Freelance editor, anthologist, and reviewer Paula Guran was senior editor for Prime Books for seven years. Previously, she edited the Juno fantasy imprint from its small press inception through its incarnation as an imprint of Pocket Books. In addition to the annual Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror series, she’s edited many other anthologies.

The supernatural, surreal, and the all-too real. Tales of the dark have always fascinated us, and in The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror: Volume Two (October 19, PYR), editor Paula Guran has selected 30 modern authors (20 of those women) to carry on the disquieting traditions of the past while inventing imaginative new ways to unsettle us.

Volume two begins with a COVID-19-based tale by Victor LaValle, who was commissioned (along with 28 others) by the New York Times to “write new short stories inspired by the moment.” Along with LaVelle’s story Recognition, this year’s collection includes six stories set in a dystopian future, three tales around the human genetic code, and horrific tales of the supernatural. “It wasn’t until after I started assembling this volume that I realized how often homes, houses, and other domiciles played important roles in many of the selected stories,” said Guran. “Considering most of us have been home more than usual lately, this is… interesting.”