THE BEST AMERICAN SERIES®, published by Mariner/HarperCollins, is the premier annual showcase for the nation’s finest short fiction and nonfiction. First launched in 1915 with the debut of The Best American Short Stories, the series has evolved into a landmark collection that captures the shifting identity and literary vitality of American writing.
The Best American Essays 2025 is a searing collection of essays that move through war, fear, memory, grief, nature, poverty, and excess. Each piece is a window into the questions that shape our time—bold, vulnerable, and unafraid to dwell in uncertainty. Each piece is a window into the questions that shape our time—bold, vulnerable, and unafraid to dwell in uncertainty.
Contributors to The Best American Essays 2025 include Sarah Aziza, Mosab Abu Toha, Carolyn Forché, Christina Sharpe, Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Nuar Alsadir, Laura Glen Louis, Eula Biss, Hannah Keziah Agustin, John Jeremiah Sullivan, Jarek Steele, Namwali Serpell, Laura Preston, Angie Romines, Summer Hammond, Khalil AbuSharekh, Linda Kinstler, Greg Jackson, Christian Lorentzen, Mathew Denton-Edmundson, and William Deresiewicz.
About the BEST AMERICAN Series
Each volume in the BEST AMERICAN series is the result of a unique collaboration between a series editor and a guest editor—a leading writer in the field. They read thousands of stories and essays published in print and digital publications during the previous year. Ultimately, the guest editor chooses 20-22 pieces for their respective anthology.
This year marks a new chapter for The Best American Short Stories with Nicole Lamy stepping into the role of series editor. A longtime champion of emerging voices and former book editor for the Boston Globe, Lamy is joined by guest editor Celeste Ng, the acclaimed author of Our Missing Hearts, Everything I Never Told You and Little Fires Everywhere. Together, they present an anthology that affirms the short story genre is more vital than ever.
“The selections in this year’s collection offer perfect antidotes to readers battered by the hyperbolic reality of contemporary life,” says Lamy. “Page after page, these stories cut directly to eye level, bringing res face-to-face with narrators in acute moments of change. The perspectives, plots, and voices couldn’t be more different from one another, but they share an urgent drive toward truth: The authenticity is thrilling.”
As Ng says in her Introduction: “It might feel a little strange to look to fiction—made-up stories about (usually) made-up people—for any kind of insight into the actual world. When we live in unrealistic times, the unrealness of fiction can actually provide a useful distance, allowing us to see our own times more clearly.”
The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2025 welcomes Don Winslow as guest editor working alongside series editor Steph Cha to curate stories of intrigue, justice, and the unexpected.
The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2025 pairs renowned writer Susan Orlean with series editor Jaime Green, spotlighting stories that probe the intersection of discovery, environment, and our place in it.
In The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2025, guest editor Nnedi Okorafor teams up with series editor John Joseph Adams to deliver stories that reimagine reality and expand our sense of what is possible.
The Best American Food and Travel Writing 2025 is guest edited by Bryant Terry with series editor Jaya Saxena. It offers appetizing feasts and unique journeys throughout the world through taste, place, and tradition.
Last year, THE BEST AMERICAN SERIES® received a fresh visual identity across the volumes with a single artist’s designs.
I always love The Best American series!
Universal stories and moments discovered in everyday life. craigfoster@substack.com