An Exploration of Best Of Anthologies

The Best American Series

The Best American series includes a wide variety of anthologies. Mariner Books publishes the series, which is an imprint of HarperCollins (it used to be an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt until HarperCollins bought it in 2021). The oldest of the series is The Best American Short Stories. BASS began in 1915, and it wasn’t until 1986 that other genres were added, and then it became a series. Now, each year, a guest editor is chosen to pick the table of contents for each Best American anthology. These guest editors are usually famous writers in the category in which they’re editing.

A Series of Wide-Ranging and Changing Genres

In addition to the mainstays of The Best American Short Stories and The Best American Essays, other genres have been added and/or retired. Current titles include The Best American Mystery and Suspense, The Best American Science and Nature Writing, The Best American Travel Writing, The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy, and the most recently-added anthology: The Best American Food Writing.

Other Best American series that have since been retired include The Best American Recipes, The Best American Spiritual Writing, The Best American Comics, and more.

In 2015, notable writer Lorrie Moore took on the task of choosing 40 stories from a century of past Best American Short Story anthologies. Her choices were published in 100 Years of The Best American Short Stories. Authors ranged from across a century, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jamaica Kincaid, George Saunders, and ZZ Packer.

Truly, an entire article could be devoted to the Best American series, covering its long history, changes, and speculating the trends to come. The Best American series is due to have another set of books publish on November 1, 2022. At the time this article was written, not all table of contents for the books have been announced. No doubt there will be an abundance of great writing, showcasing the trends and reflecting events of the past year.