Canon is really important to us here in the 1632 universe because even if you “just” look at the writers who are currently actively writing or planning stories and novels, that is still generally coordinating at least a couple of dozen authors with different backgrounds, knowledge bases, and goals for their story. Everyone wants the best for the universe, to be clear. But their character and story goals may vary wildly, as may their real-world knowledge and their knowledge of the 1632verse. So, canon matters, and defining what is canon matters. Our basic stance is that everything is canon, but to varying degreees. Primary, essentially unchangeable canon belongs to things published by Baen, with hardbacks having precedence over paperbacks which have precedence over ebook-only. Then Ring of Fire Press books, which at this point are mostly either being republished by Baen as ebook only publications or are no longer available. A small number have been self-published on Amazon. Magazine stories (Grantville Gazette and 1632 & Beyond) have been considered provisionally canon, meaning mainline Baen novels can contradict them. In reality, great effort has been made to ensure the two streams don’t cross in any meaningful way. With all of that said about how everything is canon, this is fiction, people are human, and sometimes mistakes happen or things are overlooked. Sometimes it’s a detail, like one Virginia notes below about a person being somewhere they shouldn’t be. Sometimes it provides an opportunity for a story. One of the driving forces for my novel Mrs. Flannery’s Flowers is my extreme irritation that in over 20 years of writing, not a single writer had mentioned stashes of crafting supplies! In West Virginia! Impossible! When I mentioned it to them, they all looked a bit sheepish and admitted they did remember seeing such things around. So, I wrote a whole novel to establish they existed and exactly why it was no one talked…
from the editor
Getting Started Writing Bjorn Hasseler, Editor-in-Chief: Eric Flint’s 1632 & Beyond Magazine I don’t remember where the idea for Neustatter’s European Security Service came from. I remember going to the library—the New Carrollton branch of the Prince Georges County, Maryland library system—looking for Timothy Zahn’s Star Wars trilogy. I read the first two, but The Last Command was never on the shelf. A couple shelves up or down, though, was a set of eight matching books that were clearly a science fiction series. About the third time the Zahn book wasn’t there, I grabbed David Weber’s first Honor Harrington book, On Basilisk Station. Then I came back got the next two, and the next two, until I’d read up to Echoes of Honor, which was the most recent one on the shelf. (Ashes of Victory wasn’t staying on the shelf any more than The Last Command was.) And then I was out of things to read again. I walked down the aisle, and I saw this book whose cover has three guys in a pickup facing off against a couple guys in armor. It had the same rocket ship publisher logo the Honor Harrington books had. I figured it would be a fun read. 1632 turned out to be awesome. This was sometime between when 1632 was published (February, 2000) and when I moved (December, 2003). At that time, lots of people had websites dedicated to their favorite series, organized into “webrings.” They drove traffic to each other. At some point (it took a while), I found Baen’s Bar. 1632 had three chat boards: Slush, Slush Comments, and Tech. They weren’t just talking about the book; they were working on actual stories in the 1632 universe—that were going to count. And anybody could play. I think by then 1633 had come out, and if Ring of Fire wasn’t out yet, it was certainly a done…
Eric Flint Bibliography (Chronological) NOTE: For those of you who prefer your bibliographies chronologically, here it is. This page does not include the classic SF series I’ve edited. — Eric Flint. 1970Trade and Politics in Barotseland During the Kololo Period, 1970 Journal of African History (Volume XI:1) 1993Entropy and the Strangler, (short story), in Writers of the Future Volume IX 1997Mother of Demons, September 1997 (pb) 1998An Oblique Approach, March 1998 (pb) with David DrakeIn the Heart of Darkness, August 1998 (pb) with David Drake 1999Destiny’s Shield, July 1999 (HC) with David Drake 20001632, February 2000 (HC)Destiny’s Shield, June 2000 (pb)Fortune’s Stroke, June 2000 (HC) with David DrakeRats, Bats & Vats, September 2000 (HC) with Dave FreerThe Thief and the Roller Derby Queen, (short story), in The Chick is in the Mail, edited by Ester Friesner, October 2000, (pb) 20011632 February 2001 (pb) From the Highlands, (short novel), in More than Honor #3: Changer of Worlds with David Weber March 2001 (HC)The Philosophical Strangler, May 2001 (HC)Carthago Delenda Est, (novella), in Foreign Legions, edited by David Drake, June 