In Praise of the Essay: Best American Essays 2026

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Join us for a panel discussion of THE BEST AMERICAN ESSAYS 2026 collection featuring Guest Editor M. Gessen Joining M in the panel discussion are contributorsJennifer Senior, Jia TolentinoandChristian Wiman. The event will be moderated byKim Dana Kupperman, series editor ofBest American Essaysand will be hosted in the Strand Book Store's 3rd floor Rare Book Room at 828 Broadway on 12th Street. Can’t make the event?Purchase a signed copy ofThe Best American Essays 2026here. ACCESSIBILITY: Strand Book Store is an ADA compliant venue. The event space is accessible via elevator.Please ask a Strand employee upon arrival for directions to accessible seating if preferred. ASL interpretation is available for this event by request only. Please reach out to our events team at events@strandbooks.com by October 7 to request. For further information on accessibility in this space, or to make a request, please contactevents@strandbooks.com. -------------------------------------------------------------------- A collection of the year’s best essays, selected by critically acclaimed author ofThe Future Is HistoryandHow to Survive TotalitarianismandNew York Timescolumnist, M. Gessen. The Best American series, launched in 1915, is the premier annual showcase for the country’s finest short fiction and nonfiction, and it is the most respected—and most popular—of its kind. M. Gessen, critically acclaimed essayist,New York Timescolumnist, and National Book Award winner, selects twenty essays out of thousands that represent the best examples of the form published the previous year.