What Is Literary Fiction?

Folio: The Seattle Athenaeum invites you to the first Folio Dinner of 2026. Author Elizabeth George and writer–activist–educator Amber Flame will join us at the table for a lively exploration of the evening's big question: What is literary fiction and who gets to decide?

For decades, the publishing industry used the term Literary Fiction as a distinction between "high literature" and "commercial fiction", but to what extent does this designation reflect the work itself, rather than its intended audience? Is the term a meaningful descriptor or a byproduct of cultural, academic, and commercial gatekeeping?  

In an era where the distinction is increasingly porous, the two authors examine how we value stories through the lens of their own divergent careers, challenging the traditional binary between high-art and commercial accessibility.

Elizabeth George is the author of 22 British crime novels, five young adult novels, two short story collections, and two nonfiction books on the…