2001, (HC)Fortune’s Stroke, July 2001 (pb)The Tide of Victory, July 2001 (HC), October 2002 (pb) with David DrakeRats, Bats & Vats, September 2001 (pb)Pyramid Scheme, October 2001 (HC), with David Freer 2002From the Highlands, (short novel), in More than Honor #3: Changer of Worlds February 2002 (pb)The Philosophical Strangler, March 2002, (pb)Forward the Mage, March 2002 (HC) with Richard RoachThe Shadow of the Lion, March 2002 (HC) with Mercedes Lackey & Dave FreerThe Tyrant, April 2002 (HC) with David DrakeThe Islands in Warmasters, an anthology, May 2002 (HC) with David Drake and David Weber1633, August 2002 (HC), with David Weber“Carthago Delenda Est,” (novella), in Foreign Legions, September 2002 (pb)The Tide of Victory, October 2002 (pb) with David Drake 2003Pyramid Scheme, February 2003 (pb), with David Freerâ–ª “Fanatic,” (novella) in The Service of the Sword, the fourth Harrington anthology, April 2003 (HC), compiled by David Weber1633, July 2003 (pb)Forward the Mage, August 2003, (pb)The Course…
Bjorn Hasseller, Editor-in-Chief: Eric Flint’s 1632 & Beyond magazine Eric Flint studied African history; worked as a machinist; drove trucks; wrote, edited, and published books and short stories; and was a union organizer. He was married to Lucille Robbins and had a daughter, a son-in-law, and two grandchildren. He once posted a picture of himself wearing a shirt that said “Grumpa.” I think Eric liked to come across as grouchy. You could quickly see how much time he spent helping others out, though. That might be when he was risking his personal safety helping the unions or something as simple as taking a couple hours to make sure you understood where he wanted to go when he offered you a co-writing opportunity. Eric’s first novel was published when he was fifty years old. I count at least 69 novels as well as numerous anthologies, collections, novellas, and short stories. He wrote in several genres but was probably best known for alternate history. He didn’t just write; he worked with others, especially helping new authors get started. Between the 1632 series and The Grantville Gazette, he helped over 200 authors be published. For about three-quarters of us, it was our first professional sale. That’s aside from everything he did at Writers of the Future and the Superstars Writing Seminars. As he often pointed out himself, the 1632 universe was less than half of Eric’s writing. Of his many alternate history, science fiction, and fantasy universes, it’s the one he opened to anyone who wanted to write in it. Sometimes he’d look bemused at the directions people took with it, but he’d let them do it, as long as it wasn’t interfering with his own plans. We are excited to help carry that legacy forward. * * *
Bethanne Kim, Publisher: Eric Flint’s 1632 & Beyond magazine As a small town, up-time Grantville didn’t have a lot of claims to fame. Down-time? It’s the most famous place on the planet, reputed to be a magical place filled wealth and wonders untold. It’s a bustling city whose size is primarily constrained by the local geography. This local geography is one constraint that ensures it will remain smaller than many other cities for the foreseeable future, and that real estate will remain quite valuable. Up-time, the round “Red Barn” run by the historical society and the County Fair were probably the two biggest attractions. They also had Oktoberfest (relatively new in 2000) and the Great Buffalo Canoe Race. Interestingly, down-time Germany did not have Oktoberfest, which didn’t start until the nineteenth century. They did, however, have tons of local fairs, festivals, and other events, both secular and religious in nature, which are not included in this list. Attractions and Annual Events: Breitenfeld Day (September) This is a new down-time holiday to celebrate the victory at Breitenfeld. Canoe Race (May) The Great Buffalo Canoe Race was normally scheduled in May (up-time), but the exact date was based on water flow rates and other weather-related factors. It may need to be scheduled down-time. It also may need to be moved since Fairmont is gone and the new down-stream route may not work for a canoe/kayak race. Description: A canoe race on the Buffalo Creek between Mannington and Fairmont, WV. Saturday, May 6th, 2000. Rain date is May 13th, 2000. Sponsored by The West Virginia Police Reserves. Registration begins at 8:00am at the Hough (pronounced “Huff”) Park Community Building in Hough Park, Mannington. The race starts at 10:00am. Racers may drop over the falls at their own risk, but it is not recommended. The DNR and West Virginia Police Reserves are not responsible for any injuries or accidents. On Sunday, May 7th at 2:00pm there will…
by Jeff | Jun 9, 2021 | Information https://youtu.be/p3_A-JX9FlU Part two of the interview featuring Eric Flint and Chuck Gannon discussing their novel 1637: No Peace Beyond the Line.
