Since it's inception in 1915, the Best American series has become the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction. For each volume, a series editor reads hundreds of pieces from dozens of periodicals, then selects between fifty and a hundred outstanding works. That selection is pared down to the twenty or so very best pieces by a guest editor who is widely recognized as a leading writer in his or her field. The Best American Essays 2001 is edited by the best-selling, award-winning writer Kathleen Norris, whose books include Dakota and The Virgin of Bennington.
