The New Space Opera 2 is written by the current generation of SF writers, including Cory Doctorow, John Scalzi, John Barnes, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, and Mike Resnick. There are 19 stories in all.
The first volume read more like The New Transhumanism than the New Space Opera, focusing on how humanity morphs itself in the future, rather than tales of warring space empires. I’m four stories in, and so far this volume is hewing much closer to the space opera I’d expected while retaining a more modern edge.