WThe 1986 Annual World's Best SF is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the fourteenth volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in June 1986, followed by a hardcover edition issued in August of the same year by the same publisher as a selection of the Science Fiction Book Club. For the hardcover edition the original cover art by Vincent Di Fate was replaced by a new cover painting by Ron Walotsky.
WThe Alternate Asimovs (1986) is a collection of early science fiction drafts by American writer Isaac Asimov. Asimov mostly threw away early drafts. Just a few survived and were included in this anthology.
WAnalog's Expanding Universe is the tenth in a series of anthologies of science fiction stories drawn from Analog magazine and edited by then-current Analog editor Stanley Schmidt. It was first published in hardcover by Davis Publications for Longmeadow Press in 1986.
WThe Best Mysteries of Isaac Asimov is a collection of mystery short stories by American author Isaac Asimov. It was first published in hardcover by Doubleday in 1986, and in paperback by the Fawcett Crest imprint of Ballantine Books in September 1987.
WThe Best Science Fiction of Isaac Asimov, published in 1986, is a collection of 28 short stories by American writer Isaac Asimov, personally selected as favorites by himself.
WBooks of Blood is a series of six horror fiction anthologies collecting original stories written by British author, playwright, and filmmaker Clive Barker in 1984 and 1985. Known primarily for writing stage plays beforehand, Barker gained a wider audience and fanbase through this anthology series, leading to a successful career as a novelist. Originally presented as six volumes, the anthologies were subsequently re-published in two omnibus editions containing three volumes each. Each volume contains four or five stories. The Volume 1–3 omnibus contained a foreword by Barker's fellow Liverpudlian horror writer Ramsey Campbell. Author Stephen King praised Books of Blood, leading to a quote from him appearing on the first US edition of the book: "I have seen the future of horror and his name is Clive Barker."
WComets is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Isaac Asimov, Martin H. Greenberg and Charles G. Waugh as the fourth volume in their Isaac Asimov's Wonderful Worlds of Science Fiction series. It was first published in paperback by Signet/New American Library in February 1986.
WThe Complete Nebula Award-Winning Fiction is a 1986 collection of short stories and novellas by American writer Samuel R. Delany. The collection includes those works by Delany that have won the Nebula Award.
WThe Curious Quests of Brigadier Ffellowes is a collection of fantasy short stories by American writer Sterling E. Lanier. The stories take the form of tall tales told in a bar or club, similar to the Jorkens stories of Lord Dunsany. It was first published in 1986 by Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc. in an edition of 1,200 copies, all of which were signed by the author and artist. The last story is original to this collection. The other stories first appeared in the magazine Fantasy and Science Fiction.
WThe Dorsai Companion is a collection of science fiction stories by American writer Gordon R. Dickson, part of his Childe Cycle series. It was first published by Ace Books in 1986. The collection includes a number of articles by Sandra Miesel.
WDreams of Dark and Light: The Great Short Fiction of Tanith Lee is a collection of fantasy, horror and science fiction stories by author Tanith Lee. It was released in 1986 and was the author's first book published by Arkham House. It was published in an edition of 3,957 copies.
WHeroes in Hell is an anthology book and the first volume of its namesake series, created by American writer Janet Morris. The book placed eighth in the annual Locus Poll for Best Anthology in 1987. "Newton Sleep" by Gregory Benford, originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, received a Nebula Award nomination in 1986, as well as placing 16th in its category in the Locus Poll.
WHeroic Visions is an anthology of fantasy stories, edited by Jessica Amanda Salmonson. It was first published in paperback by Ace Books in July 1986.
WLacey and His Friends is a 1986 compilation of science fiction short stories by American writer David Drake, published in 1986 by Baen Books. It contains five stories, three of which are about the titular Jed Lacey, a ruthless individual, convicted for raping a former contemporary as an act of revenge for betraying him, turned detective by a computer that allocates people to work in areas where their "psych profile" indicates they will be effective. The other stories are two unconnected, time travel stories. Lacey lives in a world of constant sousveillance and surveillance. People have chosen to live in this world rather than it being enforced from above by an unelected and unaccountable government. The government, in choosing to ignore its own laws, sets Lacey free from his former punishment in exchange for his silence about its own apparently illegal activities.
WThe Last Dream is a collection of fantasy and science fiction stories by American writer Gordon R. Dickson. It was first published by Baen Books in 1986. Most of the stories originally appeared in the magazines Fantasy and Science Fiction, Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Fantastic, Startling Stories and Worlds of Fantasy.
WMagic in Ithkar 3 is a shared world anthology of fantasy stories edited by Andre Norton and Robert Adams. It was first published as a trade paperback by Tor Books in October 1986. It was reprinted as a standard paperback in September 1989.
WMagical Wishes is an anthology of themed fantasy and science fiction short stories on the subject of wishes edited by Isaac Asimov, Martin H. Greenberg and Charles G. Waugh as the seventh volume in their Isaac Asimov's Magical Worlds of Fantasy series. It was first published in paperback by Signet/New American Library in November 1986. The first British edition was issued in trade paperback by Robinson in July 1987.
WThe Man the Worlds Rejected is a collection of science fiction stories by American writer Gordon R. Dickson. It was first published by Tor Books in 1986. Most of the stories originally appeared in the magazines Planet Stories, Analog Science Fiction and Fact, If, Fantastic Universe and Fantasy and Science Fiction.
WMermaids! is a themed anthology of fantasy short works edited by American writers Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois. It was first published in paperback by Ace Books in January 1986. It was reissued as an ebook by Baen Books in July 2013.
