Description

A collection of the year’s best short stories, selected by celebrated bestselling author Lauren Groff, author of Matrix and The Vaster Wilds, and series editor Heidi Pitlor.

Lauren Groff—bestselling author, three-time National Book Award finalist, and “one of our finest living writers” (New York Times)—selects twenty stories out of thousands that represent the best examples of the form published in 2023.

About the Author

Lauren Groff is the author of five novels: the instant New York Times bestseller The Vaster Wilds, and two National Book Award Finalists, Matrix and Fates and Furies; as well as Aradia and The Monsters of Templeton. Her story collections include Florida, winner of The Story Prize and a finalist for the National Book Award, and Delicate Edible Birds. She has twice been a finalist for the Kirkus Prize, as well as for the National Book Critics Circle Award, the LA Times Book Prize, and the Orange Prize for New Writers. She was a Guggenheim Fellow, a Radcliffe Fellow, a Fellow at the American Academy in Berlin, and was named one of Granta’s 2017 Best Young American Novelists. She lives in Gainesville, Florida, with her husband and sons.

Heidi Pitlor is a former senior editor at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and has been the series editor for The Best American Short Stories since 2007. She is the author of the novels The Birthdays, The Daylight Marriage, and Impersonation.

Praise For…

"Confrontational and at times confounding, these are stories to get lost in, then gratefully chart a path homeward." — Kirkus Reviews

“As guest editor of this year’s entry in the Best American Short Stories series, [Jesmyn] Ward has assembled a brilliant and moving collection...These 20 stories capture beautiful and devastating human experiences and the tales we tell to persevere. Contributors' captivating prose and incredible storytelling will plunge readers into fascinating worlds and challenge them to take on new perspectives.” — Booklist (starred review) on The Best American Short Stories 2021

“If you feel uneasy choosing just one author’s collection, let a witty novelist pick the best stories of the year for you.”  — Nicole Y. Chung, Washington Post