YA Anthologies Coming Out In 2020
I love short stories, and I love YA. Maybe because I still remember what it is like to be a young adult believing in changing the world, or maybe because I am now the adult who trusts young people to be a force of change, YA stories are the perfect companions when hope seems to be lost.
This list of upcoming YA anthologies, all set to come out during 2020, contains some of my favourite YA authors, with varied stories and voices you will love to read.
Check them out!
Rural Voices: 15 Authors Challenge Assumptions About Small-Town America by Nora Shalaway Carpenter
Rural Voices was edited by Nora Shalaway Carpenter, and it’s a collection of stories which is set to challenge the stereotypes of rural America, while exposing the complexity and beauty of growing up in a small community.
The authors include David Bowles, Veela Bybee, Shane Carys, Rob Costello, Yamile Menez, and Book Riot contributing editor Tirzah Price, among others.
The book is set to come out in October, and you will want it for the cover alone.
Out Now: Queer We Go Again by Saundra Mitchell
Saundra Mitchell edits this short story collection which is a follow up to the historical anthology All Out.
Featuring LGBTQIA+ authors like Eliot Schrefer, Mark Oshiro, and Hilary Monahan, it also features stories with LGBTQIA+ characters in contemporary times.
It is set to come out on May 26.
Body Talk by Kelly Jensen
Kelly Jensen, author of Here We Are: Feminism For The Real World and (Don’t) Call Me Crazy—and Book Riot Editor—has put together the wonderful contributions of, among others, Roshani Chokshi, Anna-Marie McLemore, Sara Saedi, and Yao Xiao in Body Talk, an YA anthology of essays, poetry, and art, which address the whole physical body experience.
It is set to come out on August 18, and you can already preorder it now (cover to come!).
A Phoenix First Must Burn by Patrice Caldwell
Patrice Caldwell brings together a selection of stories in various genres, from folktales to futuristic societies, in a narrative centered around black women and gender-nonconforming individuals. Its stories are varied, with intriguing and complex characters.
Authors include Elizabeth Acevedo, Dhonielle Clayton, and Ibi Zoboi.
Set to come out on March 10, you should put this on your TBR.
Once Upon an Eid: Stories of Hope and Joy by 15 Muslim Voices by S.K. Ali and Aisha Saeed
S.K. Ali and Aisha Saeed are the editors of this short story collection, tales by and about Muslims, featuring the most joyful holiday of the year: Eid.
Because this single word brings back a torrent of memories for Muslims, each of them speaks of their own experiences and what they recall most fondly about this holiday: what for them had more significance, what the word means, transporting us perhaps into a world we do not know, or one we’d like to revisit.
The anthology includes a poem, a graphic-novel chapter, and illustrations.
Expected to come out on May 5.
Come On In by Adi Alsaid
Edited by Adi Alsaid, and with wonderful contributions by Samira Ahmed, Zoraida Cordova, and Maurene Goo, among others, this anthology compiles a series of short stories about immigration by authors who are either immigrants, or the children of immigrants.
Expected to be published in the fall.
Vampires Never Get Old by Natalie C. Parker and Zoraida Córdova
With the publishing date ser for September, and edited by Natalie C. Parker and Zoraida Córdova, this anthology brings back the monsters so many of us have learned to fear and admire: vampires.
If either you are a fan of Dracula, Anne Rice, Twilight, or any other story about the blood-sucking creature, this short story collection written by authors like V.E. Schwab, Laura Ruby, or Heidi Heilig, will quench your thirst for vampire tales, by shaping the same character in different ways and placing them in different settings.
Probably for the faint of heart, too.
Foreshadow: The Magic of Reading & Writing YA by Emily X.R. Pan and Nova Ren Suma
Based on the homonymous digital platform created by its editors, Emily X. R. Pan and Nova Ren Suma, this anthology includes essays and discussions from the authors paired with the stories of 13 writers which include Becky Albertalli, Nicola Yoon, and Sabaa Tahir.
You Too? by Janet Gurtler
This may not be considered an upcoming anthology as it came out in January, but since it has just been published and the importance of the matter it speaks of, I think it is worthwhile to include it on the list.
Edited by Janet Gurtler, this collection of essays is inspired by the #MeToo movement and by Gurtler’s own considerations and experiences of assault.
It features young adult and middle grade authors like Beth Revis, Mackenzie Lee, Cheryl Rainfield, and many others, writers who speak of their own relatable experiences, turning this book into a call for change.
