multigenre

Multigenre refers to a creative work that intentionally combines elements from more than one genre within a single work or across a single experience. Genres commonly blended include mystery, romance, science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, memoir, journalism, and documentary styles. Multigenre writing seeks to reflect complexity and ambiguity by crossing genre boundaries and employing multiple narrative modes.

Forms of multigenre work appear in literature, film, theater, and interactive media. Techniques include shifting narration, intertextual references, embedded documents, juxtaposition of different tones, and the deliberate use of genre conventions in new contexts. The approach can also involve framing devices, such as a narrator who introduces diverse genres or a structure that alternates between genres chapter by chapter.

In literature, David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas blends science fiction, historical fiction, thriller, and literary fiction across its six interlinked stories. The Princess Bride fuses fairy-tale fantasy with adventure and romance. Michael Chabon’s The Yiddish Policemen’s Union combines alternate history with noir detective tropes. In film and television, Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction merges crime, drama, and dark comedy, while Westworld combines science fiction with Western motifs.

Historically, multigenre writing grew out of late 20th-century experimentation and postmodern interest in blending forms. Critics discuss multigenre works as a way to reflect hybrid identities, to explore boundaries between reality and representation, and to reach diverse audiences. They may also challenge conventional marketing categories and literary-critical expectations.

While multigenre works risk confusion or uneven reception if audiences expect a single, clearly defined genre, they are praised for expanding expressive possibilities and encouraging readers and viewers to interpret and synthesize multiple narrative modes.