Lab lit

{{Short description|Realistic fiction about scientists}} '''Lab lit''' (also "lablit") is a loosely defined genre of fiction, distinct from science fiction, that centers on realistic portrayals of scientists and science as a profession.<ref name='Financial Times 2009-05-23'>{{cite news | first=Clive | last=Cookson | title=The real lab rats | date=2009-05-23 | url =https://www.ft.com/content/72985c24-465d-11de-803f-00144feabdc0 | work =Financial Times | access-date = 2009-05-27 }}</ref>

== Definition ==

Unlike science fiction, lab lit is generally set in some semblance of the real world, rather than a speculative or future one, and it deals with established scientific knowledge or plausible hypotheses.<ref name=nature>{{cite journal | author = Rohn, Jennifer |date=January 2006 | title = Experimental Fiction | journal = Nature | volume = 439 | issue = 19 | pages = 269 | doi= 10.1038/439269a| doi-access = free }}</ref> In other words, lab lit novels are mainstream or literary stories about the practice of science as a profession. They may or may not center exclusively on the science or the workplaces of scientists, but all tend to feature scientists as central characters. According to an article in the ''New York Times'', :"Lab lit is not science fiction, and in my opinion it’s not historical fiction about actual scientists (though some fictionalized biographies do appear on the list). Instead, in the Web site’s words, it “depicts realistic scientists as central characters and portrays fairly realistic scientific practice or concepts, typically taking place in a realistic — as opposed to speculative or future — world.'"<ref name=NYT2006>{{cite journal | author = Bouton, Katherine |date=December 3, 2012 | title = In Lab Lit, Fiction Meets Science of the Real World | journal = New York Times | pages = D2 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/04/science/in-lab-lit-fiction-meets-science-of-the-real-world.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0}}</ref>

Prominent examples of lab lit include ''Flight Behavior'' by Barbara Kingsolver, ''Intuition'' by Allegra Goodman, ''Mendel's Dwarf'' by Simon Mawer, ''Real Life'' by Brandon Taylor, and Richard Powers' ''The Echo Maker'' and ''Generosity''.<ref name=lablit> {{cite web | url = http://www.lablit.com/the_list | title = The Lab Lit List - Novels, films, plays and TV programs in the Lab Lit fiction genre | access-date = Sep 2, 2014 }}</ref> Novels set in the past featuring fictionalized explorations of real-life scientists can also be considered lab lit; examples include ''Kepler'' by John Banville, ''The Signature of All Things'' by Elizabeth Gilbert, ''Remarkable Creatures'' by Tracy Chevelier and ''Enigma'' by Robert Harris.<ref name="lablit"/>

== History and origins ==

Works of fiction that incorporate real science into, but are not considered science fiction have also been referred to as "science in fiction."<ref>Djerassi, Carl. "Science in Fiction ist nicht Science Fiction: Ist sie Autobiographie?" ''Fiction in Science – Science in Fiction,'' Ed. Wendelin Schmidt-Dengler. Wien: Verlag Hölder-Pichler-Tempsky, 1998</ref> Mary Shelley's ''Frankenstein'' his often cited as an early precursor of this genre.,<ref>Julie Maxwell, 'The Rise of Lab-Lit', ''Oxford Today'' 26 (2014) p. 35</ref> but realistic portrayals of science in fiction were relatively rare throughout most of the twentieth century. However, a notable example from the 1950s is Isaac Asimov's ''A Whiff of Death'', as well as examples from the beginning of the current upsurge include ''Cantor's Dilemma'' by Carl Djerassi.

The term "lab lit" was coined by Jennifer Rohn in an essay in 2005,<ref name="nature"/> along with the launch of the [http://www.lablit.com/ Lablit website].<ref>Jennifer Rohn, [http://www.lablit.com/article/1 Editorial: Welcome to LabLit.com. Our lights are now on!] 7 March 2005 (accessed Sept. 2, 2014)</ref> The term began to appear in the cultural pages of science magazines during the first decade of the 21st century<ref>Mawer Simon. “Science in Literature.” ''Nature, 434'' (2005): 297-299</ref><ref>"The power of fiction; Why do so many scientists secretly despise the novel, when a novelist's imaginative strengths can help us understand 21st-century science?" ''New Scientist,'' August 25, 2007</ref><ref name=physworld>{{cite web | url = http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/indepth/26533 | title = Physics World }}</ref> and has been championed by such scientist novelists such as Carl Djerassi, Ann Lingard<ref name=annlingard> {{cite web | url = http://www.annlingard.com/ | title = Ann Lingard's website }}</ref> and Jennifer Rohn. An upturn in the publication of lab-lit novels occurred in the 1990s, with five to ten new titles appearing annually in the early 2000s.<ref name=nature2010>{{cite journal | author = Rohn, Jennifer |date=June 2010 | title = More lab in the library | journal = Nature | volume = 465 | issue = 7298 | pages = 552 | doi= 10.1038/465552a| doi-access = free }}</ref><ref name="Haynes 31–44">{{Cite journal|last=Haynes|first=Roslynn D.|date=2014-06-10|title=Whatever happened to the 'mad, bad' scientist? Overturning the stereotype|journal=Public Understanding of Science|volume=25|issue=1|pages=31–44|doi=10.1177/0963662514535689|issn=0963-6625|hdl=1959.4/unsworks_38397|hdl-access=free}}</ref> The reasons for this increase are unclear, but may include factors such as an increased interest in and familiarity with science on the part of the general public, publishers, and established authors.<ref name="nature2010" /><ref name="Haynes 31–44"/>

==See also== {{Columns-list|colwidth=22em| *C. P. Snow *Hard science fiction *Mundane science fiction *Climate fiction *''Solar'' }}

==References== {{Reflist|2|}}

==External links== *[http://www.lablit.com/the_list List of Lab lit novels] at LabLit.com

Category:Literary genres Category:Fiction about science