But what the best of these stories do is the same across the genres—they illuminate the whole gamut of the human experience, interrogating our hopes and our fears. With a diverse selection of stories chosen by series editor John Joseph Adams and guest editor Charles Yu, The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2017 continues to explore the ever-expanding and changing world of SFF today, with Yu bringing his unique view—literary, meta, and adventurous—to the series’ third edition.

    M. Homes as one of the most provocative and daring writers of her generation. Here you'll find the cult classic A Real Doll, the tale of a teenage boy's erotic obsession with his sister's favorite doll; Adults Alone, which first introduced Paul and Elaine, the crack-smoking yuppie couple whose marriage careens out of control in Homes's novel Music for Torching; and Looking for Johnny, in which a kidnapped boy, having failed his abductor's expectations, is returned home. Brilliantly conceived, sharply etched, and exceptionally satisfying, these stories explore the American dream in ways you're not likely soon to forget. Working in Kodacolor hues, Homes offers an uncanny picture of a surreal suburbia-outrageous and utterly believable.

    Three novellas. Two interlocking stories. One sizzling read.Nice set up: one spirited woman in Kit Townsend, and two hot buddies, Ryder and Mac, who take turns giving Kit what she needs. It's the perfect no-strings triangle and while it doesn't exactly follow the rules, neither does Kit. But when love unexpectedly throws these three friends for a loop, can they still have a happy ending?And then there's Mia Malone, a sweet Dallas girl who had big dreams for the future when she first met Texas Ranger Logan Kincaid. That fairy tale was a lifetime ago. Today, framed for drug possession, she's forced to work undercover at a strip joint where several working girls have disappeared. Then in walks Logan-her protector, savior, and lover.

    In the Caribbean sun, the champagne flows and the games of pain and pleasure never stop. Lisa is the perfectionist. Elliot, the client. In their meeting, they discover that Eden is a state of heart and mind where innocence and love can be recaptured.

    With Alison's Wonderland, she has compiled a treasury of naughty tales based on fable and fairy tale, myth and legend: some ubiquitous, some obscure all of them delightfully dirty. From a perverse prince to a vampire-esque Sleeping Beauty, the stars of these reimagined tales are like the original protagonists chafing at desire unfulfilled. From Cinderella to Sisyphus, mermaids to werewolves, this realm of fantasy is limitless and so very satisfying. Penned by such erotica luminaries as Shanna Germain, Rachel Kramer Bussel, N. T. Morley, Elspeth Potter, T. C. Calligari, Sommer Marsden, Portia Da Costa and Tsaurah Litzsky, these bawdy bedtime stories are sure to bring you (and a friend) to your own happily-ever-after. "

    The author of Monkeys and Evening focuses her observant eye and lyrical voice on the delicate emotional negotiations of young New Yorkers.  As in a series of deceptively simple watercolors, these stories uncover small moments that yield larger truths--about the ways in which women and men come together and come apart again, about the disappointments and hopes of lovers who know what they want but don't always know how to keep.  A deeply poignant meditation on the nature of desire and loss.

    WeinO for a Fiery Gloom and Thee • (1998) • short story by Brian StablefordPersephone or, Why the Winters Seem to Be Getting Longer • (1998) • short fiction by Wendy FroudPrivate Words • (1998) • novelette by Mark W. TiedemannTaking Loup • (1998) • short story by Bruce GlasscoTastings • (1998) • short story by Neil GaimanThe Eye of the Storm • (1998) • novelette by Kelley EskridgeThe Faerie Cony-Catcher • (1998) • short story by Delia ShermanThe House of Nine Doors • (1998) • short story by Ellen KushnerThe Light That Passes Through You • (1998) • short story by Conrad WilliamsThe Sweet of Bitter Bark and Burning Clove • (1998) • novelette by Doris EganWolfed • (1998) • short story by Tanith Lee

