The first of the three 'Best of' collections, Best Australian Essays was initiated in 1998 (then published by Bookman Press) under the guidance of executive chair Morry Schwartz and edited by Peter Craven. In March 2018, Black Inc, announced the cancellation of all three, replaced by the series Best Summer Stories.
'A collection of Australia's finest non-fiction writing from the last twelve months.'
Melbourne : Black Inc. , 2001'This year's Best Australian Essays offers riveting snapshots of the nation's "current loves and angers, its art and myths and amusements and gender concerns - and its propensity for bushfires."
'From Alex Miller on the creative imagination to Mark Dapin on crime myths, from Amanda Hooton on Miss Universe to Tim Flannery on the inner lives of animals, this is a collection that takes the pulse of the nation's writers and thinkers and finds them in rude health.' (From the publisher's website.)
Melbourne : Black Inc. , 2010'Robert Manne turns his inquiring mind to collecting superb non-fiction writing for The Best Australian Essays 2013. These essays, whether they provoke arguments, tears or laughter, all give razor-sharp insight into Australian society and, more broadly, the human condition.' (Publisher's blurb)
Collingwood : Black Inc. , 2013'In The Best Australian Essays 2014, Robert Manne assembles his picks of contemporary non-fiction writing. Tim Winton reflects on the impact of landscape on the Australian character; Helen Garner remembers her mother with a raw and stirring poignancy; Christos Tsiolkas wonders how the Left forgot their origins; Tim Flannery traces the history of the Great Barrier Reef and fears its destruction. With essays traversing madness, liberty under the rule of Tony Abbott, the enslaving of horses and the legacy of Doris Lessing, this sharp collection offers lucid insight, shrewd understanding and heartbreaking empathy.' (Publication summary)
Collingwood : Black Inc. , 2014'In The Best Australian Essays 2015, Geordie Williamson compiles the year's outstanding short non-fiction. Read Helen Garner on condescension, DBC Pierre on travel, Ceridwen Dovey on autobiography, Tim Winton on injury, Anna Krien on first love, and Nicolas Rothwell on the northern coast. With bracing essays on politics, music, literature, history, art, sport and more, this impressive anthology will entrance, stimulate and entertain.' (Publication summary)
Melbourne : Black Inc. , 2015'Agile, hard-hitting, symphonic – Australia has much to celebrate in its nonfiction writing. Geordie Williamson gathers the Best Australian Essays in his role as editor for a second year. Expect an enthralling mix of evocation and ideas, politics and culture.' (Source: Publisher's website)
Melbourne : Black Inc. , 2016'The Best Australian Essays showcase the nation’s most eloquent, insightful and urgent non-fiction writing. In her first time as editor, award-winning author Anna Goldsworthy chooses brilliant pieces that provoke, unveil, engage and enlighten, and get to the heart of what’s really happening in Australia and the world.' (Publication summary)
Carlton : Black Inc. , 2017