by Jeff | Jun 8, 2021 | Podcasts https://youtu.be/KjZ0f-0FbWQ
by Jeff | Jun 8, 2021 | Interviews https://youtu.be/stKjEC1CZ2k JMW: Hello, this is Jean Marie Ward for BuzzyMag.com. With me today is Eric Flint, the New York Times bestselling author of over 50 novels and the creator of the ever expanding 1632 Universe. Welcome, Eric. When you sat down to write the proposal for 1632, what made you think it would be a good idea to transplant West Virginia miners into the Germany of the Thirty Years War? Eric Flint: Well, what I wanted to use the novel for…novels should work on several levels. One of them is just entertainment. And I write action-adventure novels. So I wanted something in a setting that would allow me to do that which the Thirty Years War was certainly good for. Thirty Years War was kind of sheer chaos that was probably, most historians would agree, the most destructive war Europe ever went through, worse than any of the two world wars, especially in terms of its impact on Central Europe, which is centered on Germany but involves other countries around what’s today the Czech Republic, other parts. At the time, that was really the center of Europe. And that was true politically, as well as culturally. Through a mysterious ancient alien civilization the residents of Grantville, West Virginia are thrown back in time to 1631 Germany in the middle of the 30 Years War. On top of coping with the shock of being displaced in time and location, the people of Grantville must overcome the surrounding raging war, language barriers, and numerous social and political issues, including class conflict, witchcraft, feminism, the reformation and the counter-reformation, among many other factors. The image people have of Germany is a Germany that was created out of the Thirty Years War and the outcome of it. But the Germany prior to the early years of the Thirty Years War is a very, very different place. It was very dynamic. It was quite…
I want to take the time to remember two of the Gazette’s favorite authors. In December, right before Christmas, Kevin Evans passed away suddenly. Then, shortly after that, his wife and writing partner, Karen Carnahan Evans, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer, and she passed away in April. We have lost two of the finest authors in the Gazette, but more than that, we have lost two very good friends. Kevin and Karen lived outside Albuquerque, NM, and they participated in the Balloon Festival every year. This gave them a unique skill set for when the 1632verse decided that balloons and dirigibles were the way to go for flight. Kevin was a steam-head and spent many years working on getting a vintage steam locomotive ready to run again. He was a fantastic artificer, and over time, became the 1632verse’s Master Armorer. He created the designs for the rifles and shotguns used by up-timers and down-timers in the stories. He got pushback over the designs, so he built working models and brought them to Ring Of Fire Cons to show them at the Weird Tech panel, which Rick Boatright, myself, and Kevin presided over for years. He proved that you could power a dirigible with a steam engine. He and Rick made the smallest functioning steam engine I’ve ever seen to prove it. Karen was a great writer, and a gastronome. She delighted the 1632verse with bringing modern chocolate back to the seventeenth century. Not only did she produce recipes, but at RingofFireCons, she brought samples of real Grantville chocolate.” Kevin and Karen were members of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), Kevin was knighted as Sir Thorgeirr and Karen served as his squire and shieldmaiden, Lady Tyrca. They were great people, a wonderful couple, actually bigger than life, and the world is significantly smaller and darker with them gone. I am going to miss them dreadfully, and I…
Eric Flint on Writing Note: The original post wasn’t dated, so we don’t have any real idea when this was written and posted beyond Eric was still alive. The assigned date is fairly random, but before his final illness. – Bethanne (Publisher, Eric Flint’s 1632 & Beyond magazine) How long does it take to write a book? ERIC: That basically depends on three factors: The length of the book.2. The type of book it is.3. Whether I’m writing it solo or with a collaborator (or collaborators). Length is the most obvious. Novels are made up of words, and the more words in a given novel the longer it’s going to take to write it. My novels, thus far, have ranged in length from about 110,000 to 180,000 words. The shortest being The Philosophical Strangler and Rats, Bats & Vats; the longest, 1632. Although that’s about to change — The Shadow of the Lion, now nearing completion, is going to be well over 200,000 words long; probably closer to 250,000. (I might mention here that writers gauge the length of a book in a different way than readers. Readers think of length in terms of pages, but for an author that’s almost meaningless. The number of pages which a given number of words translates into varies wildly, depending on many factors determined by the publisher, not the writer — fonts, leads, margins, etc. So writers talk in terms of words, because that’s the only fixed absolute quantity.) How many words do I write a day? Well, that varies a lot, depending on the type of book it is, as I’ll explain in a moment. But I don’t write every day of the year, anyway. Not even close. Writing, for me, is “burst work.” When I dig into a novel, I will write just about every day until the book is finished. Never less than 1,000 words. Once or twice — as many as 10,000 words. My average per…
