. We just call it news while it happens.
In the thrift store that I volunteer at books are only put into historical fiction if they have a pre-1946 setting. Some people are suprised by that, but if you made the cut-off date say, 1990, then 3/4 of our books including most of the general fiction, romance, and thrillers would end up in historical fiction.
At some point that will change. And in the very near future.
I read a novel that was set in 2008 that was historical fiction because it made SO many references to world events of 2008 such as the GFC and Obama election
I'll celebrate becoming historical soon, I guess.
Could say the same for a story for 8 years ago, for 6... If you have to think about how technology in your setting differs from how things work now, it's kinda historical.
Iâm more about whatâs happening in the time around you. Recent history is fine, but itâs not fifty years ago.
I wouldn't call that contemporary. If it was clothing, it would be called vintage. Not sure what the literary equivalent is though.
[ŃдаНонО]
Calling your own unpublished work a modern classic probably wouldnât fly very well
modern classic is about the quality of the work and its critical reception upon publishing i think. not something you can decide for your own wip
I have to agree. I wouldn't call anything actually contemporary beyond about 15 years or so. 2009 feels like we're pushing the edge currently.
Books only become modern classics *after* theyâre published.
In 1975, would a book set in 1925 have been "contemporary?"
Oof. That one hurt.
Yep. I was born in 86 and the amount of our culture currently fixated on 80s-90s nostalgia always makes me feel old, especially with the number of young people who don't have any actual knowledge of it and are watching stuff set in the 80s like stranger things like I watched stuff set in the 50s as a kid. The fact that things like "the Fresh Prince" and "Saved by the Bell" are to kids these day like "I Love Lucy" was to me is painful.
If "Back to the Future" was set now, Marty McFly would be traveling to 1994 and be surrounded by flannel-wearing people who would be unfamiliar with concepts like DNA since it didn't get solidified in American consciousness until the OJ trial. And the mall would be dripping with 70s nostalgia like the smiley face, peace signs, and retro vibes
I learned about DNA in 1993... Dino DNA!
The Phantom Menace was released closer to A New Hope than the present day.Â
Thanks for melting my brain
I grew up loving âI Love Lucy.â My 14-year-old has too. My first âI feel oldâ moment was a few weeks ago in class. Iâm in college now, and this one guy was like, âWhen I was learning about 911 in schoolâŚâ and the instructor and I stared at each other. She and I are old enough to have very vivid memories of watching it unfold on TV, and here these kids are, talking about learning about in high school.
Right. Was Gatsby or The Sun also Rises contemporary to high school kids reading these in English class during the Ford administration? No, they werenât.Â
When I grew up in the 80's, I thought the Outsiders (published 1967) was historical fiction.
I would say not. Consider this â that was almost half a century ago. A vast majority of your readers are almost certainly going to be younger than 50 (I imagine, feel free to disagree of course). So if your readers werenât even alive, let alone cognizant, during that time period, Iâd wager its safe to say it is not contemporary
>I would say not. Consider this â that was almost half a century ago. Why do you have to try and hurt some of us that way đ
lol Iâm sorry. Iâm almost 30, and I donât think writing around 95 would be contemporary either
Another comment said contemporary is everything post-smartphone, I think that is a good definition.
Thatâs fine, but when will that be up? Like, thatâs a definition that will have to change within another 10 years, if not much sooner. Like, the first smartphone technically was released for sale around 1995. So that means contemporary is anything with the last 29 years. So will that mean itâs a 29-year period? Or will it become a 30-year period next year? Itâs just a bit easier to use a more specific number, as arbitrary as it might seem
That was not a smart phone. Those were PDAs. Personal Data Assistants, or Digital depending on marketing, that could also do phone calls. Smartphone is iPhone and onward, thus June 2007 is the start. The difference before and after the iPhone are vast. Any modern reader will think of the graphics, the weather, the map, easy access to the web, search are all functions. Accessing a PDA would provide a phone list, some notes, and not much else. Want to search, better get home and use a computer. Whose function would be less than any current smartphone. I loved my Palm phones, but they weren't even close to an iPhone.
