The Annual World's Best SF was a series of annual paperback anthologies published by American company

DAW Books DAW Books is an American science fiction and fantasy publisher, founded by Donald A. Wollheim, with his wife, Elsie B. Wollheim, following his departure from Ace Books in 1971. The company claims to be "the first publishing company ever devoted ...

from 1972 to 1990 under the editorship of publisher

Donald A. Wollheim Donald Allen Wollheim (October 1, 1914 – November 2, 1990) was an American science fiction editor, publisher, writer, and fan. As an author, he published under his own name as well as under pseudonyms, including David Grinnell, Martin Pears ...

and Arthur W. Saha from 1972 to 1990. Some volumes were also issued in hardcover through the

Science Fiction Book Club Bookspan LLC is a New York–based online bookseller, founded in 2000. Bookspan began as a joint endeavor by Bertelsmann and Time Warner. Bertelsmann took over control in 2007, and a year later, sold its interest to Najafi Companies, an Arizon ...

. It was a continuation of the earlier anthology series

World's Best Science Fiction World's Best Science Fiction was a series of annual paperback anthologies published by Ace Books from 1965 to 1971 under the editorship of Donald A. Wollheim and Terry Carr. Some volumes were also issued in hardcover through the Science Fiction B ...

, edited by Wollheim and

Terry Carr Terry Gene Carr (February 19, 1937 – April 7, 1987) was an American science fiction fan, author, editor, and writing instructor. Background and discovery of fandom Carr was born in Grants Pass, Oregon. He attended the City College of S ...

, published from 1965 to 1971 by

Ace Books Ace Books is a publisher of science fiction (SF) and fantasy books founded in New York City in 1952 by A. A. Wyn, Aaron A. Wyn. It began as a genre publisher of mystery fiction, mysteries and western (genre), westerns, and soon branched out int ...

(Carr also issued his own separate continuation,

The Best Science Fiction of the Year The Best Science Fiction of the Year was a series of annual paperback anthologies edited by Terry Carr. It was published by Ballantine Books from 1972 to 1980, Pocket Books from 1981 to 1983, Baen Books in 1984, and Tor Books from 1985 to 1987. T ...

, from 1972 to 1987.) DAW also issued the companion series

The Year's Best Horror Stories ''The Year’s Best Horror Stories'' was a series of annual anthologies published by DAW Books in the U.S. from 1972 to 1994 under the successive editorships of Richard Davis from 1972 to 1975 (after a 1971-1973 series published by Sphere Books in ...

from 1971 to 1994, and

The Year's Best Fantasy Stories ''The Year's Best Fantasy Stories'' is an anthology of fantasy stories, edited by American writer Lin Carter. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in 1975. Despite the anthology's title, it actually gathers together pieces originally ...

from 1975 to 1988. Each volume carried the year of publication in the title between the first and second recurring words. The first nine volumes were subsequently reprinted under the title ''Wollheim's World's Best SF'', distinguished from each other numerically, without the year designation. The third through seventh volumes were also reprinted in hardcover in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, the third and fourth as The World's Best SF Short Stories, nos. 1-2, published by The Elmfield Press, and the fifth through seventh as The World's Best SF, nos. 3-5, published by

Dennis Dobson Dennis Dobson (1919 – 1978)Lewis Foreman, Susan Foreman''London: A Musical Gazetteer'' Yale University Press, 2005, p. 327. was a British book publisher who was the eponymous founder of a small but respected company in London. Background Set up ...

. Each annual volume reprinted what in the opinion of the editors were the best

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

short stories appearing in the previous year. The series also aimed to discover and nurture new talent. It featured both occasionally recurring authors, and writers new to the science fiction genre.

The series

# ''

The 1972 Annual World's Best SF ''The 1972 Annual World's Best SF'' is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the initial volume in a series of nineteen. It was one of two follow-up volumes to the previous year's '' World ...

'' (1972) = ''Wollheim's World's Best SF: Series One'' (1977) # ''

The 1973 Annual World's Best SF ''The 1973 Annual World's Best SF'' is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the second volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in May 1973, follow ...

'' (1973) = ''Wollheim's World's Best SF: Series Two'' (1978) # ''

The 1974 Annual World's Best SF ''The 1974 Annual World's Best SF'' is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the third volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in May 1974, followe ...

'' (1974) = ''Wollheim's World's Best SF: Series Three'' (1979) # ''

The 1975 Annual World's Best SF ''The 1975 Annual World's Best SF'' is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the fourth volume in a series of nineteen. ''The 1975 Annual World's Best SF'' was first published in paperbac ...

'' (1975) = ''Wollheim's World's Best SF: Series Four'' (1980) # '' The 1976 Annual World's Best SF'' (1976) = ''Wollheim's World's Best SF: Series Five'' (1981) # '' The 1977 Annual World's Best SF'' (1977) = ''Wollheim's World's Best SF: Series Six'' (1982) # ''

The 1978 Annual World's Best SF ''The 1978 Annual World's Best SF'' is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the seventh volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in May 1978, follo ...

'' (1978) = ''Wollheim's World's Best SF: Series Seven'' (1983) # ''

The 1979 Annual World's Best SF ''The 1979 Annual World's Best SF'' is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the eighth volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in May 1979. It was ...

'' (1979) = ''Wollheim's World's Best SF: Series Eight'' (1984) # ''

The 1980 Annual World's Best SF ''The 1980 Annual World's Best SF'' is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the ninth volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in May 1980, follow ...

'' (1980) = ''Wollheim's World's Best SF: Series Nine'' (1985) # ''

The 1981 Annual World's Best SF ''The 1981 Annual World's Best SF'' is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the tenth volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in May 1981, followe ...

'' (1981) # ''

The 1982 Annual World's Best SF ''The 1982 Annual World's Best SF'' is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the eleventh volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in May 1982, foll ...

'' (1982) # ''

The 1983 Annual World's Best SF ''The 1983 Annual World's Best SF'' is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the twelfth volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in May 1983, follo ...

'' (1983) # ''

The 1984 Annual World's Best SF ''The 1984 Annual World's Best SF'' is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the thirteenth volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in June 1984, f ...

'' (1984) # ''

The 1985 Annual World's Best SF ''The 1985 Annual World's Best SF'' is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the fourteenth volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in June 1985, f ...

'' (1985) # ''

The 1986 Annual World's Best SF ''The 1986 Annual World's Best SF'' is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the fourteenth volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in June 1986, f ...

'' (1986) # ''

The 1987 Annual World's Best SF ''The 1987 Annual World's Best SF'' is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the fourteenth volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in June 1987, f ...

'' (1987) # '' The 1988 Annual World's Best SF'' (1988) # '' The 1989 Annual World's Best SF'' (1989) # '' The 1990 Annual World's Best SF'' (1990)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Annual World's Best SF, The DAW Books books