The Best American Short Stories 2026

by Viet Thanh Nguyen, Nicole A. Lamy

Genres: Anthologies

Synopsis

A collection of the year’s best short stories, selected by Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Times bestseller Viet Thanh Nguyen, author of The Sympathizer.

The Best American series, launched in 1915, is the premier annual showcase for the country’s finest short fiction and nonfiction, and it is the most respected—and most popular—of its kind.

Viet Thanh Nguyen—Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Times bestselling author of The Sympathizer—selects twenty stories out of thousands that represent the best examples of the form published this year.

Release date: October 20, 2026

Publisher: HarperCollins

Print pages: 320