But it could be just as easily argued that the reasonable sales for the “mass-market” paperbacks would indicate an untapped market, now, with Hartwell’s being the one on the shelves, so perhaps people do just want a sampling of the field. We may even be talking about two different markets.

On a volume by volume basis, I’d love more space. I could easily have stretched Best Short Novels to 300,000 words this year (I wouldn’t do that to you, Andy, so relax :)), and both shorter volumes could easily have been 175,000 words.

I guess, though, that I have this feeling that the length limits may, at some level, be good for readers. If you look at the first 10 Terry Carr Year’s Bests, almost every story is excellent and still remembered, and virtually every writer is still hailed today as amongst the field’s best. He focussed on the best of the best, the true cream of the crop that seemed to deserve both critical acclaim, wider readership, and a good shot at entering the field’s canon. I’m not sure if he’d had twice the space, if that would have been the case. I never had the chance to ask him such a question, but I’d have been interested to hear his answer.