Essay Anthologies: Curated Collections of Great Nonfiction

Core thesis: Essay anthologies provide curated gateways to the best non-fiction writing, offering readers a concentrated dose of exceptional voices across subjects, styles, and perspectives within a single volume.

Essay anthologies serve an essential function in literary culture: they collect the best short-form non-fiction from a given period, subject, or tradition, making it accessible to readers who might not encounter these works in their original publication context. A great anthology is more than a compilation — it is a conversation between essays, an argument about what matters, and a map of a literary landscape. Anthologies also perform the crucial function of canon-formation: the essays selected for inclusion become the works that future readers and writers will study, imitate, and respond to. The editor of an anthology is not merely a collector but a curator whose choices shape the literary tradition.

The Best American Series

The most famous essay anthology series is The Best American Essays, published annually since 1986. Each volume features twenty essays chosen by a guest editor from hundreds of submissions drawn from literary magazines, journals, and periodicals across the United States. The series has introduced readers to major voices — from Joy Williams and John Jeremiah Sullivan to Rebecca Solnit and Jia Tolentino. The guest editor selection process ensures that each volume reflects a distinct sensibility while maintaining consistent quality. Robert Atwan, the series creator, has described his editorial philosophy as seeking “essays that are as much fun to read as they are thoughtful” — a standard that has served the series well for nearly four decades.

The companion series extends the model to specific genres. Best American Travel Writing, Best American Science and Nature Writing, Best American Food Writing, and Best American Sports Writing provide annual surveys of their respective fields. Each offers a snapshot of the year’s best work in that genre, making them invaluable for readers who want to stay current with the best nonfiction writing. The series also includes anthologies of infrequently published forms, such as Best American Comics and Best American Mystery and Suspense. For any reader looking to discover contemporary essayists, the Best American series is the logical starting point.

The selection process for the Best American series is itself instructive. Series editor Robert Atwan reads hundreds of periodicals throughout the year, identifying candidates for inclusion. He then sends a selection of approximately one hundred essays to the guest editor, who chooses the final twenty. This two-stage process combines broad reading with a single editorial vision, ensuring both range and coherence. The guest editor’s introduction, included in each volume, provides insight into their curatorial choices and often serves as a mini-manifesto about the state of the essay.

Themed Anthologies

Themed collections bring together essays on a single subject, offering depth and range that annual collections cannot match. Notable examples include The Art of the Personal Essay (edited by Phillip Lopate), which remains the definitive anthology of the personal essay form, spanning from Seneca to the twentieth century. Lopate’s introduction alone is worth the price — it is a master class in the history and practice of the personal essay. The Impossible Will Take a Little While brings together essays on hope and perseverance in the face of adversity, and The Nature Reader collects the best nature writing from two centuries. Each of these anthologies makes a coherent argument through its selections, showing how different writers approach a common theme.

Themed anthologies are especially valuable for classroom use and for readers exploring a new subject. A single volume on nature writing, for example, can introduce the major voices of the genre — from John Muir and Rachel Carson to Barry Lopez and Rebecca Solnit — providing context and comparison that reading individual works cannot offer. The juxtaposition of voices is itself educational: the reader can trace the evolution of a form, the persistence of certain themes, and the variety of approaches to a shared subject. A well-edited themed anthology is the next best thing to a university course on its subject.

Recent years have seen a surge in anthologies that focus on identity and representation. The Good Immigrant, edited by Nikesh Shukla, collects essays by writers of color in Britain. Go Home!, edited by Rowan Hisayo Buchanan, brings together Asian diaspora writers. Waveform: The 21st-Century Essay, edited by Marcia Aldrich, includes a diverse range of contemporary voices. These anthologies are essential for readers who want a more inclusive view of the essay tradition and for writers who want to understand the full range of what the form can do.

Collections by a Single Author

While technically not anthologies, essay collections by a single author offer a unified voice across diverse subjects. These collections reveal the development of a writer’s thinking over time and the connections between seemingly different topics. A single-author collection is like a retrospective exhibition of a painter’s work — it shows range, development, and the recurring concerns that define a career.

Essential collections include Joan Didion’s Slouching Towards Bethlehem, which captures California in the 1960s with a style that defined an era of American journalism. James Baldwin’s Notes of a Native Son is a landmark of American literature, blending personal narrative with political analysis. George Orwell’s Shooting an Elephant and Other Essays demonstrates how to make political writing into art. David Foster Wallace’s Consider the Lobster showcases his encyclopedic curiosity and stylistic virtuosity. Each of these collections works as a coherent whole, the essays speaking to each other across the pages, creating a cumulative effect that no single essay could achieve alone.