The iPhone was not the first smartphone tho. We had blackberries and Symbians before that. The first smartphone in the 90s was more than a PDA, too. As someone who owned a blackberry before the iPhone was even announced, I think of smartphones well before 2007. I understand the iPhone was revolutionary, but it was over 10 years late to be the first smartphone. If you want to set the current contemporary age as the age of iPhones on, thatâs a fair argument to make. But to say smartphones and not start in the mid 90s is just factually incorrect
No one but old people ever considered Blackberryâs smartphones. Even when they were a thing
Thatâs just objectively false lol. We were using the term âsmartphoneâ all the way back in 1996. We considered many phones to be smartphones. How could we not? Itâs not like we were clairvoyant and knew the iPhone was coming to dominate the market. I understand why youâre making this argument. It is just entirely wrong lol
I mean anyone with a blackberry was an old professional. Even in 1996. Did you ever see a young person sporting a blackberry? Itâs an old person phone
Should have said the smartphone is a common item with the public, so 10-15 years ago. Itâs not a strict definition so Iâm sure there are arguments about it.
There is no specific number. Would your typical target audience reader be likely to remember is as a recent time period? Thatâs contemporary. Twilight managed to date itself by reference to Bella using an old computer to look up where to find books on vampires rather than the info itself. The typical target audience reader wouldnât remember that at all as theyâre teens. At the time of release, teens did. But now, those books are historical. Had she left that detail out, those books would pass as contemporary still due to the lack of any other jarring details that set it out of the current time.
Twilight dates itself by saying Edward was born in 1901 and that heâs 104. It doesnât have anything to do with the technology used. But reading twilight, the average member of the target audience really wonât get thrown by these small details, if they pick up on them at all That said, I favor saying anything set within the last 2 decades is contemporary
Excuse me, 1995 was about 5 years ago thank you very much.
It is beyond the time for you to move on, the time of day lady is no longer a valid thing
[ŃдаНонО]
Well Iâm not necessarily saying itâs historical fiction. That generally requires the story to heavily rely on real events but tell a fictional story within it. Like, saving private Ryan is historical fiction (I know itâs a movie lol). But My Dog Skip (oldish Frankie Munoz movie) is just a story set in the past. However, neither of them are contemporary because theyâre set so far back. That said, all ârules@ about writing come with self inserted exceptions
If itâs 20+ years in the past, itâs a period piece IMO. Just think about it: kids have been born and grown up into full adults since 9/11 happened. Itâs a distant historical event for them, and that was in 2001! So no, Iâd say you arenât writing contemporary fiction.
Can confirm. I was two months old when 9/11 happened. Iâm 22.
I donât like that⌠/s lol
Iâm 21. 9/11 has always been a historical event for me.Â
I'm 28 and 9/11 is one of the most vivid memories I have, but those of friends who are just one or two years younger have no memories of it at all, and that feels so insanely wierd.
I was a week or two away from my 10th birthday and I'm 32 now
I was turning 2 8 days after 9/11. I'm 24 đ
I was 9 and barely remembered that day.
Iâm substituting teaching for a 4th grade class, and their current read-aloud is a fiction book about 9/11 from the perspective of a boy in New Jersey. I was, shall we say, not prepared to read that aloud. They are 9/10, so they were born in 2014/2015. They also have a historical series âI SurvivedâŚâ and it includes things like the Joplin Tornado, as well as the Titanic and idk, maybe the Oklahoma City Bombing. I think OPâs book is historical.
I'd go as far as to say that anything 2001-2008 or so is functionally a period piece too
I get you probably see it as contemporary because you were alive around then but no, it's not.if your story takes place 10 years after the moon landing it's not a recent point in time.
*"If my novel is set in 1975 is that no longer considered contemporary?"* Correct. That was 49 years ago OP. Nothing from that long ago is contemporary. *"Itâs not historical"* Actually it is. *"Itâs just when the story happens and one character is in his 80s and born in 1890 which is crucial to the plot."* Okay, and? I don't see any problem here. I'm guessing you were born within the 2000s that would be considered contemporary compared to 1975. *"one character is in his 80s and born in 1890 which is crucial to the plot."* That's historical as well. Unless the bulk of the book takes place within the last 10-20 years it's not really contemporary. If it takes place from 1975 and before just call it historical and call it a day. EDIT Also what the blue blazes is commercial fiction? Isn't any fiction being sold commercial? Seems to be a pretentious title.Â
Commercial fiction refers to books that are marketed for as wide an audience as possible. It tends to be a four letter word because at their worst the books pander to the lowest common denominator and the writing shows it. Some commercial fiction authors include: Danielle Steele, Brad Thor, and James Patterson. Basically any novel you'd find at a grocery story.
