Nonfiction is writing about real people, events, and facts rather than made-up stories. When you read a biography of Abraham Lincoln, a book about how volcanoes form, or an article explaining how bees make honey, you're reading nonfiction. The information comes from research, observation, and true experiences, not from someone's imagination.

The word breaks down simply: non means “not,” so nonfiction means “not fiction.” Fiction writers invent characters and plots, while nonfiction writers investigate and explain what actually happened or exists. A novel about a detective solving mysteries is fiction. A book about real detectives and how they solve crimes is nonfiction.

Nonfiction includes many types of writing: biographies, history books, science textbooks, news articles, instruction manuals, and personal essays. When you write a report about penguins for school, you're creating nonfiction. When a scientist publishes research findings, that's nonfiction too.

Some nonfiction reads like a thrilling story, such as books about Antarctic explorers or the race to build the first airplane. Good nonfiction writers make true information just as exciting and engaging as any made-up tale. The difference is that everything they describe actually happened or can be checked against reliable evidence.