Kim Dana Kupperman

“The essay has taught me how to live,” writes Jia Tolentino, this year’s Best American Essays guest editor. In a time of escalating authoritarianism and disinformation, we turn to artists and writers to make sense of the world around us. The twenty-one authors featured in this collection do not proselytize, nor do they claim to have all the answers. Instead,...

A collection of the year’s best essays, selected by Pulitzer Prize–winning critic Wesley Morris and series editor Kim Dana Kupperman. “Imparting some piece of yourself—any part—is arduous and warrants some kind of commendation,” writes guest editor Wesley Morris in his introduction. Both personal and personable, the essayists in this volume use their own vulnerability to guide readers on excursions that...

The essayist needs the objective world, writes M. Gessen, the guest editor of The Best American Essays 2026, asking, But does the objective world need the essayist? There is no straightforward answer to Gessen’s query, yet the authors in this volume tackle it headfirst. In doing so, they provide a mosaic depicting the year 2025, examining the degradation of American...