Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction , Volumes 1-3 (Ansible Press, December 13, 2023,
November 22, 2024, and October 21, 2025). Covers by Tithi Luadthong, Xiaofan Zhang, and Pascal Blanché

I was delighted to see (on S. M. Carrière’s Facebook feed) news of the upcoming launch of Volume Three of Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction, edited by Stephen Kotowych. The book is already available in digital and print formats, and the big launch party happens at Bakka-Phoenix Books in Toronto this Saturday.

As long-time readers of this blog know, I’ve been a huge fan of Year’s Best SF anthologies since I first discovered Terry Carr’s legendary The Best Science Fiction of the Year (1972-1987) in the mid-70s. I dearly miss Gardner Dozois’ long-running The Year’s Best Science Fiction, which ran for 35 years (1984-2018) and, in more recent decades, the Year’s Best series from Rich Horton, Neil Clarke, Jonathan Strahan, and Paula Guran — all of which folded in just the last few years.

[Click the images for the year’s best versions.]

Back covers for Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction

In the last few years the only editor who’s kept alive a Year’s Best SF volume for more than two volumes has been the tireless Allen Kaster, who published Volume 9 of Year’s Top Hard Science Fiction Stories this year.

That’s why I was so excited to see Volume 3 of Stephen Kotowych’s Kickstarter-funded Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction arrive last month. As Stephen notes in his campaign pitch, the world needs more Canada.

I originally started this series because of that old phrase “The world needs more Canada.” It was a way to highlight (especially for international readers) the sheer number and quality of great SFF writing being done by Canadians. And with the recognition this series has received, including a World Fantasy Award nomination (!), I felt like these books were doing their job.

But this year, as we launch the Kickstarter for Volume 3 in the series, I find myself thinking that perhaps this time Canada needs more Canada, too.

These award-winning volumes contain short fiction from many of the most exciting voices in modern SF, including Derek Künsken, Cory Doctorow, Amal El-Mohtar, Nalo Hopkinson, Rich Larson, Tanya Huff, Premee Mohamed, Kelly Robson, Peter Watts, Kate Heartfield, Ai Jiang, Leah Bobet, Marie Bilodeau, Dominik Parisien, James Alan Gardner, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Gemma Files, Brandon Crilly, Eric Choi, Suzan Palumbo, and many more.

Nebula Awards Showcase, Volumes 57-60, edited by Stephen Kotowych
(SFWA, March 25 and June 9, 2025). Covers by Lauren Raye Snow

Editor Stephen Kotowych has also made a name for himself in the field in the past few years. Earlier this year he edited four volumes (!) of one of the most prestigious anthologies in genre history, the long-running Nebula Awards Showcase (volumes 57-60), all published by SFWA.

Past volumes of Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction have received the 2024 Aurora Award for Best Anthology, and been a finalist for the World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology. These generously-sized volumes are the definitive annual showcase of the very best short Canadian F&SF of the year.

Here’s the complete publishing details.

Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction, Volume One (362 pages, $4.99 digital/$19.95 print, December 14, 2023) — cover by Tithi Luadthong
Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction, Volume Two (510 pages, $7.99 digital/$24.99 print, November 22, 2024) — cover by Xiaofan Zhang
Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction, Volume Three (546 pages, $4.99 digital/$18.99 print, October 21, 2025) — cover by Pascal Blanché(

All three books were published by Ansible Press (website not yet active, but the address is ansiblepress.com.

And if you’re in the Toronto area this weekend, drop by for the launch of Year’s Best Canadian F&SF Volume 3 this Saturday, Nov 8 at Bakka-Phoenix at 3pm. Ten contributors will be doing brief readings from their work and the fine folks at Bakka-Phoenix Books will have plenty of copies for sale.