The first "year's best" anthology of science fiction and fantasy stories has announced its selections. Night Shade Books has posted a catalog listing for The Best SF and Fantasy of the Year, Volume 3, edited by Jonathan Strahan. According to their posting, the selections are:
- Exhalation - Ted Chiang
- Shoggoths in Bloom - Elizabeth Bear
- Uncle Chaim and Aunt Rifke and the Angel - Peter S. Beagle
- Fixing Hanover - Jeff VanderMeer
- The Gambler - Paolo Bacigalupi
- The Dust Assassin - Ian McDonald
- Virgin - Holly Black
- Pride and Prometheus - John Kessel
- The Thought War - Paul McAuley
- Beyond the Sea Gates of the Scholar Pirates of Sarskoe - Garth Nix
- The Small Door - Holly Phillips
- Turing's Apples - Stephen Baxter
- The New York Times at Special Bargain Rates - Stephen King
- Five Thrillers - Robert Reed
- The Magician's House - Megan McCarron
- Goblin Music - Joan Aiken
- Machine Maid - Margo Lanagan
- The Art of Alchemy - Ted Kosmatka
- 26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss - Kij Johnson
- Marry the Sun - Rachel Swirsky
- Crystal Nights - Greg Egan
- His Master's Voice - Hannu Rajaniemi
- Special Economics - Maureen McHugh
- Evidence of Love in a Case of Abandonment - M Rickert
- From Babel's Fall'n Glory We Fled... - Michael Swanwick
- If Angels Fight - Rick Bowes
- The Doom of Love in Small Spaces - Ken Scholes
- Pretty Monsters - Kelly Link
I, of course, love some of the selections and have issues with others. But such is life. There are also stories I missed during 2008 (like The Gambler by Paolo Bacigalupi) which I will have to read when the anthology comes out. Congrats to all the authors who had stories selected. The anthology will be released in March 2009.
As I said note, I also want to plug my previous picks for the best stories of 2008. Overall, it looks like 2008 was a great year for short fiction.