Reading a single-author collection from beginning to end reveals something that reading individual essays cannot: the way a writer’s mind works across subjects. Didion’s essays on politics, popular culture, and personal experience, read together, reveal a consistent sensibility — a particular way of seeing the world that is more than the sum of its parts. Orwell’s essays on literature, politics, and everyday life, collected in one volume, show the moral vision that animates all his work. The single-author collection is the best way to understand a writer’s total contribution to the essay form.

How to Read an Anthology

Anthologies invite nonlinear reading. Readers can dip in and out, follow thematic threads, or read cover to cover. A good strategy: read the editor’s introduction first (it frames the selection and explains the editorial principles), then sample essays from different sections, then read the biographical notes on contributors. Anthologies are ideal for discovering new writers — finding one essay you love can lead to a whole body of work. Many readers keep a list of writers encountered in anthologies, building their reading lists from the seeds planted by a single volume.

Keep a notebook while reading. Mark the essays that resonate. Note the writers you want to explore further. An anthology is a conversation starter, not a final statement. The best anthologies send readers back to the original works — they are gateways, not destinations. A good reader treats an anthology as a living document, returning to it over the years and finding new essays that speak to their changing concerns.

Another useful approach is to read anthologies competitively. Read two anthologies on the same subject — say, the Best American Essays of two different years — and compare the selections. What does each guest editor value? Which essays feel timeless and which feel dated? This comparative reading sharpens the critical faculties and deepens the reader’s understanding of the essay as a form.

Building a Personal Essay Library

1. Annual collections — Subscribe to the Best American series to stay current with the best writing being published each year.
2. Thematic collections — Build depth in areas of interest — nature, science, travel, food, politics, sports.
3. Anthologies from small presses — Look for collections from Graywolf, Tin House, Catapult, and Coffee House Press.
4. Literary journals — Many journals publish “best of” collections from their archives, offering a focused view of a particular publication’s aesthetic.
5. Historical anthologies — Build context with collections that span centuries, like Lopate’s Art of the Personal Essay or the Norton Book of Nature Writing.
6. International anthologies — Seek out collections that include voices from beyond the English-speaking world.

Building a personal essay library is a long-term project. Start with one or two foundational anthologies and expand from there. The library will grow with your interests, and the best collections will reward repeated readings. A personal essay library is not a status symbol — it is a tool for thinking.

Using Anthologies for Teaching and Study

Anthologies are indispensable tools for teachers and students of creative nonfiction. A well-edited anthology provides a survey of the form, introducing students to multiple voices and approaches within a single volume. The juxtaposition of different essays on similar themes allows for comparative analysis that single essays cannot provide.

For self-study, anthologies offer a structured curriculum. Read through an anthology chronologically to trace the evolution of the form. Read thematically, following a single thread across different writers and periods. Read for craft, studying how different writers handle scene, dialogue, and reflection. Each reading strategy yields different insights.

The best way to use an anthology is as a starting point, not an endpoint. When you discover an essay you love in an anthology, seek out more work by that writer. When a theme resonates, find the books that explore it in depth. An anthology is a map of a literary territory — the actual exploration happens when you follow the paths it opens up.

FAQ

What is the best essay anthology for beginners? The Art of the Personal Essay edited by Phillip Lopate is the best starting point. It covers the history of the form and includes both classic and contemporary works.

Are single-author collections worth reading? Absolutely. A single-author collection reveals a writer’s range and development in ways that a single essay cannot. Didion’s Slouching Towards Bethlehem is essential reading.

How often are the Best American series published? Annually. The new volume is typically released in October. The series has been running continuously since 1986 for essays.

Can I submit my own essay to the Best American series? Essays must be published in a magazine or journal first. Only published works are eligible for selection.

Are there anthologies focused on diverse voices? Yes. Recent years have seen an increase in anthologies centering writers of color, LGBTQ+ writers, and writers from the Global South. The Good Immigrant and Go Home! collect essays by writers of color in Britain and North America. Waveform: The 21st-Century Essay includes a diverse range of voices.

How do I submit work to an anthology? Most themed anthologies issue open calls for submissions through Submittable or Duotrope. Carefully read the theme guidelines, submit your best work, and follow formatting instructions precisely.

What makes an anthology great? A great anthology has a clear editorial vision, includes surprising juxtapositions, introduces readers to unfamiliar voices, and makes a coherent argument through its selections.

Should I read an anthology cover to cover or dip in selectively? Both approaches work. Reading cover to cover reveals the editor’s argument; dipping in selectively allows you to follow your interests. The best approach combines both.

Related: Great Essayists Guide — the essential essay writers everyone should know | Publishing Essays — contests, magazines, and submission strategies