Praised early on by numerous award-winning and bestselling authors, COOLEST AMERICAN STORIES 2023 is the second volume of the annual short story anthology whose guiding philosophy is that a collection of widely appealing short stories can make for common ground that could unite rather than divide Americans.

Toward this end, COOLEST AMERICAN STORIES 2023 features a previously uncollected heartbreaking story by Morgan Talty, author of the widely acclaimed Night of the Living Rez; a witty story about growing up fast by widely published crime writer Nikki Dolson; and a candid tale about motherhood in the wake of tragedy by T. E. Wilderson.

And since interesting storytelling―rather than a bunch of publishing credits―matters most to story-hungry readers, COOLEST AMERICAN STORIES 2023 also includes a page-turner about celebrity stalking written by brand new author Georgia Smith; a previously unpublished and sensual story about love versus the American Dream by up-and-coming author Patricia García Luján; and R. C. Goodwin's striking tale about a dying parent's wish―among others in this treasure trove of unputdownable, sharply written, sometimes comic, sometimes frightening, always suspenseful stories loaded with twists and turns.