2008: The Year Genre Was Accepted By The Mainstream?

It had to happen sooner or later, a little recognition for all things SF and Fantasy by mainstream establishments. I speak of the UK, since that's where we Solaris boys live. Not in the same house though; that would be too freaky, and George would spend way too long preening his beard in the bathroom mirror ;)

This weekend saw a wonderful write up on "The Fantastic Appeal of Fantasy" in the broadsheet national, the Daily Telegraph, penned by future Solaris centre-forward Mark Chadbourn.

It's the latest in a few bits and pieces, such as these blog postings on the Guardian Online. I've noticed significantly more blog postings on that site—people leaping in with zest on the comments, coming out of the closet to admit—yes!—they're fans of SF and Fantasy literature. Yes, I'm starting to use the 'L word'—literature—because that's how it's now being treated.

And there's more! There was the BBC Worlds of Fantasy series, which discussed the major players of the genre—not really getting into the juicy details, and wheeling out some questionable 'celebs' they had on file.

All of this within a couple of months.

So is 2008 the year that the mainstream began to welcome in genre?