NEW AND FORTHCOMING 2022-2023 YA ANTHOLOGIES

 by Kelly Jensen August 1, 2022

There are so many things about anthologies that make them compelling. You get a taste of an author’s writing without committing to a whole book, you get to see how different authors take on a theme or topic, and you get the opportunity to consider the choices that went into the creation of the anthology. Why did the editors choose these authors or arrange the contents in a specific way? As someone who has edited three YA anthologies, I find anthologies even more fascinating than I did prior to doing the behind-the-scenes work.

We continue to be in an age where YA anthologies are thriving. They’re covering a wide range of fascinating topics across a big swath of genres and styles. There are new editors and voices within these collections, as well as established and beloved creators.

This year and next year are promising a host of exciting and necessary YA anthologies, with something for every kind of reader. One thing that makes YA anthologies an awesome reading option is that you don’t have to read them cover to cover. You can, of course, but anthologies are designed for picking up and putting down, meaning they can be great for slumps or for short reads between big books.

2022 NEW AND FORTHCOMING YA ANTHOLOGIES

ALL SIGNS POINT TO YES EDITED BY ADRIANNE WHITE, CAM MONTGOMERY, AND G. HARON DAVIS

How about a collection that explores all of the different ways love stories can play out? What about creating it through the astrological signs? If you want those two things, plus a roster of amazing authors, this anthology is your winner. It includes meet cutes, aromantic relationship stories, and more.

AT MIDNIGHT: 15 BELOVED FAIRY TALES REIMAGINED EDITED BY DAHLIA ADLER (NOVEMBER 22, 2022)

Adler’s third anthology with a connection to classic stories takes us to new twists on fairy tales (her previous anthologies took on Shakespeare and Edgar Allan Poe). This is a star-studded collection, including takes on “The Little Matchstick Girl” from Stacey Lee, Alex London on “Cinderella,” and “The Nutcracker” from Anna-Marie McLemore, among others.

BETTER THAN WE FOUND IT: CONVERSATIONS TO CHANGE THE WORLD BY FREDERICK JOSEPH AND PORSCHE JOSEPH (OCTOBER 11, 2022)

This is a different take on an anthology, in that it is a series of interviews done by Joseph and Joseph about activism and how teens can get involved in changing the world. Among the leaders interviewed in this groundbreaking and necessary (and timely…) collection include Keah Brown, Nic Stone, Anton Treuer, Elizabeth Warren, and more.

THE GATHERING DARK: AN ANTHOLOGY OF FOLK HORROR EDITED BY TORI BOVALINO (SEPTEMBER 6, 2022)

Monsters and curses? Yes, please! This YA anthology features authors such as Chloe Gong, Erica Waters, Courtney Gould, and Aden Polydoros exploring haunted lakes, wicked and burning towns, isolated bridges, and more.

GENERATION WONDER: THE NEW AGE OF HEROES EDITED BY BARRY LYGA

If you love superhero stories and tropes, you will be pleased to dig into these 13 short stories by a wide range of authors — Varian Johnson, Lamar Giles, Anna-Marie Mclemore, and Axie Oh among them — all giving these a new, fresh spin.

OUR SHADOWS HAVE CLAWS: 15 LATIN AMERICAN MONSTER STORIES EDITED BY YAMILE SAIED MÉNDEZ AND AMPARO ORTIZ (SEPTEMBER 6, 2022)

This dark, magical collection is set across Latin America and the diaspora and features a wide range of stories about monsters. Of course, “monsters” is a broad term, and so, too, are the real — and imagined — creatures herein. Some of the contributors in this knockout collection include Lilliam Rivera, Courtney Alameda, Julia Alvarez, Ann Dávila Cardinal, Alexandra Villasante, and more.

OUT THERE: INTO THE QUEER NEW YONDER EDITED BY SAUNDRA MITCHELL

This is the third in Mitchell’s anthology series featuring queer stories, and the unifying theme in this collection is stories set in the future. Among the contributors to this fabulously queer anthology are Mason Deaver, Alechia Dow, Adam Sass, Nita Tyndall, and Leah Johnson, among others.

STUDY BREAK: 11 COLLEGE TALES FROM ORIENTATION TO GRADUATION EDITED BY AASHNA AVACHAT (MARCH 7, 2023)

Since I started blogging about 15 years ago, there’s been a regular call for more YA books set in college. We’ve seen it happen, and this collection is one that stands out in that it not only is by and for Gen Z, but it’s a series of interconnected and diverse stories all taking place on the same campus. It gives a big look at the “college experience” — whatever that may be.

TASTING LIGHT: TEN SCIENCE FICTION STORIES TO REWIRE YOUR PERCEPTIONS EDITED BY A. R. CAPETTA AND WADE ROUSH (OCTOBER 4, 2022)

For readers of science fiction who are fascinated by technology, this collection is going to be extremely satisfying. The wide range of racial and gender identities in this collection engage with technology of today and of the future. What does reality look like anyway? This book explores that question with contributions from authors like Wendy Xu, AS King, Junauda Petrus-Nasah, William Alexander, and more.

2023 FORTHCOMING YA ANTHOLOGIES

COOL. AWKWARD. BLACK. EDITED BY KAREN STRONG (JANUARY 10, 2023)

If you loved Ibi Zoboi’s Black Enough, then you’ll be preordering this anthology ASAP. Strong’s anthology features a wide range of short stories across genres by some of the best writers in YA right now, all featuring Black characters. Among the contributors are Elise Bryant, Tracey Deonn, Lamar Giles, Jordan Ifueko, Leah Johnson, and more.

BEING ACE EDITED BY MADELINE DYER (FALL 2023)

Dyer’s debut anthology was just announced, but it’s one worth getting on your TBR right now. This collection will feature a wide range of genres, all exploring the nuances of asexuality. Some of the authors announced include Akemi Dawn Bowman, Lara Ameen, Rosiee Thor, and Linsey Miller.

MY BIG, FAT, DESI WEDDING EDITED BY PRERNA PICKETT (SPRING 2023)

Hitting shelves in spring is this collection of cross-genre, interlinked stories all about the Desi life experience. Among the announced contributors are Tashie Bhuiyan, Payal Doshi, Anahita Karthik, and Syed M. Masood.