Gerald Early Is the Editor of Two New Anthologies on African-American Fiction and Critical Essays

Gerald L. Early, Merle Kling Professor of Modern Letters and director of the Center for the Humanities at Washington University in St. Louis, is the editor of two new book series published by Bantam/Dell. The inaugural Best African-American Fiction and Best African-American Essays will be out early next year in both hardcover and paperback.

The fiction volume, which will be published annually, will contain short stories, excerpts from novels, and fiction for young readers. Contributors for the first volume include ZZ Packer, Edward P. Jones, and Helen Elaine Lee.

The essay volume, which also will be published annually, will include writings on art, entertainment, politics, science, and a wide variety of other topics. Contributors to the first anthology include Jamaica Kincaid, Walter Mosley, James McBride, K. Anthony Appiah, John McWhorter, Michael Eric Dyson, Thomas Sowell, and Stanley Crouch. Of particular note is an essay by Barack Obama entitled One Nation, Under God?

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