by Jeff | Mar 1, 2021 | Interviews https://youtu.be/eqfS_7ykw_s
by Eric Flint | Feb 17, 2021 | Information I was going to stay out of the latest inside-the-SF-Beltway kertuffle, but it seems to keep chasing after me. At least, I keep running into it on Facebook. So, especially since my name got dragged into it, I finally decided to put in my two cents. The kertuffle I’m talking about started with the publication on his Patreon site by an author named Jason Sanford of a hit piece on my publisher, Baen Books. I’m deliberately calling it a “hit piece” because everything about it stinks to me. I will explain why in the course of this post, but let me start with the fact that Sanford’s essay was followed in very quick succession by people piling on elsewhere including in File 770, a demand being placed on Baen Books’ service provider that they cancel the publisher’s online access, and loud demands that the upcoming 79th World Science Fiction Convention (Discon III) remove Baen’s publisher Toni Weisskopf as their Editor Guest of Honor. Maybe all this is just coincidence, but I doubt it. And before anyone accuses me of suggesting there’s an elaborate conspiracy involved, I don’t think that for a minute. What I do think is likely is that a handful of jerks got together and thought starting something like this was a bright idea. Let me begin by quoting the thesis of Sanford’s essay: This is an investigative report about how Baen’s Bar, the private forum run by the science fiction and fantasy publishing company Baen Books, is being used to advocate for extremist political violence. Evidence will be presented. Comments by a number of the forum’s users will be shared.[See Note 1 below] I believe it’s vitally important for the SF/F genre to know what is going on in Baen’s Bar. As the world has discovered in recent years, disinformation and online threats of violence do not remain in one place and this applies equally…
by Jeff | Jun 9, 2021 | Information https://youtu.be/p3_A-JX9FlU Part two of the interview featuring Eric Flint and Chuck Gannon discussing their novel 1637: No Peace Beyond the Line.
by Eric Flint | May 12, 2020 | Blog | 1 comment As many of you already know, I have a publishing house of my own called Ring of Fire Press. I launched the house back in 2013 as a way to publish stories in the Ring of Fire series that were too long to include in one of the anthologies published by Baen Books. For the first few years, I operated the house on a pretty hit-or-miss basis. I had no regular publishing schedule and didn’t put a lot of money or effort into it. I was really doing it just as a service to some of our long-standing authors. A little over two years ago, however, I decided to take it more seriously. The first thing I did was engage a professional artist (Laura Givens) to do the covers. That instantly made a huge difference—by which I mean increasing our sales by almost an order of magnitude. Once I saw that we had a much bigger income, I took on Walt Boyes and Joy Ward as a combination of managers and editors of the house, so that it would no longer be something I was trying to do on the side. And we decided to establish a regular publication schedule. Initially that was one book a month, but we soon expanded that to two books a month. For a time, our focus remained on publishing Ring of Fire series books. But it didn’t take us long to realize that we’d built a real publishing house—so why not use it to publish any sort of fantasy and science fiction? We’ve been doing that now for some time, and reached the point where Ring of Fire series books are only about one-third of what we publish. In fact, we’ve expanded our output so much that beginning in July we’re going to shift to a three-book-a-month schedule. One of the things that has enabled us to do is…
by Eric Flint | Apr 14, 2020 | Interviews https://youtu.be/uaQHmiqkS6I
