Speculative fiction
Parent categories: fantasy - fantastic - fantastique - science fiction - fiction - illusion - magic - horror - fantasy
The term speculative fiction is often attributed to Robert A. Heinlein. In his first known use of the term, in his 1948 essay "On Writing of Speculative Fiction," Heinlein used it specifically as a synonym for "science fiction"; in a later piece, he explicitly stated that his use of the term did not include fantasy. Heinlein may have come up with the term himself, but there is one earlier citation: a piece in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in 1889, in reference to Edward Bellamy's Looking Backward: 2000-1887. [Jun 2006]
By medium: science fiction books - science fiction films
Definition
Speculative fiction is an all-encompassing term which includes science fiction, alternative history (fiction), horror and fantasy.
The term is often used among writers and publishers who wish to break out of what is commonly called the "sci-fi ghetto". There is an unfortunate tendency, among both many publishers and a large segment of the reading public, to expect only science fiction stories from a person who has once written science fiction. Writers such as Harlan Ellison (an outspoken advocate of the term) have deliberately rejected identification as a science fiction writer for precisely such reasons; they don't reject the science fiction genre (in which Ellison, for example, still participates) but they do reject pigeonholing their work.
The abbreviation "sf" (usually spelled in lowercase, but occasionally uppercase) is often used to indicate either speculative fiction or what is traditionally known as "science fiction".
This term is coming into more frequent usage among younger fans who wish to break down the literary barriers between the horror, fantasy, and science fiction genres.
The term is also sometimes used without any implication of breaking down barriers or breaking out of the ghetto, simply as a convenient shorthand way to refer to multiple genres at once. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speculative_fiction [Feb 2005]