Check out the Table of Contents for The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2017, edited by Charles Yu and John Joseph Adams
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Charles Yu, the author of How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, named one of the best books of the year by Time magazine, also knows his way around a short story, with two collections to his credit, Third Class Superhero (2006) and Sorry Please Thank You (2012). He’s a fine choice to edit this year’s edition of Mariner Books’ The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy, which was edited by Joe Hill in 2015, and Karen Joy Fowler in 2016. The Series Editor is John Joseph Adams, editor of Lightspeed, Nightmare, and about a zillion SF and fantasy anthologies.
This year’s volume officially goes on sale on Tuesday, but I saw a copy on the shelf yesterday at Barnes & Noble, so it’s out in the wild. It’s the last of the Year’s Best volumes we track here at Black Gate, but it’s also one of the most interesting. It contains fiction by Leigh Bardugo, E. Lily Yu,y Nisi Shawl, Jeremiah Tolbert, Peter S. Beagle, N.K. Jemisin, Genevieve Valentine, Catherynne M. Valente, Greg van Eekhout, Caroline M. Yoachim, and many others — including two stories by Dale Bailey. Here’s the complete TOC.
Like most other writers, I’ve given all kinds of readings, from story books to pre-schoolers (supporting early literacy) to academic papers on 18th-century pastoral poetry (supporting my academic career). I’ve had everything from great experiences (the kids really liked the animal noises) to eye-rolling ones (someone should have told the hotel hosting the NEASECS Conference that we would need lecterns) to amazing ones (people turned out at 8:30 on a Saturday morning to hear about the georgic).
Grady Hendrix is a man who knows his horror. I saw him speak about horror paperbacks from the late 60s through the early 90s at the Fantasia International Film Festival, where he previewed his then-upcoming book Paperbacks From Hell. His passion and knowledge were clear at once. So was his wit — he clearly took these books seriously, but also knew when to take them lightly. His presentation was a powerful and slightly manic guide to a weird world of which I’d known nothing: a paperback world of mutilated dolls, of killer clowns, of diversely-talented skeletons, and, of course, of 
Sunday, July 23, I was down at Fantasia’s De Sève Theatre before noon to see a screening of the 1958 film The H-Man (Bijo To Ekatai-Ningen). I intended to follow that up with another vintage movie, the Shaw Brothers–produced 1983 film Bastard Swordsman (Tian can bian). Finally, I’d wrap up the day with a contemporary movie, the manga adaptation Gintama, which promised a mix of action and comedy. I liked the variety the films seemed to represent, and I was especially curious about The H-Man, which had been directed by Ishiro Honda, director of Godzilla.