The Norton Anthology of Contemporary Fiction, published by W. W. Norton & Company, is one of the Norton Anthology series for use in English literary studies. The first edition appeared in 1988 and was accompanied by an "Instructor's Handbook". The second edition appeared in 1998 and was edited by R. V. Cassill and, in addition, by Joyce Carol Oates. It has been widely used as a college textbook. The 545-page anthology contains one work each by 45 writers, 41 of whom were born in the United States. The second edition contains 16 new writers. The selection includes 21 women writers. A biographical sketch of each author is included at the end of the volume.
In his introduction to the second and last edition with this title, Cassill cites the influence of urbanization and network journalism on aspiring writers at the end of the 20th century before asserting that the "range of private experience in this collection ought to encourage students to look into their own school and neighborhood experience when and if they are moved to write"; he notes the intention of the volume to be that students will find "much to emulate, and class discussions of contemporary styles will be relevant in all literature courses." R. V. Cassill was a prolific writer, teacher of creative writing, and professor at Boston University from 1966 to 1983. From 1978 until his death in 2002, Cassill was also the editor of the Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. The writer Joyce Carol Oates has been the editor of a wide range of anthologies since 1973.