Listmania Monday: Anthologies

As you may have noticed, I really like using Listmania Mondays to discuss the changing trends in ya lit as the publishing industry evolves. One of these "new" trends is actually pretty old: anthologies. Classic novelists used to submit short stories to literary magazines to generate a larger readership and now publishers are recycling the trick. There are many reasons for this, I suppose. It's a good way to encourage a particular fandom to buy another book by publishing a series' extra novella (what self-respecting VA fan didn't salivate for months before nabbing Foretold for our long-awaited Rose and Dimitri story?!) OR allowing a truly established author to try something new (Richelle also put out another vampire short story titled "Blue Moon" in the anthology Immortal: Love Stories with Bite, which is FANTASTIC). It's also a good writing exercise for authors interested in a particular subject to band together to spread the word (Holly Black is REALLY good at this). These are a lot of fun, like with Zombies vs. Unicorns but can also be serious and really important like Dear Bully.

I know a lot of readers consider anthologies the publishers' way of sticking it to us and forcing us to buy MORE BOOKS. To those readers I say: 1. Really? You're upset about buying more books? I call that a holiday! Also, usually I call it Tuesday. 2. You don't have to buy the book, you know. This isn't just for anthologies. There are these things called libraries where they give you a card (usually for free) and then give you books to take home (also for free....as long as you bring it back within an agreed-upon time frame). :) Personally, I like anthologies. I love discovering new authors and new stories from my favorite authors. I asked Richelle Mead last year during her Golden Lily tour if she would ever consider turning "Blue Moon" into a full-length novel and she said she'd considered it but had other things on her plate. And you know what? I'm okay with that. It was a great story, and I was satisfied with the ending. I also like having a physical copy of some of the novellas that are part of series like Mead's "Sunshine" (VA prequel story) or Claudia Gray's "Free" (Evernight prequel) etc.

So, friends, are you pro or con anthologies? Got a favorite (mine is Prom Nights from Hell because Meg Cabot and Stephenie Meyer KILLED it with their stories!!)? Did I forget one? Leave me a comment and let me know!

ETA: Yes, I know there are several people who refuse to read any anthology edited by Trisha Telep after the cluster that became of Wicked Pretty Things. This post is not condemning or agreeing with any side; this is simply a list of ya anthologies, and yes, that includes Telep-edited books.

After: Nineteen Stories of Apocalypse and Dystopia edited by Ellen Datlow &
contributing authors

Brave New Love: 15 Dystopian Tales of Desire edited by Paula Guran
contributing authors:







Dear Bully: Seventy Authors Tell Their Stories edited by Megan Kelley Hall & Carrie Jones
contributing authors (not all because there are 70!):

Dear Teen Me: Authors Write Stories to Their Teen Selves edited by E. Kristin Anderson & Miranda Kenneally
contributing authors:

Defy the Dark edited by Saundra Mitchell
contributing authors

Delirium Stories: Hana, Annabel, and Raven by Lauren Oliver

Enthralled: Paranormal Diversions edited by Melissa Marr & Kelly Armstrong
contributing authors:

The Eternal Kiss: 13 Vampire Tales of Blood and Desire edited by Trisha Telep
contributing authors

Eternal: More Love Stories with Bite edited by P.C. Cast
contributing authors:

Fallen in Love (Fallen novellas) by Lauren Kate

The First Time edited by Jessica Verday and Rhonda Stapleton
contributing authors

Foretold: 14 Tales of Prophecy and Prediction edited by Carrie Ryan
contributing authors

Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd edited by Holly Black & Cecil Castellucci
contributing authors:




Grim edited by Christine Johnson
contributing authors:

Immortal: Love Stories with Bite edited by P.C. Cast
contributing authors

The Iron Legends (Iron Fey novellas) by Julie Kagawa

Kiss Me Deadly: 13 Tales of Paranormal Love edited by Trisha Telep
contributing authors:

Kisses from Hell
contributing authors:

Let it Snow
contributing authors: John Green, Maureen Johnson, Lauren Myracle

The Letter Q edited by Sarah Moon
contributing authors:


A.S. King, Melvin Burgess, Keith Gray, Patrick Ness, Anne Fine, Sophie McKenzie, Bali Rai, Jenny Valentine, Mary Hooper, Andrew Smith

Love is Hell
contributing authors




Prom Nights from Hell
contributing authors






Shards & Ashes edited by Melissa Marr & Kelly Armstrong
contributing authors

Ten Original Tales of Freaks, Illusionists and Other Matters Odd and Magical edited by Deborah Noyes
contributing authors: Aimee Bender, Matt Phelan, Vivian Vande Velde, Danica Novgorodoff, Annette Curtis Klaus, David Almond, Shawn Chenge, Cynthia Leitich Smith, Cecil Castellucci, Margo Lanagan


Steampunk! An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories edited by Kelly Link & Gavin J. Grant
contributing authors:

'Til the World Ends
contributing authors:  

Truth & Dare: 20 Tales of Heartbreak and Happiness edited by Liz Miles
contributing authors:  

Two and Twenty Dark Tales: Dark Retellings of Mother Goose Rhymes foreword by Francisco X. Stork
contributing authors

Vacations from Hell
contributing authors





contributing authors (not all are on this list as there are 80!): John Green, Jacquelyn Mitchard, Lauren Miracle, Maureen Johnson, Libba Bray, Gayle Forman, David Levithan, Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler), Ned Vizzini, Jen Calonita, Rebecca Stead, Lev Grossman, Sara Shepard, Todd Strasser, Jennifer E. Smith, Jordan Sonnenblick, Robin Wasserman, Michelle Zink, Susane Colasanti, Sarah Beth Durst, Lindsey Kelk, Barry Lyga, Lauren Oliver, Natalie Standiford, Melissa Walker, Kiersten White, Adam Mansbach & Ricardo Cortes, Mo Willems, Dave Eggers, and more...


Zombies vs. Unicorns edited by Holly Black & Justine Larbalestier
contributing authors:


21 Proms edited by David Levithan
contributing authors:

1 comment:

  1. I like to read anthologies once in a while. They are a nice break from longer, more intense books and are a great way to discover new authors!

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