    Inspired by friends telling stories on a porch, The Moth was born in small-town Georgia, garnered a cult following in New York City, and then rose to national acclaim with the wildly popular podcast and Peabody Award-winning weekly public radio show The Moth Radio Hour. Stories include: writer Malcolm Gladwell's wedding toast gone horribly awry; legendary rapper Darryl "DMC" McDaniels' obsession with a Sarah McLachlan song; poker champion Annie Duke's two-million-dollar hand; and A. E. Hotchner's death-defying stint in a bullring . . . with his friend Ernest Hemingway. Read about the panic of former Clinton Press Secretary Joe Lockhart when he misses Air Force One after a hard night of drinking in Moscow, and Dr. George Lombardi's fight to save Mother Teresa's life. This will be a beloved read for existing Moth enthusiasts, fans of the featured storytellers, and all who savor well-told, hilarious, and heartbreaking stories.

    Will there be any room left for love? Lori Handeland "Voodoo Moon"For Devil's Fork-based FBI Agent Dana Duran, the only way to fight a supernatural serial killer just may be to embrace life. But little did she know that voodoo could be so viciously sexy… Cheyenne McCray "Breath of Magic" San Francisco's witches are in an epic battle. But even if Sydney can use her sultry ways and ancient Druid powers to save the world, can she risk losing her heart to handsome warrior Conlan? Christine Warren"Any Witch Way She Can"A desperately lonely witch decides to take matters of love into her own hands when she casts a cosmic personal ad…only to find that the perfect formula for love is a strange brew indeed.

    Must be irresistible, good with his hands, and know how to handle any situation... in or out of the bedroom.Honk If You Love Real Men is a contemporary erotic anthology featuring some of the brightest up and coming names in contemporary romance and erotic romance."Naughty Girl" by Carrie Alexander:When a sexy, sassy woman driving in her convertible catches the eye of a gorgeous construction worker, they indulge in a delicious afternoon tryst."WANTED: One Hot Blooded Man" by Pamela Britton:A sexy firefighter is responsible for lighting more fires than putting them out!"Reno's Chance" by Lora Leigh:Ever since she was a little girl, Raven McIntire has secretly pined and longed for her best friend's sexy older brother, Reno, a Navy SEAL who has just returned home from duty. What she doesn't realize is that his only true mission is to get into her heart and get her into his bed."Mercy Me" by Susan Donovan:A heated encounter with an irresistibly handsome doctor.

    HillSavannah was groomed from birth to take the reins of her father's manufacturing empire. Her emotional armor is as tough as the steel used in her factories, and nobody is allowed past it. Business partner Matt realizes that the key to entry is to command her submission. Calling on the unique sensual talents of his four-man management team, he engineers an aggressive and erotic takeover, determined to rescue the woman he's loved from the steel cage she's manufactured around her heart. Masked and lost to the sensations the team arouses in her, Savannah is theirs, at least for this one night.Hidden Desires By Elizabeth LapthorneLily had to admit she was desperate. Here she was in New Orleans on a two week vacation, she made the trip especially for the Mardi Gras, and she didn't have a mask! Everything she found seemed wrong.As a last ditch effort, she entered a small shop and found the perfect mask…until it showed her visions of herself getting ravished by a masked highwayman.But when that highwayman turned up at the Mardi Gras bash, she knows the chemistry between them could only lead to one place.The only things between them that remained hidden were their true desires.Mardi Gras By Lacey AlexanderMia Sanderson has been in love with her boss, Ty Brewer, for years, but ladies' man Ty only sees her as a friend and even worse, a good girl. So when Mia and Ty are invited to the same Mardi Gras party, Mia decides to live out a fantasy. Donning a Mardi Gras mask and wig, Mia masquerades as the seductive Mistress Mina, the bad girl of Ty's dreams. But what will happen if Ty discovers her true identity? Mina's risking their friendship and her job, but for a night with Ty, it's worth it.

