The Grantville Gazettes

Last updated

Grantville Gazette
Grantville Gazette magazine logo.png
Editors
  • Eric Flint (2003–2022)
  • Paula Goodlett (2007–2015)
  • Walt Boyes (2015–2022)
  • Bjorn Hassler (2015–2022)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Series 1632 series
Genre Alternate History, Anthology
Publisher Baen Books
Publication date
Semi-periodic, and Periodic (bi-monthly)
Various dates from
February 2003 and
from 2004
(in print as books)
Media type e-zine and ebook
Paperback and hardcover
Website last snapshot of website

The Grantville Gazettes were a series of anthologies of short stories set in the 1632 universe introduced in Eric Flint's novel 1632 [1] that was published as a bi-monthly electronic magazine from 2003 until shortly after Flint's death in 2022.

Contents

The Gazettes started as an experiment: a professionally edited, officially sanctioned "fan magazine" published electronically. Initially released as serialized e-magazines, they were later published as e-books (taking a page from the Baen Books experience with E-ARCs—Electronic Advance Reader Copies, which had been instituted several years earlier.) Because the electronic sales were successful, Baen contracted with Flint for more issues, to be published 3-4 times per year (bimonthly, starting in 2007 [2] ). Each would form part of the canonical background for the other works (novels and anthologies) in the rapidly growing 1632 series.

By mid-2012, e-magazines were published bimonthly, and six books had been published (five of those as both hardcover and mass market paperback) excerpted from the first 17 issues of the magazine. [2] [3] Grantville Gazette IX was published in July 2021. [4]

After two decades of operations, the magazine celebrated the electronic release of its 100th volume in March 2022. [5] [6]

On August 16, 2022, Lucille Robbins, the widow of Eric Flint, officially announced the immediate shutdown of both The Grantville Gazette and the Ring of Fire Press. Without a huge infusion of new cash, it was determined that both business ventures would not be economically viable without Flint's participation. [7] [8]

The final electronic issue, Volume 102, was released in July 2022, [9] while the final hardcopy book version, Grantville Gazette IX ( ISBN   978-1982125455), was released in July 2021.

In June 2023, it was announced that a new company, Flint's Shards Inc., had signed a contract with Lucille Robbins, Eric Flint's widow and heir, to produce a new electronic magazine called Eric Flint's 1632 & Beyond that will be released bimonthly on the first day of odd-numbered months with Bjorn Hasseler as Editor-in-Chief starting September 2023. [10]

Starting in November 2004, the first Gazette was also released experimentally in a paper edition with issue I as a paperback. The second volume was released in hardcover in March 2006, this and subsequent titles use Roman Numerals for titles such as are listed below in the section List of Gazettes, as appear on the print publication covers.

Each print edition contains an additional story that was not published in any e-magazine. Starting with volume V, each print edition contains stories from several of the magazines, and not all magazine stories are published in the books. The List of Gazettes section below gives the publication dates and a rough guide to which magazines are collected into particular books.

Print titlePublication dateISBNe-Vols coveredAdditional Flint story
Grantville Gazette I November 2004 [11] 0-7434-8860-1 Whole issue 1Portraits
Grantville Gazette II March 2006 [12] 1-4165-2051-1 Whole issue 2Steps In The Dance
Grantville Gazette III January 2007 [13] 1-4165-0941-0 Whole issue 3Postage Due
Grantville Gazette IV June 2008 [14] 1-4165-5554-4 Whole issue 4The Anatomy Lesson
Grantville Gazette V August 2009 [15] 1-4391-3279-8 From issues 5–10Steady Girl
Grantville Gazette VI January 2012 [16] 1-4516-3853-1 From issues 11–19The Masque
Grantville Gazette VII April 2015 [17] 978-1476780290 From issues 20–30An Aukward Situation
Grantville Gazette VIII June 2018 [18] 978-1481483292 From issues 31–45Descartes Before the Whores
Grantville Gazette IX July 2021 [19] 978-1982125455 From issues 46–64Nasty, Brutish and Short

Overall literary criticism and reception of the printed versions

Sales of the printed versions of the Grantville Gazette I [20] [21] and Grantville Gazette II [22] were high enough to have these issues listed on the Locus (magazine) Bestsellers Lists with Volume I topping at number 9 in 2005 for Paperbacks and Volume II at 10 in 2006 for Hardcovers respectively.

Overall, most reviewers wrote favorable reviews [23] [24] while only a small number were negative. [25] A reviewer for Booklist wrote that "Flint's 1632 universe seems to be inspiring a whole new crop of gifted alternate historians." [26]

Reception of printed volumes that do not have their own page yet

Grantville Gazette IV

The reviewer for Observe and See wrote that the printed version of the Grantville Gazette IV is "It is every bit as enjoyable as the other editions" and reviewed each story in this edition. [27] The reviewer for The Billion Light-Year Bookshelf wrote extensive individual reviews for each of the included stories. [28] The reviewer also noted that one of the stories from the Gazette was a part of the backstory of one of the novels that she had previously reviewed.

