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These New and Upcoming YA Anthologies Are 🔥🔥

Good Day, YA Readers!

We are — and have been — living in a golden age of YA anthologies. Anthologies are such a tremendous gift to readers, as they allow for exploring a specific topic across a wide range of voices. You can read them in a single sitting or pick up collections as desired and not feel you’re missing out by not reading it all at once. They allow a nice introduction to new writers, as well as an opportunity to reconnect with favorite ones.

This year and early next year are jam packed with exciting YA anthologies. Let’s take a look at some of the ones just landing on shelves or available in the next sixish months.

Battle of the Bands edited by Lauren Gibaldi and Eric Smith (September 14)

The concept behind this anthology is genius and I cannot wait to read it. Taking place over the course of one event — a high school battle of the bands — fifteen authors and one musician weave interconnected stories about it. Authors include Jay Coles, Ashley Woodfolk, Preeti Chhiibber, and more.

Blackout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Ashley Woodfolk, Angie Thomas, and Nicola Yoon

This book is such a delight. All of the stories are distinct, but each of them is tied together with the blackout, with intersecting secondary characters, and a giant Brooklyn block party. Each story is on its own except for Jackson’s, which is broken up across the book, mimicking the way her story is about a long walk across the city. Every story’s voice is distinct, as are the characters. There’s a wide variety of romances representing, queer and heterosexual, with an awesome range of gender identities. 

Fools in Love: Fresh Twists on Romantic Tales edited by Ashley Herring Blake and Rebecca Podos (December 7)

If you’re a fan of romance and specifically, love the tropes within the genre, then this book will be up your alley. The collection has fifteen stories, all featuring a range of tropes and happily ever afters. Among the rockstar contributors are Malinda Lo, Lilliam Rivera, Sara Farizan, and more.

Reclaim the Stars edited by Zoraida Córdova (February 15)

First, pause to admire the incredible cover on this one, designed by Olga Grlic and illustrated by Faye Guanipa. This collection of science fiction and fantasy reads explores the Latinx diaspora, and it features some of the most incredible Latinx YA authors working today. Among the 17 stories are pieces by Daniel José Older, Anna-Marie McLemore, and Mark Oshiro.

Up All Night edited by Laura Silverman

I’m old enough to remember the anthology called Up All Night from 2008, where a slate of rockstar authors shared stories of what kept them up all night. Silverman’s anthology, which shares the title, would pair really nicely with it. Instead of what keeps teens up all night, though, this collection is about what happens between dusk and dawn. Contributors include Nina LaCour, Brandy Colbert, Maurene Goo, and more.

Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed edited by Saraciea J. Fennell (September 14)

One of the most interesting and vital things to come from the wave of anthologies over the last half decade is how inclusive they are. Anthologies are a powerful space for historically underrepresented voices to come together and share both the similarities and differences in their experiences within any given identity. Fennell’s collection is a great example, wherein 15 writers from the Latinx diaspora have written essays and poetry about the wide range of experiences of being Latinx. Contributors include Meg Medina, Elizabeth Acevedo, Ibi Zoboi, and more.

Thanks for hanging out, and I hope you added some new reads to your TBR.

See you Thursday!

— Kelly Jensen, @heykellyjensen on Instagram.

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