---
title: "Contemporary Fantasy Books"
description: "Browse award-recognized contemporary fantasy books with examples, counts, and a filtered app link."
canonical: "https://sffawards.com/subgenres/contemporary-fantasy/"
---

# Contemporary Fantasy Books

Fantasy set in the present or recent world, broader than urban fantasy and not necessarily city-centered.

- **matching books:** 26
- **recognitions:** 39
- **winner records:** 1
- **award years:** 1985-2021
- **updated:** Aug 28, 2026

[Open Contemporary Fantasy in the interactive browser](/?subgenres=contemporary-fantasy)

## Representative Books

- **The Onion Girl** by Charles de Lint - 4.17 average rating, 8,007 ratings, 2 recognitions, 0 wins, published 2001
- **Moonheart** by Charles de Lint - 4.05 average rating, 6,818 ratings, 1 recognitions, 0 wins, published 1984

## Related Links

- [Browse all subgenre pages](/subgenres/)
- [Urban Fantasy books](/subgenres/urban-fantasy/)
- [Paranormal Fantasy books](/subgenres/paranormal-fantasy/)
- [Low Fantasy books](/subgenres/low-fantasy/)
- [Read the browser guide](/guide/)
- [Browse award pages](/awards/)

## Goodreads Genre Reference

[View Contemporary Fantasy on Goodreads](https://www.goodreads.com/genres/contemporary-fantasy)

Reference link only; this site's subgenre assignments come from the local controlled taxonomy.