eSCENE purports to be to online fiction what The Best American Short Stories series is to print -- an annual anthology of the best writing being published in its medium. But where The Best American Short Stories culls from established publications, eSCENE showcases what its editors consider the best writing from E-zines, the electronic equivalent of the low-budget, independently produced pamphlets and magazines (known as 'zines) made possible by desktop publishing and the Xerox machine. E-zines, so cheap to produce and so easy to disseminate, are now booming on the Internet.

At three years old eSCENE is already an online veteran: smart, handsome, and cleverly designed, it moves with the clarity and confidence of an established publication. Introductory essays illuminate the motivations of guest editors, and each anthology showcases ten winning stories. In terms of reputation, however, online-only fiction is still earning its stripes, a fact reflected in eSCENE's author line-up. Equal parts previously published and unpublished, only one or two well known names dot the charts, revealing the telling fact that few traditionally successful writers have ventured into this burgeoning realm. This absence does not preclude good writing, of course -- a few gems shine here -- but overall, as Kenison notes concerning her own experience, "online reading has not yet yielded gold."

An online anthology's very existence may deepen the rift between "online" and "print" writing -- a seemingly needless distinction considering that both forms are, after all, prose. But eSCENE may very well be just the sort of vehicle to bridge the gap. Soon enough, perhaps, "online fiction" may seem an antiquated term.