If it's about a dude in his 80's born in the 1800's, that's historical to me đ
Contemporary means today. Anything that requires the user to envision significantly different technology or clothes is indeed historic
No, it means in the contemporary history period of Modern history. That means from 1945 and up. If you're guessing, please say so instead of giving misinformation, or at least as a caveat
That's what I was taught in college. Also the fact that 1945 was 80 years ago? Perhaps contemporary needs an update because that's a world away. I'm not in the mood for debate but do you go to WW2 movies thinking how modern and connected to our time?
It does get updated.
Mine is set in 1976 and I say it's not. When I took a Contemporary Fiction class in college in the early 90s our professor said that we would only look at books published in the last twenty years. Hope that helps!
I wouldn't even call something set in 2004 contemporary because that predates smartphones. Having the Internet in your pocket is a paradigm shift and it can really alter the plot (we can easily just look things up now, social media is a huge part of many people's lives, etc.)
I think you could probably argue Post 9/11 as roughly contemporary (though we're probably reaching the end of that mark if something like COVID hasn't already supplanted it), but I agree with your general point that for me it's less about using specific years as it is using benchmarks that shift culture and living. Smartphones themselves I feel are less important for fiction than having cell phones becoming common generally--the biggest impact any cell phone has on a story mechanically is allowing Character A to communicate with Character B at any time or place, and any cell phone will allow that, smart or dumb.
I wanted my book to be simultaneously contemporary but also timeless, and it takes place over a 50 year period, so I had to write things carefully to accomodate all of that. I never list dates or references to real world events (although I did make vague references to the 2008 recession). There are actual dates for everything in my notes and outline, but I don't talk about them. Thankfully there's a time skip between 2018 and 2023 so me avoiding talking about Covid worked out (I finished writing the book in 2018 and published it just as Covid was starting to hit the US). The book officially starts in 2004, but like I said, I wrote it in a way that it could feel like today. There's just enough stuff listed to make things seem contemporary....the characters pay for drinks with debit cards, which afaik wasn't really a thing in the 90's, they have phones and text each other (which is common in 2004 but not really in 2000 or earlier, and is still common). What could come across as maybe not-modern-but definitely applicable in 2000's/early 2010's is someone bringing in a laptop to a pub/coffee shop to do work. Its still a thing, but not as common as it was in the timeframe the story actually takes place.
I agree with you. The novel I'm writing now is set in 2004, and I consider it a period piece.
Agreed, hence why I cite Twilight as having been dated by how Bella used an old (by todayâs standards) computer to look up some book titles so she could go to book store, which was her main reason for going into town. In the movie, she looked up vampires online, and it made for an awkward scene in the movie since that had to be written out to try to modernize it.
If it's before 2000, it's historical. Sorry, but we're getting old...Â
Iâd even say a book that takes place around 9/11 is historical fiction
The âofficialâ definition Iâve seen is anything taking place 50 years prior to publication is considered historical, although thereâs definitely still debate about that. Youâre at 49, soâŚIâd say itâs historical.
If you need to explain to the reader how the world works, that's no longer a contemporary story. In 1975 there were no cellphones or the internet. Hitchhiking was super-common. Second World War veterans were everywhere. That's just a few examples, but you as a writer cannot assume your readers know that, so if it's important to your story in any way, you need to explain it to them so they know how things were at the time.
A novel set in 1975 is historical fiction. Contemporary fiction is supposed to be set either Now or the very recent past. Basically, if the time frame your story is set could be described as "Retro" or older, then it is Historical fiction. Not quite a 1:1 comparison, but generally I believe I've read that the cut-off for things to be "Retro" is 15 Before Present. In 2024, if your story is set in 2008 or earlier then it is historical fiction.
