Science fiction is a field of literature that has great interest and great controversy among its writers and critics. This book examines the roots, history, development, current status, and future directions of the field through articles contributed by well-respected science fiction writers, teachers, and critics. The articles 'speculate' on what is science fiction, is science fiction serious literature, which writers are considered good science fiction writers, and where the genre of science fiction is headed with 21st-century writers. Contributors include Brian W. Aldiss, Kathryn Cramer, Samuel R. Delany, David G. Hartwell, Ursula K. Le Guin, Barry N. Malzberg, Darko Suvin, Michael Swanwick, and many other outstanding authors. Examining all genres and subgenres of science fiction writing, this book provides differing viewpoints on science fiction, making it a great basis for dynamic classroom discussions.

In The Dark Descent, hailed as one of the most important anthologies ever to examine horror fiction, editor David G. Hartwell traces the complex history of horror in literature back to the earliest short stories. The Dark Descent, which won the World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology, showcases the finest of these ever written--from the time-honored classics of Edgar Allan Poe, D.H. Lawrence, and Edith Wharton to the contemporary writing of Stephen King, Clive Barker, and Ray Bradbury.

The short story is one of the most vibrant and exciting areas in science fiction today. It is where the hot new authors emerge and where the beloved giants of the field continue to publish. Now, building on the success of the first twelve volumes, Eos will once again present a collection of the best stories of 2007 in mass market. Here, selected and compiled by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer, two of the most respected editors in the field, are stories with visions of tomorrow and yesterday, of the strange and the familiar, of the unknown and the unknowable. With stories from an all-star team of science fiction authors, "The Year's Best Sf 13" is an indispensable guide for every science fiction fan.

This is a collection of fifteen stories by master storyteller Theodore Sturgeon, written at the very height of his power, between the years 1955 and 1957. Five of these stories have never before been in a Sturgeon collection and will be welcomed by his many fans. Another five are major works, the sort of classic stories that have made Sturgeon's reputation as one of science fiction's very best and most beloved writers.

Who knows what awaits us tomorrow?

Much of the most innovative and exhilarating work performed in the boundary-less arena of SF is being done in the short form. This year's magnificent harvest--gathered, as always, by acclaimed award-winning editors and anthologists David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer--offers glimpses of worlds and tomorrows that would have been inconceivable just a few years ago. Brilliant, bold, unusual, and soaring flights into the hitherto unforeseen yet increasingly possible future, Year's Best SF 15 offers truly breathtaking stories by some of speculative fiction's brightest lights, including:

Stephen Baxter - Nancy Kress - Alastair Reynolds - Geoff Ryman - Bruce Sterling - Peter Watts - Robert Charles Wilson - Gene Wolfe - and others

"Twenty-First Century Science Fiction" is an enormous anthology of short stories--close to 250,000 words--edited by two of the most prestigious and award-winning editors in the SF field and featuring recent stories from some of science fiction's greatest up-and-coming authors.
David Hartwell and Patrick Nielsen Hayden have long been recognized as two of the most skilled and trusted arbiters of the field, but "Twenty-First Century Science Fiction" presents fans' first opportunities to see what their considerable talents come up with together, and also to get a unique perspective on what's coming "next" in the science fiction field.
The anthology includes authors ranging from bestselling and established favorites to incandescent new talents including Paolo Bacigalupi, Cory Doctorow, Catherynne M. Valente, John Scalzi, Jo Walton, Charles Stross, Elizabeth Bear, and Peter Watts, and the stories selected include winners and nominees of all of the science fiction field's major awards.

One of "Publishers Weekly"'s Best Science Fiction Books of 2013

Once again, the finest SF short stories of the year have been collected in a single volume.
With "Year's Best SF 18, "acclaimed, award-winning editor and anthologist David G. Hartwell demonstrates the amazing depth and power of contemporary speculative fiction, showcasing astonishing stories from some of science fiction's most respected names as well as exciting new writers to watch. In this anthology, prepare to travel light years from the ordinary into a tomorrow at once breathtaking, frightening, and possible with some of the greatest tales of wonder published in 2012.

"Science fiction is the characteristic literary genre of the century. It is the genre that stands in opposition to literary modernism." -David G. Hartwell, from the Introduction
First published in hardcover in 1997, "The Science Fiction Century "was an anthology that defined and explained what we mean when we talk about modern SF. Now it returns to print in an affordable two-volume softcover edition. Here in volume 1, literary names such as Rudyard Kipling and Jack London rub shoulders with genre authors whose pedigrees run back to the 1940s and 50s, including figures such as Hal Clement, John Wyndham, Poul Anderson, Harlan Ellison, Bruce Sterling, James Tiptree, Jr., and Connie Willis. Here is modern science fiction in all its breadth, from the anthologist hailed by John Updike as a "loving expert."

The best of Christmas--past, present, and yet to come
Christmas is a time for miracle, scientific and otherwise, and for surprises that can only occur at this time of the year. But what marvels will the holidays bring to the far future--or to alien worlds light-years from the North Pole?
In this celebratory collection, many of today's finest writers of fantasy and science fiction unwrap startling visions of the future of Christmas. An unusual Christmas spirit brings confusion-and romance-to a modern young woman. A father's gift opens up the universe for all humanity. And a devout researcher uncovers the shattering secret of the original Star of Bethlehem. These and other stories shine like sparkling, unearthly ornaments on a fresh green tree of holiday traditions.
'Twas the night before tomorrow, and all through the galaxy, nothing burns as bright as... Christmas Stars.

Something exciting has been happening in modern SF. After decades of confusion, many of the field's best writers have been returning to the subgenre called, roughly, "hard SF"-science fiction focused on science and technology, often with strong adventure plots. Now, World Fantasy Award-winning editors David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer present an immense, authoritative anthology that maps the development and modern-day resurgence of this form, argues for its special virtues and present preeminence-and entertains us with some spectacular storytelling along the way.

Included are major stories by contemporary and classic names such as Poul Anderson, Stephen Baxter, Gregory Benford, Ben Bova, David Brin, Arthur C. Clarke, Hal Clement, Greg Egan, Joe Haldeman, Nancy Kress, Paul McAuley, Frederik Pohl, Alastair Reynolds, Kim Stanley Robinson, Robert J. Sawyer, Karl Schroeder, Charles Sheffield, Brian Stableford, Allen Steele, Bruce Sterling, Michael Swanwick, and Vernor Vinge.

The Hard SF Renaissance will be an anthology that SF readers return to for years to come.

For years, those bringing SF into the classroom have had to improvise their course materials from anthologies and collections not designed for classwork. Now, David G. Hartwell, award-winning anthologist, and Professor Milton T. Wolf, Vice President of the Science Fiction Research Association, present a carefully selected reading anthology reflecting the SF field in all its modern diversity. Here are Golden Age writers like John W. Campbell and Jack Williamson, and here also are towering latter-day titans like Gene Wolfe and Ursula K. Le Guin, along with today's popular writers such as Greg Bear, Robert Jordan, and Vernor Vinge.

The short story is one of the most vibrant and exciting areas in science fiction today. It is where the hot new authors emerge and where the beloved giants of the field continue to publish. Now, building on the success of the first thirteen volumes, Eos will once again present a collection of the best stories of 2008 in mass market. Here, selected and compiled by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer, two of the most respected editors in the field, are stories with visions of tomorrow and yesterday, of the strange and the familiar, of the unknown and the unknowable. With stories from an all-star team of science fiction authors, "The Year's Best Sf 14" is an indispensable guide for every science fiction fan.