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The Best American Series is a series of anthologies that is published annually by Mariner Books, an imprint of HarperCollins. Each title within the series covers a specific genre such as short stories or mysteries. The works for each year's edition are selected from those published elsewhere during the previous year.

The Best American Short Stories has been published since 1915, making it the oldest continuous series of its type. Starting in 1986, additional titles were added for essays, sports writing, nature writing and more, at which time the broader The Best American Series moniker was introduced.

The series was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt prior to HarperCollins acquiring HMH Books & Media in 2021.

Editing

Each title has a continuing series editor who makes an initial selection of notable works from which a guest editor chooses those for inclusion in that year's edition. Guest editors are established authors in the title's associated genre. A new guest editor is chosen each year.

A work is eligible for the series if it is published in English (or published in another language but translated into English by the author) in the United States, Canada, Mexico, or Greenland; if it first appeared, or was significantly revised, during the previous year; and if the author comes from or chiefly lives in North America. Internet publications are eligible if their audience includes North American readers. Works that do not make the final cut are often given honorable mention in an alphabetical list at the back of the book.

Many editions have a mix of works from well-established authors—examples include Joyce Carol Oates, Michael Chabon, and Lorrie Moore—along with up-and-coming writers who have achieved moderate success, such as Benjamin Percy, Kyle Minor, and Ander Monson. Introductions to each edition are written by the series editor, guest editor, and sometimes other celebrities, such as actor Viggo Mortensen for The Best American Nonrequired Reading and UK cook Jamie Oliver for The Best American Recipes.

The editions are published in September or October and feature works that were published during the prior year: for example, The Best American Essays 2000 contains works published in 1999.

Titles

The Best American Series includes the following titles:

The Best American Short Stories (1915–)
The Best American Essays (1986–)
The Best American Mystery and Suspense (1997–)
The Best American Science and Nature Writing (2000–)
The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy (2015–)
The Best American Food Writing (2018–)

The following titles were formerly included in the series:

The Best American Recipes (1999–2005)
The Best American Spiritual Writing (2004–2008)
The Best American Infographics (2013–2016)
The Best American Nonrequired Reading (2002–2019)
The Best American Comics (2006–2019)
The Best American Sports Writing (1991–2020)
The Best American Travel Writing (2000–2021)