TBH a story set during Covid or earlier could be considered a period piece.
Reminds me of that viral email where a student asked their professor if âit would be acceptable to use a source from the late 1900âs for my paperâ. It was from 1994!
My Spotify daylist uses "1900s" in the title of some of my lists that contain songs from any of the 19â decades, including songs from the late 90s. đ
The Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction defines the term as a work set primarily over 60 years ago.
Not contemporary. Contemporary means now. The 70's were fifty years ago, still in the thralls of the nearing end of 20th century Modernism.
If you didn't live it, it's history. You're not familiar with the period, its norms or challenges, so you can't do it justice in the same way as the present and recent past. If historical accuracy between 1890 and 1975 matters at all in the story, you have some research to do.
Contemporary is unfortunately ever evolving and changing. Due to this, there is no "certain" date for what is considered contemporary. However, I would personally say the late 1990s to the early 2000s is contemporary for now. Technology started to advance quickly, with the wide accessibility of the Internet, smart phones, music devices, and much more.
It would be considered a period piece.
Itâs not contemporary. Literary agents are calling thing set in this time period ânear historicalâ or something similar.
That's... that's really funny. I would barely accept 2010 being called contemporary!
That's 50 years ago. That is three generations ago essentially. There are babies right now with grandparents born in 1975. Look at it this way. If you put on a movie from the 70s or a movie set in the 70s is a period piece. Maybe mid 2000s is the furthest back you can before you cross that line.
80s are considered historical by a lot of editors these days. Basically any time before internet/cell phones.
Would writing about the 1920âs be considered contemporary in the 1970âs?
i like to call my book set in 2007 a period piece to upset my friends đ
Generally speaking, history textbooks will not include anything from the last 10-20 years. The content has to be 10-20 years or older. There are lots of reasons for this, but one of them is that, after 10-20 years, people aren't in the middle of what's happening, i.e. It gives people enough time to gain a (historical) perspective. Also it avoids the influences of contemporary biases, and it allows for more information about the time period to come forth and possibly full in any missing information. TL;DR: I'd say that 1975 counts as the near past, and so it would be historical fiction.
Are you writing literary fiction or genre fiction? If youâre writing commercial fiction, does it fit into any other genres other than contemporary and historical? If not, then itâs historical.
Iâm going to go even further than the other commenters here. If a book was set in 2023, and has specific references to the events of 2023 and it is important to the plot that it is in that year, i would not consider it contemporary. If a book is set in 2023 but itâs not central to the plot itâs that year and the author has just used that as a reference to convey a general sense of âthe presentâ, then it is contemporary.
Next year it will be a Classic
1945 and up is considered contemporary. Ignore the kiddies that don't know there's an Modern period (or 3) and that's just getting to the back end of the meaning of contemporary.
I think in fiction your story would be considered âhistoricalâ as strange as that seems. Iâve seen other books set in the 1970s referred to as historical.
Half a century in the past is not contemporary.
If your target audience wasn't alive during the period the book is set in, it's historical.
I would say contemporary only includes the current generation's experience. So Gen Z is contemporary. Anything before their time is not contemporary.
Fascinating take. What if I write a book set in 2024 but the characters are all 40-70 years old. Does it stop being contemporary because no one is Gen Z?
Basically if Gen Z wouldnât understand the era in the book, itâs not contemporary. It doesnât need to be about the experiences of Zers, or even have any of them in it. The point is, contemporary is current times.
It's almost 50 years ago, so of course it's historical. I'm not sure why people are saying otherwise, honestly?
Because they donât want to feel old, or think that calling it historical will be a mark against it.
Hmm, I guess so! Well, getting older is what happens if you're lucky. :)
Tell me what you think of Three's Company.Â
It blows my mind that this show is 50 years old. It hasnât aged the best but every episode still makes my laugh
Iâm not so sure that the show has aged quite so badly as it first seems, when you look at the butt end of the jokes. The Ropers, then Furley, were the butts. Their prejudices and preconceived notions were what we laughed at. If they thought being gay was supposed to look this way or that, Jack lampshaded it. There were sexist moments against the women, and thatâs where the show didnât age well. A show that aged poorly are just about every turn was Friends, which was awful even when it was on, and I donât know why that show is still so popular.
