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While I personally believe that great stories are timeless, the publishing industry is influenced by trends to a certain extent. The major publishing houses want to respond to what readers are craving so they can make more sales and meet rising demands.

Think of it like Netflix putting out more bingeable shows. Publishing houses are trying to do the same thing by capturing readers’ attention while giving them a story they love.

So, in this article I want to present some trending book genres for 2022. It’s a topic many writers are interested in, and I too was curious to research it.

If you spend any time on “publishing Twitter” or BookTok, then you'll likely see literary agents and publishing house editors talking about what types of stories they want to see more of. Using this as the basis of my research, I used the advanced search feature on Twitter to look up different genre keywords with the hashtag “#MSWL,” which stands for “manuscript wishlist.” Agents and book editors use this hashtag to call out what types of projects they are looking for. I ran multiple searches for these tweets from the first two weeks of January and compiled a few trends I noticed.

Now, this research project I did is not definitive by any stretch of the imagination. It is anecdotal to what I saw online. Another disclaimer is that I absolutely do not recommend changing or trashing your project if it doesn't fall into one of these categories. That is not the purpose of manuscript wishlists in general, as most agents and editors represent a diverse array of projects at any given time. The purpose of this article is simply to inform writers on where the trends may be heading this year.

1. Horror

The first genre trend that I saw is horror, which surprised me. When I was working in the publishing industry, horror was a genre I perceived as being published in niche circles. The imprint I worked at, Ballantine Books, didn't really publish horror. Usually specialized sci-fi/fantasy imprints would publish horror, so it is interesting to see that, on Twitter, the horror genre is surfacing, with many agents requesting horror manuscripts.

Why could this be? I wonder if the recent popularity of horror dramas, such as Squid Game, has something to do with it. I also wonder if, with the pandemic, we're all in a strange headspace and want to lean into darker themes, which horror obviously delivers on.

Something I noticed when I saw agents and editors talking about horror is that they are using phrases like “literary horror” or “atmospheric horror.” I interpret those phrases to mean a horror story where the plot isn’t reliant on gory or violent elements for intrigue, but there is also strong character, pacing, and setting development.

It could also mean they are looking for horror manuscripts that could appeal to people who don't consider themselves horror readers, through a blend with the suspense trend that has been in vogue for a couple years now.

2. Romantic Comedies

The second trend I saw was rom-coms, which is pretty much the polar opposite of horror. I don’t know why agents and editors are requesting both of these vastly different genres, but it’s interesting to see that these genres are surfacing in tandem with each other.

Specifically, I saw that publishing professionals were looking for YA and adult rom-coms, some of them mentioning To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before as a reference point.

I can't help but wonder if the interest in rom-coms is operating as an antidote to the rise in darker fiction. It could be that people want something light-hearted and fun to balance the stress and angst we are feeling during these pandemic times.

3. Diverse Characters

The third trending book genre of 2022 I saw was diverse characters. This speaks to a broader movement within the publishing industry, where in the past years professionals have been trying to actively address its diversity issue by rebalancing the authors and books they publish, as well as the professionals they employ.

With that, many agents and editors are interested in seeing stories that feature more characters of color, disabled characters, or LGBTQ+ characters. They want to see these characters not just highlighted, but celebrated for their unique experiences and worldviews.

Something I saw specifically in the Twitter #MSWL was agents and editors looking for diverse characters within specific genres. For instance, they were looking for romance that featured diverse characters. An example of one of these is the hit from a couple years ago, Red, White, and Royal Blue, which is a gay romance novel that took off.

4. Thrillers

The fourth trending book genre I saw was thrillers. Thrillers are a perpetually popular genre that continue to hit the bestseller lists and continue to be made into films and shows. It’s actually one of the genres that I mention in my article on the best book genres because it is one I saw all the time when I worked in the industry.

On Twitter, I saw that publishing professionals were looking for both YA and adult thrillers. The tricky part here is that they are looking for stories with a fresh and unique twist. Because the thriller genre has been saturated in recent years, and even though it continues to be popular, you want to make sure your story is bringing something new to the table. If your premise is predictable or follows common genre tropes, it won’t captivate audiences.

I also saw a number of agents and book editors mentioning the Yellowjackets series, which indicates they are looking for fiction in line with that show, which I understand is psychological suspense with a bit of horror.

5. Fantasy

The last trend I noticed was agents and editors looking for fantasy. Most publishing professionals that were mentioning fantasy were mostly looking for either middle grade or young adult fantasy, but there were a few mentioning adult fantasy. A number of them were also looking for stories that combined romance and fantasy. They were also looking for fantasy narratives that weren't rooted in a western culture or tradition.

If you are working on a fantasy novel, I recommend being careful with who you send out your queries to. When I was going through the Twitter search, some agents had the word “fantasy” in their Tweets not because they were requesting it, but because they were calling out “do not query me with fantasy novels.” So it's important that you find agents who specialize in fantasy and who are looking for it. Otherwise, you might get an automatic rejection.

As I said in the intro, if you are not working on a novel that falls into one of these trending book genres of 2022, do not feel bad at all! It does not mean game over and it does not mean that you won't get published.

I just want to bring you as much insight and information as I can so that you can be as informed as possible when you head into the publishing journey. Plus, if you are thinking of starting a new project, this list of book publishing ideas can help kickstart your brainstorming.

Thanks so much for reading and happy writing!