The Best American Series(R) First, Best, and Best-Selling The Best American series is the premier annual showcase for the country’s finest short fiction and nonfiction. Each volume’s series editor selects notable works from hundreds of magazines, journals, and websites. A special guest editor, a leading writer in the field, then chooses the best twenty or so pieces to publish. This unique system has made the Best American series the most respected — and most popular — of its kind. The Best American Short Stories 2012 includes The last speaker of the language / Carol Anshaw — Pilgrim life / Taylor Antrim — What we talk about when we talk about Anne Frank / Nathan Englander — The other place / Mary Gaitskill — North Country / Roxane Gay — Paramour / Jennifer Haigh — Navigators / Mike Meginnis — Miracle polish / Steven Millhauser — Axis / Alice Munro — Volcano / Lawrence Osborne — Diem Perdidi / Julie Otsuka — Honeydew / Edith Pearlman — Occupational hazard / Angela Pneuman — Beautiful monsters / Eric Puchner — Tenth of December / George Saunders — The sex lives of African girls / Taiye Selasi — Alive / Sharon Solwitz — M&M world / Kate Walbert — Anything helps / Jess Walter — What’s important is feeling / Adam Wilson