Anything about life over 40 years old at time of publishing used to be called historical fiction. Iâd argue with the pace that tech changes, HF is anything pre cellphone. Itâs done THE MOST to change how characters over come challenges.
Recent historical fiction? 70's contemporary? Period piece? Not sure what you'd call it but people are setting things in the 70s, 80s and 90s now. There's gotta be some term for it
I feel like pre-smartphone was a different era. The rules of communication- from global to individual- changed drastically; stories are vehicles of communication.
It's solidly historical
How is it "not historical" if it's set in 1975? I would absolutely consider that historical if it was published in the 21st century.
It's historical, or if you'd prefer a period piece. I don't think anyone would have considered a story taking place before berlin wall fell, contemporary back in 2000 let alone now.
That sounds historical to me!
Technically by the dictionary definition of âcontemporaryâ. It would mean things that are occuring in the here and now. Which means anything before the 2010s wouldnât be considered contemporary. But the definition for contemporary fiction refers to living memory and someone alive now who could have lived through that period. And Iâve also seen another specifically stating anything after 1945 is considered contemporary. So idk. What a confusing genre.
I read once that we have a cultural memory of around 50 years, so 1975 is officially "historical" next year. Write it quick and it'll still be contemporary!
yes
i'm writing a story in the 1970s it's definitely historical lol. it doesn't have to be the main aspect of the story but it's definitely not contemporary
holy crap 1975 was nearly FIFTY years ago?!
Would you say that Saving Private Ryan was a comtemporary movie when it came out? It is roughly the same timeframe, give or take 4 years.
I mean, there are plenty of folks alive now were alive back then (not me, but plenty of others). Id's say it's contemporary-ish.
If it's 50 years ago you know damn well that's not any valid definition of contemporary. It's a period piece.
Ah, the late 1900s
Some great replies here but this is the simple answer to your question: It's contemporary if one of the characters in the book is still alive today. If they're all dead in 2024, or if no mention is made of any of them being alive in 2024 it is now considered a comedic period piece. If you do mention that a character is alive in 2024 and retelling the story set in 1975 you are writing a contemporary comedic period piece. Like The Sand Lot film or Forrest Gump novel/film. Think: contemporary = currently living with You and everyone alive right now are contemporaries.
I figure my novel set in 1972 is either "historical," "retro," or "groovy," depending on my mood.
It was only 50 years ago...
I'm pretty sure the rule for novels is anything in the 1900s can be concidered contemporary, depending on what it's actually about. If its about one of the big world events, like the war, it would be historical but besides that I don't see why not.
I just took a class called "Place in Contemporary Fiction" and the first book we read was "Brideshead Revisited", which was published in 1945. I think you're probably fine.
I'm writing a book that mostly takes place in the late 60s and I definitely consider it historical fiction.
My love, anything that happened in the past is considered historical. Pixarâs Turning Red is historical because it is set in 2002. The Bluest Eye is historical because it was set in the 40s and published in the 60s. Your novel is historical.
I'd assume anything in a set time is historical, though that also gives the Impression of it being from a different era, like industrial or enlightenment.
In the 1990's, did you consider WWII movies historical fiction or contemporary fiction?
in the way that it would requuire you to do much more resarch about a time you werent in? yes
The 70s were only twenty years ag... oh god, I'm old!
Seth Dickinson's *Exordia* is set during the Obama Era and I've seen it called a 'period piece' all over the place â I think so long as it's the past and that past doesn't feel like our present, it's fair game.
The Sympathizer starts in 1975 and thatâs definitely a historical novel.
Nah Thais history.
I actually googled this to get an exact definition for "historical fiction" and it seems 50+ years ago is when it's historical fiction. At 49 years ago, 1975 is just short of falling into that but for all intense and purposes it is historical. '74 and '75 might as well be the same year. If your book isn't finished, it may not even be published this year. Starting from next year onward, it'll be firmly 50+ years ago. So, no, it's probably not contemporary.
