It was just pointed out that my publisher, Night Shade Books, have added a pre-order page for The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume 3 to their website, and I was just asked if I have a table of contents for the book. I’m guessing this query, which is in comments for another post, came because the Night Shade page mentions that there’ll be two dozen stories in the new book.
The truth is that I’m only a ways along the long and windy road to completing the year’s best. I’m in the middle of reading, and have a short list of stories – some that I already know definitely will be in the final book and some that may. I still have a bunch of things to read, and am yet to see major anthologies like Fast Forward 2 and Firebirds Soaring. I’m also waiting on the final issues of the magazines for the year, and am yet to do any real re-reading. I also need to scope out publications like McSweeney’s and Conjunctions, which I’ve not seen much of yet.
So, where to from here? Well, I should have a near-final table of contents in the first week of October. I’ll probably send out the first contracts then. By mid-October I’ll have have a final ToC, and be writing the main volume introduction and story notes. And, by November 5 (which feels perilously soon), I’ll have handed in the manuscript and be looking to do some catch up reading for the Locus Recommended Reading issue. Based on my previous year’s bests, I’d guess 24 stories is about right for volume three, but we’ll see.
I am pleased that the pre-order page is up, though. I’m hoping the book will do well. Oh, and if you, dear readers, have any story recommendations (especially from places like McSweeney’s, The New Yorker etc etc) I’d love to hear them.