Maybe you have heard of Biopunk. But if you’re not a regular Science Fiction reader, chances are you don’t have a clue what it is.

I’m writing a Biopunk book and I still hadn’t heard of it until recently. I should be ashamed, I know. The least thing a writer should know is the damn genre he or she is writing for, right?
I’m a debut author and I’m not in the slightest ashamed to admit that I’m far away from know-it-all. There are so many things I have to learn.
So there I was, with the finished first draft of my novel, wondering what genre it belongs to.

It’s Science Fiction, I know that much. I also know it could be classed in the New Adult category. We could also debate about the Young Adult category for readers 15 years old and over. I guess that discussion would fill its own blog post, so I’m not going to go into that now.

I kept thinking about all these deep-hearted Science Fiction lovers out there, expecting high-end action in military settings, battles between humans and aliens. Even though there are some elements of this in my book, it’s not what it really comes down to.

It’s important to know my audience, I have been told repeatedly. Well, I think I know my audience but I don’t know how to reach them.

By admitting on my Facebook Page ‘TheCrossmindSeries’ that I have written a Science Fiction book (have a look here if you’re interested: https://www.facebook.com/TheCrossmindSeries)I have attracted mainly male followers. At least that’s what my page statistics tell me.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my male followers on Facebook but it brings me to my next question: What kind of Science Fiction do these male followers expect? Any kind of story? Or military Science Fiction which still seems to be dominated by mainly male readers?

In an attempt to engage more female followers, I added the information that my book will fit the YA/NA niche. And it worked, I was able to attract more female followers to my page. Not really that surprising though, considering that Young/New Adult Fiction is mainly read by women.

Science Fiction is a huge genre. By creating sub-genres it makes it easier for readers to know what kind of story to expect. This is especially important if a writer doesn’t want to give away too much information about the plot in his book blurb, or if the writer – like in my case – hasn’t even published the cover and the blurb yet but still hopes to be able to connect with prospective future readers.

All these sub-genres still belong under the umbrella of Science Fiction. I think it works in my favor because even though my book is a SciFi book, I wouldn’t want to disappoint readers expecting military Science Fiction.

Biopunk is a sub-genre of Science Fiction focusing on biotechnology. It often contains elements of genomics, genetic engineering and manipulation in humans, animals, plants and other organisms like viruses. It explores the field of molecular biology.
I personally would even go further and add the field of mind science into this category, the exploration of telepathy and mind controlling with abilities to access the conscious and unconscious mind. Our brain functions through signal transfer between nerve cells, conducted by neurotransmitters at a molecular level. They could be manipulated, enhanced or replaced.
Biopunk offers endless possibilities to be explored within the Science Fiction genre.

As a physician, I have a special interest in Biopunk. We can’t deny that biotechnology is already a growing element of our society. Biopunk books give us a glimpse into a possible future, an idea how the future could be if we don’t deal with it responsibly.

These novels often take place in dystopian settings, in totalitarian governments, governments represented by Autocracy, Technocracy or Dictatorship with little or no place for individualism and free thinking by the people it rules. The plot often consists of elements of rebellion against this government, anarchistic or outlawed behavior against what is considered “norm”.
I imagine, this is where the word ‘punk’ derived from in Biopunk. This can also be found in other sub-genres of Science Fiction like Steampunk, Nanopunk or Cyberpunk which Biopunk is considered to be a part of.

Even though it is helpful to sub-devide the Science fiction genre, I do think that it has gotten out of control. If you look at recent sub-genres of Science Fiction (you can find examples here on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberpunk_derivatives ) you’ll find a whole list under this category. Decopunk, Atompunk, Woodpunk are just a few examples of these sub-genres that take the sub-categorizing to whole new level, and possibly a tad too far.

But despite this, I do think that sub-genres like Cyberpunk, Steampunk and Biopunk are worth exploring and deserve to be mentioned.

Let me know if you feel the same.

Maya

Here are some examples of Biopunk:

Books:
Ribofunk (short story) by Paul Di Filippo
The Island of Doctor Moreau by H.G. Wells
Movements of Mountains by Michael Blumlein
Xenogenesis (Trilogy) by Octavia E. Butler

Also check out this list: http://best-sci-fi-books.com

Movies:
Gattaca
The Island
Jurrassic Park