thumb|[[Bookstores will typically shelve science fiction and fantasy books separately from the general or literary fiction section. Katowice, Poland.]]
Escapist fiction, also known as escape fiction, escapist literature, or simply escapism, is fiction that provides escapism by immersing readers in a "new world" created by the author. The genre aims to compensate for a real world the reader perceives as arbitrary and unpredictable compared to the clear rules of the constructed "new world". It encompasses a number of different genres within it; any fiction that immerses the reader into a world different from their own is fundamentally escapist fiction. Escapist literature aims to give readers imaginative entertainment rather than to address contemporary issues and provoke serious and critical thoughts.
Historically, the arts, and literature in particular, have been acknowledged for its ability to distract readers from the hardships of reality. During the Great Depression, readers turned to escapist fiction as it provided them a mental escape from the bleakness of the economy during that period of time. Fiction books and novels were an affordable and easy means for readers to escape into another world, so people used escapist fiction to provide them with a temporary psychological escape from the realities of their world.
J. R. R. Tolkien, a linguistic scholar, is one of the essential figures in escapist fiction. He is the author of The Lord of the Rings, which is a classic example of escapist fiction. He wrote it to illustrate the meaning of his essay "On Fairy-Stories". He admitted that fairy stories were something of an escape, he believed people should be provided an escape from the world of factories, machine guns and bombs. Though fairy-stories are by no means the only medium of escape, they are one of the more obvious and (to some) outrageous forms of "escapist" literature. The popular titles such as the Harry Potter series by written by J. K. Rowling, The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis, Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games, and Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, are examples of escapist fiction. Each of these novels allow the reader to essentially escape into a fantasy world that is not their own. It can be argued that these novels, and similar novels, add to the understanding that escapist fiction is not a negative thing stating that literary fiction critics misunderstood the term as denial or evasion of real life issues instead of layered and complex way of looking at the world and that escapism and realism are not mutually exclusive.
These novels can provide readers with a moral compass or teach them lessons, they can be interpreted as a medium to represent and overcome an individual's personal fears, shortcomings, and, at times the need for this "escape". The secondary world, or fantastical one, is something that closely mirrors the primary one and would not be successful or satisfying if readers could not imagine it as realistic and relatable. Escapist fiction employs narrative strategies that engage and immerse readers whilst also distancing reader from their world and society. Escapist fiction seeks to engage readers in reflective and inquisitive processes encouraging readers to question and challenge their own cultural and social realities. A key element in escapist fiction is using techniques that encourage readers to enter into a new world whilst dually constructing a position of critical engagement. That is, a position whereby readers are encouraged to think critically and reflect upon contemporary social ideologies; identity, agency, the environment, social constructs, politics etc. Most popular culture and fiction created during the period of 1929 to 1941 did not deal with or contain any explicit references to the harsh realities of the Great Depression as a topic. This further supports this idea that in this context popular culture and fiction were largely utilised as a vehicle to escape the deprived and alienated living conditions characteristic of the period. In the 1950s and 1960s people tended to view the topic of escapism through a socio-political perspective, analysing how the dysfunctions of society trigger peoples need for escape. Reading fiction during the Great Depression was popular, readers searching for escapist literature had a vast array of materials to choose from, such as "pulps", comic strips, comic books, fiction novels, etc. The secondary world created in works of escapist fiction is something that closely mirrors the primary one. The secondary world is also a way of understanding and coping with the things we want to escape from in our primary world. This secondary world would not be successful if readers did not see it as plausible, real, and relating to their own world.
On the other hand, some literary critics hold escapist fiction in high regard, expressing it as a genre possessing a thematic depth and ideological complexity that is both appealing to readers and influential. These people argue against the negative connotations associated with escapist fiction. They argue that through encouraging readers to "escape" escapist fiction has the ability to position its readers to be perceptive to didactic and potentially formative ideological assumptions. Those who advocate for escapist fiction as a genre believe it holds a formative value for adolescents as they mature and can therefore offer similar socialising value to readers. The ideological views presented in escapist fiction are often implicit, that is, representations throughout escapist literature are informed and structured according to the accepted cultural and societal constructions. Agatha Christie, Enid Blyton, Barbara Cartland, Stephen King, J. K. Rowling, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Danielle Steel can be categorised as authors of escapist literature.
Escapist literature aims to create a relatable and believable alternate world, where the inhabitants struggle with dilemmas that the reader may encounter.