The Grantville Gazettes

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The Grantville Gazettes describes all the Grantville Gazettes in all published forms.

The Grantville Gazettes are a set of collaborative writing works that started as an experimental sub-set within the 1632 universe created by Eric Flint in the trend setting book 1632. The Gazettes are initially published as ebooks which are part of and canonical background for the other literatures (novels and anthologies) in the rapidly growing ongoing alternative-history series edited by Eric Flint and set in his ground-breaking 1632 Multiverse starting from May in the year 1631.

1 The Anthology Authors Process
2 Importance of the Gazettes
3 Print publication
4 List of Gazettes
5 External links

[edit] The Anthology Authors Process

Main article: 1632 Editorial Board

The various other author's featured in the Gazettes are part of Flints online experiment (Phase II) in developing a milieu in conjunction with many others on the webforum Baen's Bar, specifically the 1632 Tech Manual (oldstyle: '1632 Tech') sub-section of the Bar, and 1632 Slushpile. These authors first submit to a tough peer review process which is the provence and venue of the 1632 Slushpile sub-forum. Once critical reader have deemed the nascent story worthy, the work passes to an editorial board, which also consider how the work will fit into and impact on the milieu as currently planned out and plotted. Some stories have thus served as the genesis of their own 1632 universe sub-series or plot thread. This is chaired by Eric Flint, who retains veto power over all work in the 1632 verse, and Eric then decides in which issue or volume of the Gazette the story should be allocated. Authors get paid a sub-professional rate upon the acceptance of the work, and additional financial remuneration and considerations when the anthology reaches print at a later time.

The Gazettes thus contain short stories based in the world of Flint's 1632 series, and articles about the restrictions on technology available in the time stranded town and the plausibility of items and redeveloped technology within the milieu of the 1632 multiverse; these essays are written by a member of on findings and the results of a more formal subset of contributor-advisors known as the 1632 Technical board. Part of this group also sits on the 1632 Editorial Board

The first gazette was envisioned as an eMagazine experiment funded by Baen Books to be originally published solely as a monthly electronic serialized-book from Baen Books. The experimental joint venture between author-editor Flint and publisher Jim Baen was so successful that the eMagazine has become a sustained self-funding operation of its own, now with Grantville Gazette XI in pre-production and Grantville Gazette X released in December 2006 as a serialized eMagazine. Of particular note, the first and second gazette volumes have followed their publication as an ebook in print. The third is scheduled for publication as an hardcover book in January 2007

[edit] Importance of the Gazettes

The impact of individual stories in the Grantville Gazettes will likely never be truly known, because even the bad one's have shaped the action, commentary, and thought on the web-forums 1632 Tech and 1632 Comments, and even those that fail to meet the final test of espousing 'canon' developments in the neohistory, have influenced later written works, including those by Flint, who is the final determiner as the sole person involved in each work in the milieu of what is acceptable canon. Considered one way, each story written has the ability of setting a new Point of departure, and the overall story arch told in the various threads. Several fan written stories have suggested major plotlines, even before the concept of the Grantville Gazettes eMagazine reached nomination to Jim Baen, and it's acceptance as an experiment, and those stories were published along established writers in Ring of Fire, and as you will read below in the Flint's own words, other main thread works like 1634: The Ram Rebellion.

But other Gazette stories have filled in important gaps in terms of economics, sociology, and technology: The Sewing Circle and its sequel Other Peoples Money which deals with four precocious teen friends and their stubborn insistence on making adult contributions, which end up shaking up the European stock markets when they succeed, and not inconsequentially, setting an example that ripples through Grantville's other youth, who suddenly begin to turn up-timer knowledge of theory and technology into bankable assets. Sociologically, their success doomed tailoring guilds, and spawned down-timer publication of popular fiction, inculcating up-timer sociology and et-cetera via modern novels, especially perhaps, Romance novels. Apparently even downtimers like their soaps! A Lineman for the Country along with a couple of other short stories created the forthcoming important Austrian Thread, and so on. These shall be listed below in table form, after the creator-author-editor gives his viewpoint on this matter.

[edit] Print publication

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.

Eric Flint (2004). The Grantville Gazette. Baen. ISBN 0-7434-8860-1. available as free ebook from the Baen Free Library, Paperback First printing, November 2004
Eric Flint (2006). Grantville Gazette II. Baen. ISBN 1-4165-2051-1. was released in hardcover in March 2006
Eric Flint (2006). Grantville Gazette III. Baen. ISBN 1-4165-0941-0. escaped to hardcover in January 2007

By December 2006 the electronic editions were available up to volume ten, with the eleventh being editorially compiled. The series is open ended.

[edit] List of Gazettes

The Grantville Gazettes are all edited by Eric Flint who maintains editorial control over the canon for the series on the 1632.org website in conjunction with the 1632 Editorial Board, and the various 1632 Research Committees, all being regular participants to the Baen's Bar forum 1632 Tech (now named 1632 Tech Manual). Gazettes include fact articles (see the research committee) and stories which are initially vetted through a tough peer review on the forum 1632 slush (story material only, forum 1632 Comments for feedback.), typically requiring several rewrites then are subsequently nominated by the Editorial Board, whereupon Flint chooses the stories for inclusion in which volume.

Grantville Gazette I
Grantville Gazette II
Grantville Gazette III
Grantville Gazette IV
Grantville Gazette V
Grantville Gazette VI
Grantville Gazette VII
Grantville Gazette VIII published July 2006
Grantville Gazette IX published September 2006
Grantville Gazette X published December 2006

[edit] External links

Web page links:	Comments and Content notes
edit 1632 series
Baen Books in the 1632 series	List of 1632 Series Books grouped by the series by Baen Books. Includes the first few chapters of each.
http://bar.baen.com/	Baen's Bar is an official fan-forum with several specific sections (sub-forums) dedicated to the 1632 universe. These are: 1632 Tech Manual, and 1632 Slush for manuscript submission (Slushpile in publishing: Stack of manuscripts for vetting) and 1632 Comments where Peer review feedback, suggestions, and comments on the slushpile submissions are posted. The two together form a collective collaborative workshop for wannabe authors.
http://ericflint.net/	Eric Flint's website, which has much about his work currently in progress or upcoming (in publication, in planning, under contract, in process) matters in the publication cycle.
http://www.1632.org	The official web site by Eric Flint's 1632.org on and about the 1632 universe and related matters. It is run by the 1632 Research Committee in conjunction with the 1632 Editorial Board. It includes the canonical references for the entire book series available for browsing and download by any participating in the collaborative writing process in the series. Eric's partners that are also professional writers use the same data. If you want to write a contribution to The Grantville Gazettes, this is a must-visit site. Additional Technical articles resulting from 1632 Tech Manual discussions and the Research Committee are also posted here.
klaus-leiss.de/1632Tech	1632 universe dedicated German Wikiproject organized to cross reference and encyclopediatize matters and characters pertaining to the 1632verse. Another must-browse site for would-be contributors to The Grantville Gazettes and students of Collaborative writing projects.