''The Best American Travel Writing'' was a yearly anthology of

travel literature The genre of travel literature or travelogue encompasses outdoor literature, guide books, nature writing, and travel memoirs. History Early examples of travel literature include the '' Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' (generally considered a ...

published in United States magazines. It was started in 2000 as part of

The Best American Series ''The Best American Series'' is a series of anthologies that is published annually by Mariner Books, an imprint of HarperCollins. Each title within the series covers a specific genre such as short stories or mysteries. The works for each year's ...

published by

Houghton Mifflin The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as ...

. Essays were chosen using the same procedure as other titles in the Best American series; the series editor chose about 100 article candidates, from which the guest editor picked 25 or so for publication; the remaining runner-up articles were listed in the appendix. Jason Wilson was the series editor from its inception in 2000 to its final edition in 2021.

Guest editors

* 2000:

Bill Bryson William McGuire Bryson ( ; born 8 December 1951) is an American-British journalist and author. Bryson has written a number of nonfiction books on topics including travel, the English language, and science. Born in the United States, he has be ...

* 2001:

Paul Theroux Paul Edward Theroux ( ; born April 10, 1941) is an American novelist and travel writer who has written numerous books, including the travelogue '' The Great Railway Bazaar'' (1975). Some of his works of fiction have been adapted as feature films ...

* 2002:

Frances Mayes Frances Mayes (born March 23, 1940) is an American writer. Her 1996 memoir '' Under the Tuscan Sun'' was on the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list for over two years and was the basis for the film '' Under the Tuscan Sun''. Biography Frances May ...

* 2003:

Ian Frazier Ian Frazier (born 1951 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American writer and humorist. He wrote the 1989 non-fiction history ''Great Plains'', 2010's non-fiction travelogue ''Travels in Siberia'', and works as a writer and humorist for ''The New Yorker ...

* 2004:

Pico Iyer Siddharth Pico Raghavan Iyer (born 11 February 1957), known as Pico Iyer, is an English-born essayist and novelist known chiefly for his travel writing. He is the author of numerous books on crossing cultures including ''Video Night in Kathman ...

* 2005:

Jamaica Kincaid Jamaica Kincaid (; born Elaine Cynthia Potter Richardson on May 25, 1949) is an Antiguan–American novelist, essayist, gardener, and gardening writer. Born in St. John's, the capital of Antigua and Barbuda, she now lives in North Bennington, ...

* 2006:

Tim Cahill Timothy Filiga Cahill (; born 6 December 1979) is an Australian former professional soccer player who played as an attacking midfielder but also played as a striker on many occasions. A box-to-box midfielder, Cahill became recognised for "hi ...

* 2007:

Susan Orlean Susan Orlean (born October 31, 1955) is an American journalist, television writer, and bestselling author of '' The Orchid Thief'' and '' The Library Book''. She has been a staff writer for ''The New Yorker'' since 1992, and has contributed artic ...

* 2008:

Anthony Bourdain Anthony Michael Bourdain ( ; June 25, 1956 – June 8, 2018) was an American celebrity chef, author and Travel documentary, travel documentarian. He starred in programs focusing on the exploration of international culture, cuisine, and the huma ...

* 2009:

Simon Winchester Simon Winchester (born 28 September 1944) is a British-American author and journalist. In his career at ''The Guardian'' newspaper, Winchester covered numerous significant events, including Bloody Sunday (1972), Bloody Sunday and the Watergate S ...

* 2010:

Bill Buford William Holmes Buford (born 6 October 1954) is an American author and journalist. He is the author of the books '' Among the Thugs'' and ''Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting ...

* 2011:

Sloane Crosley Sloane Crosley (born August 3, 1978) is an American writer living in New York City known for her humorous essays, which are often collected into books like '' I Was Told There'd Be Cake'', ''How Did You Get This Number'', and ''Look Alive Out The ...

* 2012:

William Vollmann William Tanner Vollmann (born July 28, 1959) is an American novelist, journalist, war correspondent, short story writer, and essayist. He won the 2005 National Book Award for Fiction with the novel '' Europe Central''. Biography Vollmann was bo ...

* 2013:

Elizabeth Gilbert Elizabeth Gilbert (born July 18, 1969) is an American journalist and author. She is best known for her 2006 memoir '' Eat, Pray, Love'', which has sold over 30 million copies and has been translated into over 30 languages. The book was also mad ...

* 2014:

* 2015:

Andrew McCarthy Andrew Thomas McCarthy (born November 29, 1962) is an American actor, travel writer, and television director. He is most known as a member of the Brat Pack, with roles in 1980s films such as '' St. Elmo's Fire'', ''Pretty in Pink'', ''Mannequi ...

* 2016:

* 2017:

Lauren Collins Lauren Felice Collins (born August 29, 1986) is a Canadian actress, best known for portraying Paige Michalchuk on '' Degrassi: The Next Generation''. She has also had supporting roles in the films '' Take the Lead'' (2006) and ''Charlie Bartlett ...

* 2018:

Cheryl Strayed Cheryl Strayed (; née Nyland; born September 17, 1968) is an American writer and podcast host. She has written four books: the novel ''Torch'' (2006) and the nonfiction books '' Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail'' (2012), '' Ti ...

* 2019:

Alexandra Fuller Alexandra Fuller (born 1969) is a British- Zimbabwean author. Her articles and reviews have appeared in ''The New Yorker'', ''National Geographic'', ''Granta'', ''The New York Times'', ''The Guardian'' and ''The Financial Times''. Personal ...

* 2020: Robert Macfarlane * 2021:

Padma Lakshmi Padma Parvati Lakshmi (; née Vaidynathan; born September 1, 1970) is an American television host, model, author, businesswoman, and activist. She rose to prominence by hosting the Bravo cooking competition program '' Top Chef'' (2006–2023). ...

References

Book series introduced in 2000

Travel Writing The genre of travel literature or travelogue encompasses outdoor literature, guide books, nature writing, and travel memoirs. History Early examples of travel literature include the '' Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' (generally considered a ...

Publications established in 2000 Houghton Mifflin books Travel books {{travel-book-stub