Until recently I thought ‘uplit’ meant ambient lighting, like in the picture, but last week, at a workshop called ‘The Kindness Effect’ I learnt it’s actually a genre, or a literary trend –  one that has empathy at its core.

Up Lit has been a thing since 2017 apparently, and it’s on the rise, as more and more we seek kindness in a world that seems increasingly polarised. As news feeds hit new lows in negativity, we need an antidote. We crave stories of every day heroism and human connection.

Up Lit, in short, is uplifting.

Books that fit into this genre aren’t the same as ‘feel good,’ they often deal with dark subject matter, but there’s a seam of hope and humanity running through the narrative.

So what titles fall under the Up Lit umbrella?

The Trouble with Goats and Sheep, by Joanna Cannon, is a much cited example. As is Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman, and Mike Gayle’s The Man I think I Know. I’d add to that anything by Sarah Winman (her A Year of Marvellous Ways) is one of my favourite recent novels.

Having read some brilliant but wrist-slittingly miserable literary fiction recently, I welcome this type of story. It rewards the time invested in reading it with a feeling of optimism.

Discovering this trend was a lightbulb moment for me. I’ve struggled to put my own novel into a genre. My publisher calls it ‘literary’, but it contains elements of mystery and a touch of magic realism. It starts off gritty and urban before it moves to the country. It deals with some grim topics. But ultimately, I hope, it’s a redemptive tale.

So now, finally,  I know what to call it! My book is Up Lit. And I hope this appetite for uplifting literary fiction continues to be on the up!