Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2020
edited by Diana Gabaldon & John Joseph Adams
BASFF #6
The Best American series is the premier annual showcase for the country’s finest short fiction and nonfiction. Each volume’s series editor selects notable works from hundreds of magazines, journals, and websites. A special guest editor—a leading writer in the field—then chooses the best twenty or so pieces to publish. This unique system has made the Best American series the most respected—and most popular—of its kind.
Today’s readers of science fiction and fantasy have an appetite for stories that address a wide variety of voices, perspectives, and styles. There is an openness to experiment and pushing boundaries, combined with the classic desire to read about spaceships and dragons, future technology and ancient magic, and the places where they intersect. Contemporary science fiction and fantasy looks to accomplish the same goal as ever—to illuminate what it means to be human. With a diverse selection of stories chosen by series editor John Joseph Adams and Diana Gabaldon, The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2020 explores the ever-expanding and changing world of SFF today.
The 2020 volume collects the best material published in 2019 , selected by series editor John Joseph Adams and guest editor Diana Gabaldon.
ISBN: 978-1328613103
Format: Trade Paperback / Ebook
Publicity Contact: Marissa Page <marissa.page@hmhco.com>
Praise for THE BEST AMERICAN SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY SERIES
This long-running anthology series continues its tradition of excellence [with an] extremely worthy collection […]The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2020 is highly recommended for anyone interested in contemporary speculative fiction, or just some of the best current American fiction, period.
—Booklist, on BASFF 2020
Gabaldon (the Outlander series) brings together 20 stories that memorably and creatively explore genre themes. […] The variety of styles and themes on offer here demonstrate the sustained vitality of genre fiction.
—Publishers Weekly, on BASFF 2020
Machado’s selections lean toward the experimental, the literary, and the boundary-pushing. […] There’s a decidedly global, multicultural feel to these pieces, which exemplify diversity and representation. […] a masterful showcase of what’s possible.
The stories selected by guest editor Machado (Her Body and Other Parties, 2017) for this acclaimed annual anthology [contain] the many and varied pleasures […] this brilliant and beautiful collection is a must-read for those looking to enjoy the fullest range of narrative pleasure.
These are stories to take your breath away, to make you laugh, to bring you to despair, to give you hope, to creep you out, and even to break your heart. [A]ll are interesting, vibrant, and worthy.
—Booklislt, on BASFF 2018
Superb. […] This mostly dystopic, sometimes darkly humorous collection of 20 hard-hitting stories feels timely, confronting contemporary cultural crises such as racism, xenophobia, police brutality, barriers to health care access, and the social misuses of technology.
—Publishers Weekly, on BASFF 2017
Intellectually demanding […] a very elite, highly curated set of stories. […] A set of primal, classic-seeming tales from our past, present, and future.
—Kirkus, on BASFF 2016
Stellar […] An illuminating anthology for genre devotees and curious readers interested in exploring sf/fantasy.
—Library Journal, on BASFF 2015