WMindspan is a collection of science fiction stories by American writer Gordon R. Dickson. It was first published by Baen Books in 1986. Most of the stories originally appeared in the magazines Fantasy and Science Fiction, Venture, Startling Stories, Galaxy Science Fiction, Analog Science Fiction and Fact and Worlds of Tomorrow.
WThe Mirror Maker is a collection of stories and essays by Italian author Primo Levi originally published in the Italian newspaper La Stampa.
WMirrorshades: The Cyberpunk Anthology (1986) is a cyberpunk short story collection, edited by American writer Bruce Sterling.
WMythical Beasties is an anthology of themed fantasy and science fiction short stories on the subject of legendary creatures edited by Isaac Asimov, Martin H. Greenberg and Charles G. Waugh as the sixth volume in their Isaac Asimov's Magical Worlds of Fantasy series. It was first published in paperback by Signet/New American Library in May 1986. The first British edition was issued under the alternate title Mythic Beasts in trade paperback by Robinson in 1988.
WThe Planet on the Table is a collection of science fiction stories by American writer Kim Stanley Robinson, published in hardcover by Tor Books in 1986. A British paperback edition appeared in 1987, as well as a Tor paperback reprint; a French translation was issued in 1988. The collection was republished in the 1994 Tor omnibus Remaking History and Other Stories. The collection takes its title from a poem by Wallace Stevens, which provides the book's epigraph.
WThe Pool of the Black One is a collection of two fantasy short stories written by Robert E. Howard featuring his sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. The book was published in 1986 by Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc. as volume X of their deluxe Conan set. The title story originally appeared in the magazine Weird Tales. "Drums of Tombalku" is the original fragment of a story that Howard never completed. It first appeared, completed by L. Sprague de Camp, in the collection Conan the Adventurer.
WThe Progress of Love is a book of short stories by Alice Munro, published by McClelland and Stewart in 1986. It won the 1986 Governor General's Award for English Fiction, her third win of that award.
WThe River of Time (1986) is an anthology of science fiction short stories by American writer David Brin.
WRobot Dreams (1986) is a collection of science fiction short stories by American writer Isaac Asimov, illustrated by Ralph McQuarrie. The title story is about Susan Calvin's discovery of a robot with rather disturbing dreams. It was written specifically for this volume and inspired by the McQuarrie cover illustration. All of the other stories had previously appeared in various other Asimov collections. Four of the stories are robot stories, while five are Multivac stories.
WScience Fiction by Asimov is a collection of stories by American author Isaac Asimov. Published by Davis Publications in 1986, it was given away free to subscribers of Asimov's SF Magazine.
WShadows was a series of horror anthologies edited by Charles L. Grant, published by Doubleday from 1978 to 1991. Grant, a proponent of "quiet horror", initiated the series in order to offer readers a showcase of this kind of fiction. The short stories appearing in the Shadows largely dispensed with traditional Gothic settings, and had very little physical violence. Instead, they featured slow accumulations of dread through subtle omens, mostly taking place in everyday settings. While Grant himself was very adept at this kind of fiction, he contributed no stories to the anthologies, writing only the introductions and author profiles. The first volume in the series won the World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology.
WSorcerers! is a themed anthology of science fiction short works edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois. It was first published in paperback by Ace Books in October 1986. It was reissued as an ebook by Baen Books in July 2013.
WThe Starry Rift is a linked science fiction short story collection by James Tiptree, Jr first published in 1986 by Tor Books. It takes place in the same universe as several other works by Tiptree, most notably her 1985 novel Brightness Falls from the Air.
WTales from the Planet Earth is a 1986 anthology of science fiction stories edited by Frederik Pohl and Elizabeth Anne Hull It presents 18 stories, sharing a common background developed by Pohl and Hull, by 18 authors from 18 different countries; each author's story is set in his native country.
WTales of the Quintana Roo is a collection of fantasy stories by author James Tiptree Jr.. It was released in 1986 and was the author's first book published by Arkham House. It was published in an edition of 3,673 copies. The stories originally appeared in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction and are set in the easternmost shore of the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. In addition to winning the world fantasy award for best collection in 1987, each of the stories was nominated or won genre awards, and "What Came Ashore at Lirios" was included in the Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories.
WTerry Carr's Best Science Fiction of the Year #15 is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Terry Carr, the fifteenth volume in a series of sixteen. It was first published in paperback by Tor Books in August 1986 and in hardcover and paperback by Gollancz in October of the same year, under the alternate title Best SF of the Year #15.
WTin Stars is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Isaac Asimov, Martin H. Greenberg and Charles G. Waugh as the fifth volume in their Isaac Asimov's Wonderful Worlds of Science Fiction series. It was first published in paperback by Signet/New American Library in July 1986.
WTwo Fables is a collection of two short stories by Roald Dahl, first published in 1986 by Viking in England and in 1987 by Farrar, Straus, & Giroux in the United States.
WUnder the Jaguar Sun is a collection of three short stories by Italo Calvino. The stories were to have been in a book entitled I cinque sensi. Calvino died before writing the stories dedicated to vision and touch. In the Italian edition the stories are ordered as follows: Il nome, il naso; Sotto il sole giaguaro; and Un re in ascolto. The titular story Sotto il sole giaguaro was originally published as Sapore sapere in the June 1982 edition of FMR, an Italian magazine.
WUniverse 16 is an anthology of original science fiction short stories edited by Terry Carr, the sixteenth volume in the seventeen-volume Universe anthology series. It was first published in hardcover by Doubleday in November 1986.
WThe Year's Best Science Fiction: Third Annual Collection is a collection of science fiction short stories edited by Gardner Dozois and published in 1986.
WThe Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 12 is an anthology of fantasy stories, edited by Arthur W. Saha. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in November, 1986.