The Best American Short Stories 2018

Copyright

Copyright © 2018 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Introduction copyright © 2018 by Roxane Gay

All Rights Reserved

The Best American Series® and The Best American Short Stories® are registered trademarks of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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ISSN 0067-6233 (print)

ISSN 2573-4784 (ebook)

ISBN 978-0-544-58288-0 (hardcover)

ISBN 978-0-544-58294-1 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-1-328-50667-2 (ebook)

Cover design by Christopher Moisan

Gay photograph © Jay Grabiec

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“Cougar” by Maria Anderson. First published in the Iowa Review, 46/3. Copyright © 2017 by Maria Anderson. Reprinted by permission of Maria Anderson.

“A Family” by Jamel Brinkley. First published in Gulf Coast, vol. 28, issue 2. From A Lucky Man: Stories. Copyright © 2018 by Jamel Brinkley. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company, Inc., on behalf of Graywolf Press, Minneapolis, Minnesota, www.graywolfpress.org.

“The Art of Losing” by Yoon Choi. First published in New England Review, vol. 38, no. 2. Copyright © 2017 by Yoon Choi. Reprinted by permission of Yoon Choi.

“Los Angeles” by Emma Cline. First published in Granta, 139. Copyright © 2017 by Emma Cline. Reprinted by permission of Granta.

“Unearth” by Alicia Elliott. First published in Grain, vol. 44.3. Copyright © 2017 by Alicia Elliott. Reprinted by permission of Alicia Elliott.

“Boys Go to Jupiter” by Danielle Evans. First published in the Sewanee Review, vol. CXXV, no. 4. Copyright © 2017 by Danielle Evans. Reprinted by permission of Danielle Evans.

“A History of China” by Carolyn Ferrell. First published in Ploughshares: Solos Omnibus, vol. 5. Copyright © 2017 by Carolyn Ferrell. Reprinted by permission of Carolyn Ferrell.

“Come On, Silver” by Ann Glaviano. First published in Tin House, vol. 18, no. 4. Copyright © 2017 by Ann Glaviano. Reprinted by permission of Ann Glaviano.

“What Got Into Us” by Jacob Guajardo. First published in Passages North, no. 38. Copyright © 2017 by Jacob Guajardo. Reprinted by permission of Jacob Guajardo.

“Everything Is Far from Here” by Cristina Henríquez. First published in The New Yorker, July 24, 2017. Copyright © 2017 by Cristina Henríquez. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Good with Boys” by Kristen Iskandrian. First published in ZYZZYVA, no. 109. Copyright © 2017 by Kristen Iskandrian. Used by permission of Brandt & Hochman Literary Agents, Inc. All rights reserved.

“Control Negro” by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson. First published in Guernica, July 29, 2017. Copyright © 2017 by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson. Reprinted by permission of Jocelyn Nicole Johnson.

“The Brothers Brujo” by Matthew Lyons. First published in Toughcrime.com. Copyright © 2017 by Matthew Lyons. Reprinted by permission of Matthew Lyons.

“A Big True” by Dina Nayeri. First published in the Southern Review, vol. 53, no. 3. Copyright © 2017 by Dina Nayeri. Reprinted by permission of Dina Nayeri.

“Items Awaiting Protective Enclosure” by Téa Obreht. First published in Zoetrope: All-Story, vol. 21, no. 1. Copyright © 2017 by Téa Obreht. Reprinted by permission of Téa Obreht.

“The Baptism” by Ron Rash. First published in the Southern Review, vol. 53, no. 4. Copyright © 2017 by Ron Rash. Reprinted by permission of Ron Rash.

“Suburbia!” by Amy Silverberg. First published in the Southern Review, vol. 53, no. 2. Copyright © 2017 by Amy Silverberg. Reprinted by permission of Amy Silverberg.

“The Prairie Wife” by Curtis Sittenfeld. First published in The New Yorker, February 13 & 20, 2017. Copyright © 2017 by Curtis Sittenfeld. Reprinted by permission of Curtis Sittenfeld.

“Whose Heart I Long to Stop with the Click of a Revolver” by Rivers Solomon. First published in Emrys Journal, vol. 34. Copyright © 2017 by Rivers Solomon. Reprinted by permission of Rivers Solomon.

“What Terrible Thing It Was” by Esmé Weijun Wang. First published in Granta, 139. Copyright © 2017 by Esmé Weijun Wang. Reprinted by permission of The Wylie Agency, LLC.