The Best American Short Stories 2025: An Anthology of Award-Winning Literary Fiction Handpicked by Celeste Ng, Showcasing the Art of Short Storytelling

A collection of the year’s best short stories, selected by celebrated bestselling author Celeste Ng, author of Everything I Never Told You and Little Fires Everywhere, and series editor Nicole Lamy.

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.

“Short stories can act like little tuning forks, helping us to clarify our own values,” writes guest editor Celeste Ng. “In a time when our values are being tested daily, it’s hard to think of anything more important.” The Best American Short Stories 2025 resonates precisely at this pitch: twenty pieces that upend expectations and test the foundation of our beliefs. From a bereaved medical actress obsessed with a student in her rotation to a mysterious sickness that ignites a lethal running mania in its victims, and from the grounds of a wild animal estate to a celebrity look-alike mother-for-hire, these stories transport readers to the impossible edges of our world and vivify characters who reflect the spectrum of human experience.

THE BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES 2025 INCLUDES: LAUREN ACAMPORA • SARAH BRAUNSTEIN • BRET ANTHONY JOHNSTON • ELIZABETH McCRACKEN • CARRIE R. MOORE • ANDREW PORTER • WILLIAM PEI SHIH • JUSTIN TAYLOR • JESSICA TREADWAY • AND OTHERS