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Best American Books in Order
Below you'll find the complete list of Best American books in publication order. This is generally the recommended reading order for the series.
Reading order verified: April 2026
Quick Answer
What order should I read the Best American series? Start with "The Best American Short Stories 2002" (2002) and follow publication order through all 8 books.
The complete Best American reading order is listed below in publication sequence.
Publication Order
The Best American Short Stories 2002
2002
Go the Way Your Blood Beats
1996
The Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Short Fiction
1999
Prize Stories 2000: The O. Henry Awards
2000
My Soul Has Grown Deep
2001
Making Callaloo: 25 Years of Black Literature
2002
The O. Henry Prize Stories 2019
2019
After working as a director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Afro-American studies program for two years, John Edgar Wideman published his first novel that focused on interracial issues in 1973 which he titled “The Lynchers.”
19
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