The Best American Short Stories is a yearly anthology that's part of The Best American Series published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Since 1915, the BASS has anthologized more than 2,000 short stories, including works by some of the most famous writers in contemporary American literature. Along with the O. Henry Awards, Best American Short Stories is one of the two "best-known annual anthologies of short fiction."
Min Jin Lee is a Korean American author and journalist based in Harlem, New York City; her work frequently deals with the Korean diaspora. She is best known for writing Free Food for Millionaires (2007) and Pachinko (2017), a finalist for the National Book Award, and runner-up for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. In 2024, the New York Times asked 503 novelists, nonfiction writers, poets, critics and other book lovers to vote for 100 Best Books of the 21st Century and Lee's book Pachinko was number 15 on the list. Pachinko was number 5 on the Reader's Version of 100 Best Books of the 21st Century. The Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum awarded the 2024 Fitzgerald Prize for Literary Excellence to Min Jin Lee, recognizing her for continuing the American storytelling tradition with the craft, wit, and social insight exemplified by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
The Best American Short Stories 2007, a volume in The Best American Short Stories series, was edited by Heidi Pitlor and by guest editor Stephen King.
The Best American Short Stories 2009, a volume in The Best American Short Stories series, was edited by Heidi Pitlor and by guest editor Alice Sebold.
William Malatinsky is an American author and frequent contributor to the Virginia Quarterly Review. His fiction was short-listed for the Best American Short Stories in 2006 and 2010.
The Best American Short Stories 2010, a volume in The Best American Short Stories series, was edited by Heidi Pitlor and by guest editor Richard Russo.
The Best American Short Stories 2011, a volume in the Best American Short Stories series, was edited by Heidi Pitlor and by guest editor Geraldine Brooks.
The Best American Short Stories 2012, a volume in the Best American Short Stories series, was edited by Heidi Pitlor and by guest editor Tom Perotta.
Sharon Solwitz is a fiction writer and professor based in Chicago, Illinois. She is the author of the short story collection Blood and Milk and the novels Bloody Mary and Once, in Lourdes. Tom Perotta and Heidi Pitlor selected her story "Alive" for inclusion in The Best American Short Stories 2012, and her story "Gifted" was chosen for the 2016 collection. She earned a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1991, and teaches creative writing at Purdue University.
The Best American Short Stories 2013, a volume in the Best American Short Stories series, was edited by Heidi Pitlor and by guest editor Elizabeth Strout. In her introduction Strout noted that she did not chose a story "primarily based on its subject," but that, for her, "voice" was a stronger criterion:
That sound – if it is working well – has authority, probably the most important dimension of voice. We really hope the writer knows what he or she is doing. And we really hope that this sense of authority will be sustained throughout. We look for this the same way we look for authoritative competence in any other trade… I don’t think readers think about this analytically, but instead, they experience it as a feeling about the writer that grows stronger as they read…
The Best American Short Stories 2014, a volume in the Best American Short Stories series, was edited by Heidi Pitlor and by guest editor Jennifer Egan.
The Best American Short Stories 2015, a volume in the Best American Short Stories series, was edited by Heidi Pitlor and by guest editor T. C. Boyle.
The Best American Short Stories 2016, a volume in the Best American Short Stories series, was edited by Heidi Pitlor and by guest editor Junot Díaz.
The Best American Short Stories 2017, a volume in the Best American Short Stories series, was edited by Heidi Pitlor and by guest editor Meg Wolitzer.
The Best American Short Stories 2018, a volume in the Best American Short Stories series, was edited by Heidi Pitlor and by guest editor Roxane Gay.
The Best American Short Stories 2019 is a volume in the annual Best American Short Stories anthology. It was edited by the series editor, Heidi Pitlor, and guest editor and Pulitzer Prize winner, Anthony Doerr.
The Best American Short Stories 2020 is a volume in the annual Best American Short Stories anthology. It was edited by the series editor, Heidi Pitlor, and guest editor Curtis Sittenfeld.
The Best American Short Stories 2021 is a volume in the annual Best American Short Stories anthology. It was edited by the series editor, Heidi Pitlor, and guest editor and two-time National Book Award winner, Jesmyn Ward.
The Best American Short Stories 2022 is a volume in the annual Best American Short Stories anthology. It was edited by series editor Heidi Pitlor and guest editor and Pulitzer Prize winner Andrew Sean Greer. The collection of 20 short stories selected from leading magazines in the U.S. was published in November 2022 with a print run of 75,000. It was also issued as an audiobook spoken by five voice actors.
The Best American Short Stories 2024 is a volume in the annual Best American Short Stories anthology. It was edited by the series editor, Heidi Pitlor, and guest editor Lauren Groff.
