Bleiler/Dikty: Year's Best SF


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Locus Awards <— Anthologies —> Merril: Year's Best SF
The very first annual best-of-the-year anthology series began in 1949, edited by Everett F. Bleiler (SFE) and T.E. Dikty (SFE), the former best known as a bibliographer, the latter as an editor and publisher. Published in hardcover, the series had an irregular run: annual volumes of "Best Science Fiction Stories" from 1949 through 1954, a companion set of "Year's Best Science Fiction Novels" from 1952 to 1954, and then -- under Dikty's editorship alone -- combined volumes of "Best Science Fiction Stories and Novels" for 1955, 1956, and after a year's absence, a "Ninth Series" published in 1958; the last two of these volumes were much slimmer than earlier anthologies, and included stories from each of the previous two years.

The photo below shows 9 of the total 12 anthologies.


  • The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1949, (Frederick Fell, 1949) (isfdb)
  • The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1950, (Frederick Fell, 1950) (isfdb)
  • The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1951, (Frederick Fell, 1951) (isfdb)
  • The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1952, (Frederick Fell, 1952) (isfdb)
  • Year's Best Science Fiction Novels: 1952, (Frederick Fell, 1952) (isfdb)
  • The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1953, (Frederick Fell, 1953) (isfdb)
  • Year's Best Science Fiction Novels: 1953, (Frederick Fell, 1953) (isfdb)
  • The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1954, (Frederick Fell, 1954) (isfdb)
  • Year's Best Science Fiction Novels: 1954, (Frederick Fell, 1954) (isfdb)
  • The Best Science-Fiction Stories and Novels: 1955, (Frederick Fell, 1955) (isfdb)
  • The Best Science Fiction Stories and Novels: 1956, (Frederick Fell, 1956) (isfdb)
  • The Best Science Fiction Stories and Novels: 9th Series, (Advent:Publishers, 1958) (isfdb)