External links

List of The Best American Series editions at the publisher's site

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+{{Short description|Book anthologies}}
+{{italic title}}
-The <i>Best American</i> series is an annually-published collection of books, published by [[Houghton-Mifflin Publishing]], each of which features a different theme. The first in the series was originally created in 1915, during the early times of the 'short story', when a man named Edward J. O'Brien began collecting short tales he felt were well-written during the previous year.
+'''''The Best American Series'''''<!--The full and correct title of this work of art includes "The" and is fully capitalized--> is a series of anthologies that is published annually by Mariner Books, an [[Imprint (trade name)|imprint]] of [[HarperCollins]]. Each title within the series covers a specific genre such as short stories or mysteries. The works for each year's edition are selected from those published elsewhere during the previous year.
+''The Best American Short Stories'' has been published since 1915, making it the oldest continuous series of its type. Starting in 1986, additional titles were added for essays, sports writing, [[nature writing]] and more, at which time the broader ''The Best American Series'' moniker was introduced.
-As time went by the series became more formally organized, with an individual editor narrowing the field down to a few hundred stories. These stories were then sent to a selected, established writer within the field and she / he chose from among those the final 20-odd pieces to be included in that year's collection.
+The series was published by [[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]] prior to HarperCollins acquiring HMH Books & Media in 2021.
-Some previous editions have included a list of "other stories" which didn't make the final cut. When listed in the book, those pieces which are selected are showcased in alphabetical order by the author's last name.
+==Editing==
-Many editions are a good mix of more-established authors (ex. [[Joyce Carol Oates]], [[Michael Chabon]]) with up-and-coming writers who have achieved moderate success (ex. [[Lorrie Moore]]).
+Each title has a continuing series editor who makes an initial selection of notable works from which a guest editor chooses those for inclusion in that year's edition. Guest editors are established authors in the title's associated genre. A new guest editor is chosen each year.
+A work is eligible for the series if it is published in [[English language|English]] (or published in another language but translated into English by the author) in the [[United States]], [[Canada]], [[Mexico]], or [[Greenland]]; if it first appeared, or was significantly revised, during the previous year; and if the author comes from or chiefly lives in North America. [[Internet]] publications are eligible if their audience includes North American readers. Works that do not make the final cut are often given honorable mention in an alphabetical list at the back of the book.
-Over time additional books were added to the series, including but not limited to : the Best Mystery Stories, Best Essays and Travel Writing. Two were of particular note : The <i>Best American Nonrequired Reading</i> series, which began in 2002, and the <i>Best American Recipes</i>, both top-sellers from among the various collections.
+Many editions have a mix of works from well-established authors—examples include [[Joyce Carol Oates]], [[Michael Chabon]], and [[Lorrie Moore]]—along with up-and-coming writers who have achieved moderate success, such as [[Benjamin Percy]], [[Kyle Minor]], and [[Ander Monson]]. Introductions to each edition are written by the series editor, guest editor, and sometimes other celebrities, such as actor [[Viggo Mortensen]] for ''The Best American Nonrequired Reading'' and UK cook [[Jamie Oliver]] for ''The Best American Recipes''.
-The <i>Best American Nonrequired Reading</i> collection typically selects pieces from a "younger" (and, many feel, more "edgy" and "liberal") pool of material and has included, in past years, works from satire newspaper [[The Onion]] as well as literal comics, technically a publication just like anything else, by [[Adrian Tomine]]. The 2004 edition of the series featured a forward by [[Lord of the Rings]] actor [[Viggo Mortensen]].
+The editions are published in September or October and feature works that were published during the prior year: for example, ''The Best American Essays 2000'' contains works published in 1999.
-The <i>Best American Recipes</i> series pulls recipes published during the previous year from various sources : cookbooks, websites, even the backs of boxes of food all into one simple collection. Critics in recent years have noted that the preparation of the food items has occasionally become needlessly complex, however the editors - who generally remain the same from year to year, unalike the other series - do provide the reader with notes on where to acquire certain less-common foodstuffs.
+==Titles==
-An introduction to the recipe compilation is written by a rotating-each-year food personality, such as UK cook [[Jamie Oliver]].
+''The Best American Series'' includes the following titles:
+* ''[[The Best American Short Stories]]'' (1915–)
-The popularity of the <i>Recipes</i> series has prompted many other established food and wine companies to compile their own "best of the year" series, with varying degrees of success.
+* ''[[The Best American Essays]]'' (1986–)
+* ''[[The Best American Mystery and Suspense]]'' (1997–)
+* ''[[The Best American Science and Nature Writing]]'' (2000–)
+* ''[[The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy]]'' (2015–)
+* ''[[The Best American Food Writing]]'' (2018–)
+The following titles were formerly included in the series:
+* ''[[The Best American Recipes]]'' (1999–2005)
+* ''[[The Best American Spiritual Writing]]'' (2004–2008)
+* ''[[The Best American Infographics]]'' (2013–2016)
+* ''[[The Best American Nonrequired Reading]]'' (2002–2019)
+* ''[[The Best American Comics]]'' (2006–2019)
+* ''[[The Best American Sports Writing]]'' (1991–2020)
+* ''[[The Best American Travel Writing]]'' (2000–2021)
+==External links==
+*[https://www.hmhbooks.com/series/best-american List of ''The Best American Series'' editions at the publisher's site]
+{{The Best American Series}}
+[[Category:Book series introduced in 1915]]
+[[Category:Best American series| ]]