Book concierge No.1: Upmarket Fiction for Naomi

My friend Naomi was the first person to get in touch after I announced I was kicking off this new book concierge feature. She sent me the following request (submit your own here):

I’m looking for a book club type book - fiction, maybe romcom vibes, maybe a bit higher brow. Big fan of Taylor Jenkins Reid and Celeste Ng. Recently enjoyed Book lovers, It ends with us, Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow, Sorrow and bliss.

I am happy to help!

Stock photo from Wikimedia

The good thing, Naomi, is that within the publishing industry there’s a term that describes exactly what you’re looking for: upmarket fiction. It’s one of those terms that’s used more by writers and publishers (I guess you’d call that the ‘supply side’ of books) than it is by readers and magazines; Jericho Writers define it as follows:

Upmarket fiction often appeals to readers who are in book clubs, which is why it’s sometimes used interchangeably with the term book club fiction.

Sometimes, but not always, upmarket fiction involves family dynamics or family secrets, using family and its shifting meanings as a framework for storytelling and as one of the main themes.

Many examples involve life and death or mortality as a theme, too, possibly because – in order to create a strong plot – writers of upmarket fiction sometimes use crime to structure the story.

As upmarket fiction is more of a category than it is a genre, it can be broken down even further using terms like upmarket women’s fiction and upmarket historical fiction. This can help readers and writers alike find the niche areas in which they want to surround themselves/write about.

For you, Naomi, I’m going to stay with books anchored firmly within the real world, and the here and now. It looks like you want books that have something to say about the world, and that have women at the centre of them, as well as satisfying plots.