Grantville Gazette V

The reviewer for Booklist wrote that the printed edition of the Grantville Gazette V "add[s] dimensions to Flint's singular alternate-history creation." [29] The reviewer for The Billion Light-Year Bookshelf wrote individual reviews for each of the included stories. [30] Most were positive, however she did warn the reader that at least one story could be incomprehensible unless the reader have already read most of the books in the series.

Grantville Gazette VI

The reviewer for the San Francisco Book Review wrote that "all of the stories are well-written and peopled with fascinating characters." [31] The reviewer for the Library Journal also gave a positive review. [32]

Grantville Gazette VII

The reviewer for the SFRevu wrote that "The stories run quite a gamut. There are mysteries, action adventure, and little bit of rewritten history." Some of the stories are quirky and that "the characters have a sense of humor" while some of the other "stories aren't all humorous, they also deal with subjects related to inequality and opportunity. The reviewer also wrote that "Another really good part of the series, is the serious discussion of technology and how old technologies can be recreated until the equipment needed to build the modern technology is available." The reviewer also states that "The Gazette has been a pipeline for developing authors." [33] The reviewer for the Midwest Book Review wrote that the book "provides a lively set of vignettes and tales that juxtapose well with the primary books in the series and fill in many gaps with new stories and new information". [34]

The Ring of Fire Press

Many of the continuing serials had been republished as single volume collections by the publishers of the Gazette through their own Ring of Fire Press to make the material easier to access by its readers by not having its readers search through various Gazette back issues to access a previous episode of a particular serial. [35]

Short story awards

Starting in 2017, the Gazette began to offer an award for the best short story that was published during the previous calendar year as determined by its readers. [36]

YearTitleAuthorsIssue
2016The Winter Canvas: A Daniel Block Story [37] Meriah L. Crawford and Robert E. Waters67
2017The Long Road Home, Part 2 [38] Nick Lorance69
2018Requiem For the Future [39] David Carrico76
2019Clique, Clique, Boom [40] Bjorn Hasseler82
2020First Kiss [41] Tim Roesch90

Jim Baen's Universe

Starting with magazine issue #19, another Baen magazine was merged into the Grantville Gazette. For the next ten issues, there was no change in the Gazettes beyond a dual title on the title page. In magazine issue #30, Eric Flint introduced the "Universe Annex" to the Grantville Gazette [42] featuring a story slot and columns from Jim Baen's Universe .

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Flint</span> American author and editor (1947–2022)

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<i>1632</i> (novel) 2000 novel by Eric Flint

1632 (2000) is an alternate history novel by American author Eric Flint, the initial novel in the best-selling series of the same name.

<i>1632</i> series Novel series

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<i>1633</i> (novel) 2002 novel by David Weber and Eric Flint

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<i>Grantville Gazette II</i> 2006 anthology of fan fiction stories

Grantville Gazette II is the third collaborative anthology published in print set in the 1632-verse shared universe in what is best regarded as a canonical sub-series of the popular alternate history that began with the February 2000 publication of the hardcover novel 1632 by author-historian Eric Flint. Baen Books and Flint decline the distinction, counting this book as the sixth published work. Overall it is also the third anthology in printed publication in the atypical series, which consists of a mish-mash of main novels and anthologies produced under popular demand after publication of the initial novel, which was written as a stand-alone work.

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<i>1634: The Bavarian Crisis</i> 2007 novel by Virginia DeMarce and Eric Flint

1634: The Bavarian Crisis is a novel in the alternate history 1632 series, written by Virginia DeMarce and Eric Flint as sequel to Flint's novella "The Wallenstein Gambit"; several short stories by DeMarce in The Grantville Gazettes; 1634: The Ram Rebellion; and 1634: The Baltic War. The novel's first draft was completed in 2005, before work on The Baltic War began. Many chapters of that "early draft version" were available on line, but the final production reached print on October 1, 2007.

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<i>1635: The Papal Stakes</i> 2012 novel by Eric Flint

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<i>1636: The Devils Opera</i> 2013 novel by David Carrico and Eric Flint

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<i>1636: Seas of Fortune</i> 2014 anthology of stories by Iver Cooper

1636: Seas of Fortune is an anthology of short stories written by Iver Cooper and set in the 1632 series. The anthology was released in the United States on January 7, 2014. It is divided into two roughly equal novella-length parts, Stretching Out and Rising Sun. Each part ("braid") consists of several linked ("braided") short stories, seven in the case of Stretching Out and five in Rising Sun. The compilation was published in trade paperback in 2014 and in mass market paperback in 2015. The book received moderate reviews, with respectable sales. Stretching Out is set in northern South America and the Caribbean while Rising Sun is set in Japan, in the North Pacific, and on the west coast of North America.

This is complete list of works by American science fiction and historical fiction author Eric Flint.

