25 Trends in Publishing: Hero Bright (Fantasy)

About the column: A handful of agents and interns who work with Cyle have learned the latest and (sometimes so, sometimes not so) greatest trends in publishing right now. Tune in each week to find out what’s trending, ranging from ABA to CBA, children’s to adult. The authors of these columns have included social media tags at the end to keep up with trends they are finding. They can also be found here. 

Trend #8 of 25: Hero Bright in Fantasy

Contributor: Theresa Hughes

Have you noticed just how dark fantasy stories seem to have gotten in the past decade?

There’s a reason for that. It’s been previously mentioned on this blog how the success of Game of Thrones resulted in a trend in the fantasy genre toward the darker, more hopeless stories. This type of story is sometimes referred to as a grim dark.

But this boom in grim dark fiction, particularly fantasy, resulted in an oversaturation of dark fantasies in the market. And publishers are starting to notice.

But this boom in grim dark fiction, particularly fantasy, resulted in an oversaturation of dark fantasies in the market. And publishers are starting to notice.

There is now an empty space in the market for hero bright stories. Hero bright stories are basically the opposite of grim dark. These stories are about a hero who does good for the sake of doing good. They are about hope and love and the pursuit of true peace. And they often follow the hero’s journey much closer than a grim dark would.

Fantasy started as a genre of imagination, looking toward a bright future and reminiscing on a enchanting past. George McDonald is said to be one of the first fantasy authors with stories like the Phantastes, a faerie romance, and The Light Princess, in which a princess literally floats away when not anchored to the ground.

But in my opinion, the true fathers of fantasy are J.R.R. Tolkien of Lord of the Rings and his good friend C.S. Lewis, the author of The Chronicles of Narnia. Both of these classic fantasy stories are grounded in hope and imagination. Middle Earth is a place with a mythical past and fantastical elements in daily life whereas Narnia consists of magical creatures and heroic prophecies of hope.

My point is that fantasy was created as an escape from reality into the imagination where hope and magic abounds. The grim dark trend in fantasy can only last so long before people get tired of the pain, sorrow, and hopelessness it often portrays. Hero bright stories will always be needed.

So write something with hope. Write a fantasy that gets your readers excited about the world. Give them magic and fuel their imagination. Write a hero bright.

Theresa Hughes is a Professional Writing student at Taylor University where she is learning to hone her writing craft to produce works of quality that will sell. With a mother who sells children’s books and a thirst for adventure, she began making up stories at a very young age.

Her love of books grew throughout her childhood, prompted by great stories and the scenic beauty of her hometown of West Chester, PA.

Her current projects include writing her debut YA sci-fi novel, posting videos on her YouTube channel wisegirlbooks, and blogging about her love of stories at wisegirlbooks.weebly.com.