Fiction anthologies, generally a collection of themed short stories, give readers and writers a quick literary survey of the anthology's theme. "Best of" titles are familiar to most of us: Best of Science Fiction...Horror...Fantasy. These are anthologies of reprints, so their quality is generally high. But there are many first-publication anthologies as well, often with a very focused theme. Ralan.com has a treasure trove of marketing information for writers and readers looking for mainstream and obscure publications. I'll do a general article on them later, but I'll only mention now their "Anthology Markets" section, which includes one-time and annual anthologies market listings.

One value of this listing, alluded to already, is the under-one-roof access to an eclectic collection of themes. Here are a few recent listings that might otherwise be difficult to find: Catastrophia (see my Extinction Events article), Things Aren't What They Seem, and Silly Western Anthology. Also listed are: Federations (space opera), Interfictions (interstitial fiction), and Warrior Wisewoman 2.