References

  1. ↑ "Uchronia: The Assiti Shards (1632) Series". www.uchronia.net.
  2. 1 2 "Ring of Fire Series". Baen Books. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
  3. ↑ Virginia DeMarce (February 8, 2012). "1632 Tech: Virginia's Grid of Uptime Characters". Baen Books. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  4. ↑ Catalog listing in Arlington, Virginia public library website
  5. ↑ Boyes, Walt (March 2022). "The Beginnings of the 1632 Story and the Grantville Gazette". Grantville Gazette. Vol. 100. ISBN   978-1956015621. Archived from the original on March 15, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  6. ↑ Boyes, Walt (March 2022). "The Story So Far..." Grantville Gazette. Vol. 100. ISBN   978-1956015621. Archived from the original on March 15, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Our Fellow Members of the Ring of Fire Press Family". The Grantville Gazette. Archived from the original on August 16, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Our Fellow Members of the Ring of Fire Press Family". The Ring of Fire Press. Archived from the original on August 16, 2022.
  9. ↑ "The Grantville Gazette". Archived from the original on August 11, 2022.
  10. ↑ Glyer, Mike (June 23, 2023). "New Eric Flint 1632 Magazine". File 770.
  11. ↑ "Publishing Schedule". Baen Books. Archived from the original on August 11, 2004. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Publishing Schedule". Baen Books. Archived from the original on January 16, 2006. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Publishing Schedule". Baen Books. Archived from the original on January 14, 2007. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  14. ↑ "Publishing Schedule". Baen Books. Archived from the original on March 9, 2008. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  15. ↑ "Publishing Schedule". Baen Books. Archived from the original on June 28, 2009. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  16. ↑ "Publishing Schedule". Baen Books. Archived from the original on January 21, 2012. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  17. ↑ "Publishing Schedule". Baen Books. Archived from the original on January 18, 2015. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  18. ↑ "Publishing Schedule". Baen Books. Archived from the original on March 24, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Publishing Schedule". Baen Books. Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  20. ↑ "Locus Bestsellers, February 2005". Locus . February 2005.
  21. ↑ "Locus Bestsellers, March 2005". Locus . March 2005.
  22. ↑ "Locus Bestsellers, June 2006". Locus . June 2006.
  23. ↑ Lardas, Mark (January 28, 2007). "Fiction has a wide range in anthology". The Galveston County Daily News . Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved August 2, 2009.
  24. ↑ Lawhorn, Willian (December 26, 2006). "Grantville Gazette III by Eric Flint". SFRevu. Archived from the original on November 10, 2007. Retrieved August 2, 2009.
  25. ↑ "Grantville Gazette II – Eric Flint (Editor)". Rosboch Book Reviews. May 16, 2011.
  26. ↑ Green, Roland (January 1, 2007). "Grantville Gazette III". Booklist . Vol. 103, no. 9/10. p. 70. EBSCOhost   23776766. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014.
  27. ↑ "Book Review: "Grantville Gazette IV" Edited by Eric Flint". Observe and See. September 22, 2012.
  28. ↑ Kimmel, Leigh (April 15, 2009). "Grantville Gazette IV by Eric Flint (editor)". Billion Light-Year Bookshelf.
  29. ↑ Green, Roland (August 1, 2009). "Grantville Gazette V". Booklist . Vol. 105, no. 22. p. 45. ISSN   0006-7385. EBSCOhost   44154131. Archived from the original on May 21, 2014.
  30. ↑ Kimmel, Leigh (June 7, 2011). "Grantville Gazette V by Eric Flint, ed". Billion Light-Year Bookshelf.
  31. ↑ Revers, Beth (January 3, 2012). "Grantville Gazette VI". San Francisco Book Review.
  32. ↑ Cassada, Jackie (January 2012). "Grantville Gazette VI: Sequels to 1632". Library Journal . Vol. 137, no. 1. p. 80. ISSN   0363-0277. EBSCOhost   70144687. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014.
  33. ↑ Lawhorn, Bill (March 29, 2016). "Grantville Gazette VII (The Ring of Fire)". SFRevu.
  34. ↑ "The Bookwatch". Midwest Book Review. June 2015.
  35. ↑ "Announcing Ring of Fire Press". Grantville Gazette. Vol. 48. July 1, 2013. Archived from the original on July 23, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  36. ↑ Boyes, Walt (March 1, 2017). "Best of 2016 Award". Grantville Gazette. Vol. 70. Archived from the original on July 23, 2018. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  37. ↑ Hasseler, Bjorn (November 1, 2017). "Best of 2017 Award". Grantville Gazette. Vol. 74. Archived from the original on July 23, 2018. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  38. ↑ Boyes, Walt (May 1, 2018). "The Story So Far..." Grantville Gazette. Vol. 77. Archived from the original on July 23, 2018. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  39. ↑ Hasseler, Bjorn (August 24, 2019). "Best of 2018". Grantville Gazette. Vol. 85. Archived from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  40. ↑ "Best of the Gazette 2019". Grantville Gazette. Vol. 89. May 2020. Archived from the original on November 24, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  41. ↑ Boyes, Walt; Hasseler, Bjorn (November 2021). "Best of the Gazette 2020". Grantville Gazette. Vol. 98. Archived from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  42. ↑ Flint, Eric, ed. (July 2010). "Introduction to the Universe Annex". Grantville Gazette. Vol. 30. Baen Books. Archived from the original on November 27, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
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