The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2026

Of science fiction and fantasy, guest editor Olivie Blake writes, "It's hard to look upon these genres and not see tools of life preservation." The characters in these pages embody this sentiment as they choose to forge ahead despite the most daunting obstacles. An inscrutable woman imprisons a monster in her bathtub, a sentient spaceship carries 10,000 frozen human embryos to a distant space colony, a memory tailor alters memories for customers seeking a different past, and a girl goes to ...