    “I am looking for the artful way any given story is conveyed,” writes Roxane Gay in her introduction to The Best American Short Stories 2018, “but I also love when a story has a powerful message, when a story teaches me something about the world.” The artful, profound, and sometimes funny stories Gay chose for the collection transport readers from a fraught family reunion to an immigration detention center, from a psychiatric hospital to a coed class sleepover in a natural history museum. We meet a rebellious summer camper, a Twitter addict, and an Appalachian preacher—all characters and circumstances that show us what we “need to know about the lives of others.”

    The series calls for a sexual revolution and brings forth our favorite characters -- Patience James aka Zane, Maricruz, Lyric, Eboni, and Ana Marie -- as a force to be reckoned with as they balance common day-to-day issues, a slew of hot sex, and the fine men in the big city. Learn more about their backgrounds in this special tie-in edition. Like the series, Zane's Sex Chronicles is about empowerment and liberation -- both in and out of the bedroom. Pleasurable from beginning to end, this anthology brings together fifteen hunger-inducing stories from the original bestselling editions of The Sex Chronicles: Shattering the Myth and Gettin' Buck Wild: Sex Chronicles II. Zane's Sex Chronicles weaves together a compilation of bold characters and provocative stories of passion and intoxicating eroticism to seduce both men and women.

    Contributors include: Jeff VanderMeer, Caitlín Kiernan, Mary Robinette Kowal, Jay Lake, Cherie Priest, Cat Rambo, Catherynne M. Valente, Genevieve Valentine, and many more.Contents:Steampunk : looking to the future through the lens of the past / Ekaterina Sedia --Fixing Hanover / Jeff VanderMeer --The Steam Dancer (1896) / Caitlin R. Kierman --Icebreaker / E. Catherine Tobler --Tom Edison and his amazing telegraphic harpoon / Jay Lake --The Zeppelin Conductors' Society Annual Gentlemen's Ball / Genevieve Valentine Clockwork fairies / Cat Rambo --The mechanical aviary of Emperor Jala-ud-din Muhammad Akbar / Shweta Narayan --Prayers of forges and furnaces / Aliette de Bodard --The effluent engine / N.K. Jemisin --The clockwork goat and the smokestack magi / Peter M. Ball --The armature of flight / Sharon Mock --The anachronist's cookbook / Catherynne M. Valente --Numismatics in the reigns of Naranh and Viu / Alex Dally MacFarlane --Zeppelin City / Eileen Gunn & Michael Swanwick --The people's machine / Tobias S. Buckell --The hands that feed / Matthew Kressel --Machine maid / Margo Lanagan --To follow the waves / Amal El-Mohtar --Clockmaker's requiem / Barth Anderson --Dr Lash remembers / Jeffrey Ford --Lady Witherspoon's solution / James Morrow --Reluctance / Cherie Priest --A serpent in the gears / Margaret Ronald --The celebrated carousel of the Margravine of Blois / Megan Arkenberg --Biographical notes to ''A discourse on the nature of causality, with air-planes'' by Benjamin Rosenbaum / Benjamin Rosenbaum --Clockwork chickadee / Mary Robinette Kowal --Cinderella suicide / Samantha Henderson --Arbeitskraft / Nick Mamatas --To seek her fortune / Nicole Kornher-Stace --The ballad of the last human / Lavie Tidhar.

    The pieces that comprise Non-Fiction prove just how different, in ways both highly entertaining and deeply unsettling. Encounters with alternative culture heroes Marilyn Manson and Juliette Lewis; the peculiar wages of fame attendant on the big budget film production of the movie Fight Club; life as an assembly-line drive train installer by day, hospice volunteer driver by night; the really peculiar lives of submariners; the really violent world of college wrestlers; the underground world of anabolic steroid gobblers; the harrowing circumstances of his father's murder and the trial of his killer - each essay or vignette offers a unique facet of existence as lived in and/or observed by one of America's most flagrantly daring and original literary talents.