Science fiction, a form of fiction that deals with the impact of science upon society or individuals. The term science fiction was popularized in the 1920s by the American publisher Hugo Gernsback. The Hugo Awards, given annually since 1953 by the World Science Fiction Society, are named after him.
Science fiction is a modern genre because writers in antiquity made no attempt at scientific and technological plausibility, which distinguishes science fiction from speculative genres such as fantasy and horror. The genre formally emerged in the West, where the social transformations wrought by the Industrial Revolution first led writers and intellectuals to extrapolate the future impact of technology.
Science fiction writers often seek out new scientific and technical developments in order to prognosticate freely the techno-social changes that will shock the readers’ sense of cultural propriety and expand their consciousness. This approach was central to the work of H.G. Wells, a founder of the genre and likely its greatest writer.
In 1818 Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley took the next major step in the evolution of science fiction when she published Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus.