The Best American Series

Each volume in The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy series is a standalone anthology, collecting the best short stories from a given year. They can be read in any order, as there is no overarching narrative or recurring characters across volumes.

Each annual volume features a different guest editor, typically a prominent author or critic in the science fiction and fantasy genres, who selects the stories for that year's collection. This rotating editorship brings a fresh perspective to the curation process each time.

The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy is part of a larger 'Best American' series of anthologies published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, which includes collections for various genres like short stories, essays, mysteries, and more. While they share a publishing imprint and format, they are distinct series with different editorial teams and content.