Complete Contents by Author and Title


Poul Anderson
  • Flight to Forever (1950) -- Year's Best Science Fiction Novels: 1952
  • Genius (1948) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1949
  • Trespass! (by PA & Gordon R. Dickson) (1950) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1951
  • Alex Apostolides
  • What Thin Partitions (by Mark Clifton & AA) (1953) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1954
  • Isaac Asimov
  • No Connection (1948) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1949
  • Alfred Bester
  • Oddy and Id (1950) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1951
  • Of Time and Third Avenue (1951) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1952
  • Time Is the Traitor (1953) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1954
  • James Blish
  • Surface Tension (1952) -- Year's Best Science Fiction Novels: 1953
  • Anthony Boucher
  • Nine-Finger Jack (1951) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1952
  • Ray Bradbury
  • ...And the Moon Be Still as Bright (1948) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1949
  • Dwellers in Silence (1948) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1950
  • The Fox in the Forest (1950) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1951
  • The Man (1949) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1950
  • Mars Is Heaven! (1948) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1949
  • The Pedestrian (1951) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1952
  • Reginald Bretnor
  • The Gnurrs Come from the Voodvork Out (1950) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1951
  • Bill Brown
  • The Star Ducks (1950) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1951
  • Fredric Brown
  • Dark Interlude (by FB & Mack Reynolds) (1951) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1952
  • Knock (1948) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1949
  • The Last Martian (1950) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1951
  • Mouse (1949) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1950
  • Robert Spencer Carr
  • Easter Eggs (1949) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1950
  • John Christopher
  • Balance (1951) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1952
  • Arthur C. Clarke
  • Seeker of the Sphinx (1951) -- Year's Best Science Fiction Novels: 1952
  • Mark Clifton
  • The Conqueror (1952) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1953
  • What Thin Partitions (by MC & Alex Apostolides) (1953) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1954
  • Alfred Coppel
  • The Dreamer (1952) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1953
  • J. J. Coupling
  • Period Piece (1948) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1949
  • Kendell Foster Crossen
  • Assignment in Aldebaran (1953) -- Year's Best Science Fiction Novels: 1954
  • Betsy Curtis
  • A Peculiar People (1951) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1952
  • Max Dancey
  • The Collectors (by G. Gordon Dewey & MD) (1953) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1954
  • L. Sprague de Camp
  • Summer Wear (1950) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1951
  • G. Gordon Dewey
  • The Collectors (by GGD & Max Dancey) (1953) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1954
  • Philip K. Dick
  • Second Variety (1953) -- Year's Best Science Fiction Novels: 1954
  • Gordon R. Dickson
  • Trespass! (by Poul Anderson & GRD) (1950) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1951
  • Boyd Ellanby
  • Category Phoenix (1952) -- Year's Best Science Fiction Novels: 1953
  • Erik Fennel
  • Doughnut Jockey (1948) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1949
  • Martin Gardner
  • Thang (1948) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1949
  • H. L. Gold
  • The Enormous Room (by HLG & Robert W. Krepps) (1953) -- Year's Best Science Fiction Novels: 1954
  • Ruth M. Goldsmith
  • Yankee Exodus (1953) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1954
  • David Grinnell
  • Extending the Holdings (1951) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1952
  • Charles L. Harness
  • The New Reality (1950) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1951
  • Zenna Henderson
  • Ararat (1952) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1953
  • John Jakes
  • Machine (1952) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1953
  • Will F. Jenkins
  • Doomsday Deferred (1949) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1950
  • Damon Knight
  • To Serve Man (1950) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1951
  • C. M. Kornbluth
  • The Marching Morons (1951) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1952
  • The Mindworm (1950) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1951
  • Robert W. Krepps
  • The Enormous Room (by H. L. Gold & RWK) (1953) -- Year's Best Science Fiction Novels: 1954
  • Five Years in the Marmalade (1949) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1950
  • Walter Kubilius
  • The Other Side (1951) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1952
  • Henry Kuttner
  • Happy Ending (1948) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1949
  • Private Eye (1949) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1950
  • Fritz Leiber
  • Appointment in Tomorrow (1951) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1952
  • A Bad Day for Sales (1953) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1954
  • The Big Holiday (1953) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1954
  • Coming Attraction (1950) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1951
  • The Moon Is Green (1952) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1953
  • Murray Leinster
  • The Gadget Had a Ghost (1952) -- Year's Best Science Fiction Novels: 1953
  • The Life-Work of Professor Muntz (1949) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1950
  • The Middle of the Week After Next (1952) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1953
  • The Sentimentalists (1953) -- Year's Best Science Fiction Novels: 1954
  • The Strange Case of John Kingman (1948) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1949
  • Frank Belknap Long
  • Two Face (1950) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1951
  • John D. MacDonald
  • Flaw (1949) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1950
  • Game for Blondes (1952) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1953
  • Katherine MacLean
  • Contagion (1950) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1951
  • Richard Matheson
  • Born of Man and Woman (1950) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1951
  • The Last Day (1953) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1954
  • Lover, When You're Near Me (1952) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1953
  • Witch War (1951) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1952
  • J. T. McIntosh
  • One in Three Hundred (1953) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1954
  • Walter M. Miller, Jr.
  • Command Performance (1952) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1953
  • Conditionally Human (1952) -- Year's Best Science Fiction Novels: 1953
  • Crucifixus Etiam (1953) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1954
  • Izzard and the Membrane (1951) -- Year's Best Science Fiction Novels: 1952
  • Ward Moore
  • Lot (1953) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1954
  • William Morrison
  • The Model of a Judge (1953) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1954
  • Lewis Padgett
  • Ex Machina (1948) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1949
  • Peter Phillips
  • At No Extra Cost (1951) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1952
  • Arthur Porges
  • The Fly (1952) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1953
  • The Rats (1951) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1952
  • Mack Reynolds
  • Dark Interlude (by Fredric Brown & MR) (1951) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1952
  • Frank M. Robinson
  • The Girls from Earth (1952) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1953
  • The Hunting Season (1951) -- Year's Best Science Fiction Novels: 1952
  • The Oceans Are Wide (1954) -- Year's Best Science Fiction Novels: 1954
  • Eric Frank Russell
  • ...And Then There Were None (1951) -- Year's Best Science Fiction Novels: 1952
  • Fast Falls the Eventide (1952) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1953
  • I Am Nothing (1952) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1953
  • Idris Seabright
  • Brightness Falls from the Air (1951) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1952
  • Joseph Shallit
  • Wonder Child (1953) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1954
  • Wilmar H. Shiras
  • In Hiding (1948) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1949
  • Opening Doors (1949) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1950
  • Clifford D. Simak
  • Eternity Lost (1949) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1950
  • Theodore Sturgeon
  • The Hurkle Is a Happy Beast (1949) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1950
  • William F. Temple
  • Counter-Transference (1952) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1953
  • Forget-Me-Not (1950) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1951
  • The Two Shadows (1951) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1952
  • William Tenn
  • Firewater (1952) -- Year's Best Science Fiction Novels: 1953
  • Generation of Noah (1951) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1952
  • Wilson Tucker
  • The Tourist Trade (1951) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1952
  • A. E. van Vogt
  • Process (1950) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1951
  • Jack Vance
  • DP! (1953) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1954
  • Men of the Ten Books (1951) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1952
  • Robert Moore Williams
  • Refuge for Tonight (1949) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1950
  • John Wyndham
  • Survival (1952) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1953
  • Roger Flint Young
  • Not to Be Opened— (1950) -- The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1951

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    This page last updated Wednesday 28 Nov 2018 at 15:40 PT