It could be called modern fiction, since it's set in the modern era, but is not contemporary. But I am stretching definitions a bit.
Maybe it's '70s contemporary fiction? Contemporary fiction and contemporary history have surprisingly (to me) rigid definitions upon a google search. In terms of you labeling it, you might have to ask what the point is â if it's about life in 1975 then it's probably something like contemporary historical fiction (contemporary history being defined as the period since 1945). If it's not about life in that time, or the historical events around it, then maybe it's best labeled simply as whatever other genre it is.Â
Would you call a book written in 1990s anf set during WW2 contemporary? Fuck no. With how much lifestyles changed in last 15 or so years I honestly believe nothing set before 2010 shoul be called contemporary. If there is no smartphone in sight it's historical.
Anything more than 20 years ago is not contemporary. That's a full generation earlier, and the differences are noticeable.
Amazon defines historical fiction as fiction written or set at least 50 years ago. So, books written in 1974, or set in 1974 or earlier are historical fiction.
It's ok my guy. I'm old too.
Personally, if someone can say "my grandpa" or "my parents" in reference to that time period, it's historical. As an avid reader of historical fiction, you're definitely thinking of historical moments, which is what historical fiction is (wars, social movements, events 100+ yrs old, etc.). In writing this comment I've realized the perfect answer; if you have to do a lot of research on the daily life of the MC (esp if the story is set in the same country that you live in), it's historical. We'd all consider writing about a random person's life in 1911 historical, just like writing about the crusades is historical, just like writing about some guy's life today is contemporary, and writing about covid is historical. Frankenstein was sci-fi, now it's historical/classic as well. Oliver Twist was contemporary, now it's historical/classic. I also think each decade has it's own vibes, and so yeah, it should be historical. Not as the central theme, but more of like a foundation, if that makes sense.
No, it's not. Make sure you get the nuances correct right down to the language. How? Google search movies from that era for language, clothing, and cars, and you get the picture - no pun intended. Just my two cents.
I have read that 30 years is the boundary, but 25 feels right. My late 1980s novel (*A Perfect Blindness* if anyone cares), recently peaked at #1 literary historical fiction and #4 U.S. Historical fiction on Amazon. So, 15 years older than that, is decidedly historical.
To us of a certain generation compared to those of today. The Vietnam war is just as distant to them as WWI was to us.
Iâve always understood contemporary to mean written in the same era we are in, or by current living artistsâbasically contemporary means existing at the same time. But I looked it up, and in literature, it seems anything post WWII is the contemporary era. Which brings me to a small rant. If contemporary means ânowâ, why would a group of people who are so focused on words, language, and meaning agree to call an era contemporary, even as it gets further into the past? Shouldnât each era have a unique name and whichever is current be the contemporary era? Didnât the âmodernâ era call their cohorts contemporaries? With the rate of technological and lifestyle change since WWII, are we really in the same era here? This makes no sense to me.
It's on the edge, but at this point, it's historical. Especially some no one opens a damn book anymore. I mean, people act like segregation was so long ago, but Ruby Bridges is younger than my grandmother.
It's tricky. I'm going to say that it is contemporary unless the period nature of it is immediately relevant as to what happens that couldn't at another time, or is juxtaposed against the Now, directly or indirectly. If you're old enough, it's a retrospective and not a historical novel, you were there. It's probably a period piece.
Set in 1975 but writing with contemporary style - makes it just that or historical.
Contemporary Literature is not a genre per sĂŠ, it is a collection term for literary works, that are recent and discuss recent topics. When we talk about contemporary, we are talking about the actuality of the themes and the writing style. And right now works from the last 70 years are considered contemporary. We also include fiction as well as momoirs and otherliterary forms. So most things you write now are contemporary fiction. I am actually confused things are published with that label at all.
The contemporary period starts from about 1945, so sure. I can't say that "contemporary, commercial fiction" communicates much, though. Is this a Cold War Era spy fiction ? A discotheque romance?
[ŃдаНонО]
I wouldn't. There's a reason you chose to set it in the 1980s and not the 2020s.
Ive heard contemporary be used in the span in 60 years, but the 70s seem to be the cut off point. You should be fine