Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2017 ToC Released

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Series editor John Joseph Adams and guest editor Charles Yu have released their selections for the Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2017.

From the large number of stories that series editor John Joseph Adams screened for this year’s collection, he picked the 80 best pieces to submit to editor Charles Yu for a blind reading, so that the prestige of the venues or bylines were not a factor. (The ones Adams designated as notable are shown in a table at the link). Yu then selected 20 for publication (ten science fiction, ten fantasy, highlighted in green on the table.)

Here is the Table of Contents — including the 20 stories they thought the best:

Editorial

  • Foreword by John Joseph Adams
  • Introduction by Charles Yu

Fantasy

  • Head, Scales, Tongue, Tail by Leigh Bardugo (from Summer Days and Summer Nights)
  • I’ve Come to Marry the Princess by Helena Bell (from Lightspeed)
  • The Witch of Orion Waste and the Boy Knight by E. Lily Yu (from Uncanny)
  • Vulcanization by Nisi Shawl (from Nightmare)
  • Not by Wardrobe, Tornado, or Looking Glass by Jeremiah Tolbert (from Lightspeed)
  • This is Not a Wardrobe Door by A. Merc Rustad (from Fireside)
  • The Story of Kao Yu by Peter S. Beagle (from Tor.com)
  • The City Born Great by N.K. Jemisin (from Tor.com)
  • Successor, Usurper, Replacement by Alice Sola Kim (from BuzzFeed READER)
  • I Was a Teenage Werewolf by Dale Bailey (from Nightmare)

Science Fiction

  • Teenagers from Outer Space by Dale Bailey (from Clarkesworld)
  • Everyone From Themis Sends Letters Home by Genevieve Valentine (from Clarkesworld)
  • When They Came to Us by Debbie Urbanski (from The Sun)
  • Openness by Alexander Weinstein (from Beloit Fiction Journal)
  • The Future is Blue by Catherynne M. Valente (from Drowned Worlds)
  • On the Fringes of the Fractal by Greg van Eekhout (from 2113: Stories Inspired by the Music of Rush)
  • Smear by Brian Evenson (from Conjunctions: Other Aliens)
  • Welcome to the Medical Clinic at the Interplanetary Relay Station | Hours Since the Last Patient Death: 0 by Caroline M. Yoachim (from Lightspeed)
  • Caspar D. Luckinbill, What Are You Going to Do? by Nick Wolven (from F&SF)
  • The Venus Effect by Joseph Allen Hill (from Lightspeed)

 [Thanks to JJ for the story.]

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4 thoughts on “Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2017 ToC Released”

  1. Isn’t this the anthology where the final selections are made by blind reading? (that is, author’s name redacted) The last couple of editions showed an almost 50/50 male/female split, and so does this one. Also looks like nice POC representation.

  2. @Bonnie: Yes, the way they’ve been doing these – which I think is great – is that Adams makes the initial selection of 80 stories, which are then passed with no author information to the guest editor (Charles Yu, in this case), who makes the final selection.

    ETA: I still haven’t gotten to the 2016 anthology yet, but I thought the 2015 edition was excellent.

  3. PhilRM: Glad you pointed that out. I had the information in my draft and accidentally cut it. I’ve rewritten the paragraph to get it back in.

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