by Eric Flint | Jan 24, 2020 | Information | 4 comments As those of you who regularly visit this web site or my Facebook page know, I don’t often post political statements. There are two reasons I don’t. The first is because most people who visit the sites are either family or personal friends of mine who are already well aware of my political views, or people who are mostly interested in me as an author. The second reason is even simpler. If there is a more monumental waste of time than arguing politics on the internet—especially Facebook—I have yet to find it. (Watching paint dry comes a distant second.) That said, occasionally I get annoyed enough to break my usual rule, and after some months of the campaigning that’s been going on for next year’s presidential election, I have reached that point with respect to one subject. THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE, about which historical ignorance, incapacity to reason, blindness to reality driven by ideology and just plain stupidity have produced an ocean of twaddle. It should be blindingly obvious by now that the Electoral College is at best an antiquated institution which never matched the vision of it held by the Founding Fathers and has become an impediment to modern government. In times past, the reason most people shrugged off its grotesque features was because in practice it didn’t seem to make much difference. In the first two centuries of the nation’s existence, a candidate won the Electoral College while losing the so-called “popular vote” only three times (in 1824, 1876 and 1888). But it has happened twice in the past five elections (2000 and 2016), so now it has become a major topic of debate. [NOTA BENE: I put the phrase “popular vote” in quotation marks because the term is a silly redundancy. By definition, the “vote” is the will of the majority, i.e., the “populi” There is no other kind of vote EXCEPT a…
by Eric Flint | Jun 14, 2018 | Information | 3 comments June 14, 2018 I have the following titles that qualify for nomination for the Dragon Award to be handed out at DragonCon this year. (For more information on DragonCon, see: http://www.dragoncon.org/) BEST FANTASY NOVEL: The Demons of Paris, by Eric Flint, Paula Goodlett and Gorg Huff. BEST HORROR NOVEL: Iron Angels, by Eric Flint and Alistair Kimble. BEST ALTERNATE HISTORY NOVEL. I have several novels that qualify in this category: The Alexander Inheritance, by Eric Flint, Paula Goodlett and Gorg Huff. 1636: The Vatican Sanction, by Eric Flint and Charles E. Gannon. 1637: The Volga Rules, by Eric Flint, Paula Goodlett and Gorg Huff. If you’ve read any of these novels and liked them enough, please nominate them for their respective awards. Nominations will be closed on July 20, 2018. Voting will take place shortly thereafter. 3 Comments Jim on June 27, 2018 at 2:08 AMWhy would a socialist want to win awards so much? Is it because your a capitalist? Hypocrite. Drak Bibliophile on June 28, 2018 at 7:52 AMAh, but he is a capitalist and makes no bones about it. Mike on October 2, 2018 at 7:53 PMI’m confused by the whole idea that a socialist would not want to win awards. I think maybe you don’t understand what socialism is.
by Gorg Huff | Apr 14, 2018 | Information The 2019 Ring of Fire series minicon will be hosted by Westercon inLayton, Utah (just north of Salt Lake City). The dates are July 4-7.Here’s their URL: https://www.westercon72.org/ And here’s the press release they just issued: 04/14/18 Announced 2:00 pm Utah Time – League of Utah Writers Spring ConferenceTime & Location: Apr 14, 2018 at 10:30am – 6:00pmSalt Lake Community College Student Ctr, 4600 South Redwood Road, SLC,UT 84123, USA About The Event: The annual Spring Conference presented byLeague of Utah Writers includes a full day of workshops andpresentations focused on improving your skills as a writer. 2018 Spring Conference Schedule9:00 – 10:30 Registration / Check-in10:30 – 11:00 Opening Kick-off – all attendees11:00 – 2:00Â Â Â Morning sessions2:00 – 3:00Â Â Â Break for lunch Utah Horror Writers Announcement andWestercon 72Announcement3:00 – 6:00 Afternoon sessions Westercon 72 is pleased to announce Eric Flint as a Special Guest.Eric Flint’s writing career began with the science fiction novel Motherof Demons. His alternate history novel 1632 has led to a long-runningseries with over thirty novels and anthologies in print. He’s alsowritten many other science fiction and fantasy novels. He resides innorthwest Indiana with his wife Lucille.Along with Mr. Flint, we are also pleased to announce the 2019 1632Minicon will be held in conjunction with Westercon 72. The minicon isthe annual event that allows the 1632 fans and authors to get together.(Of course, in the case of 1632, fans and authors overlapsubstantially.) Each year the minicon is held “inside” a science fictionconvention in a different part of the country. Many cons have agreed tohost the minicon over the years. (Wording courtesy ofhttps://1632.org/2018-minicon/ ) Thank you for your time. Kate Hatcher (Chair)Westercon 72Utah’s Bid for NASFiC 2019Â Utah Fandom Organization (UFO)info@utahfor2019.comchair@westercon72.org Westercon is a registered service mark of the Los Angeles ScienceFantasy Society, Inc. and is used with permission. Utah for 2019 issupported by Utah Fandom Organization, a nonprofit 501(c)(3). “WorldScience Fiction Society”, “WSFS”,…
by Drak Bibliophile | Feb 11, 2018 | 1632Snippet, Snippets | 3 comments The Demons Of Paris Blurb ANNOUNCING A NEW FANTASY/ALTERNATE HISTORY SERIES By Eric Flint, Gorg Huff and Paula Goodlett In March 2018, Eric Flint’s Ring of Fire Press will publish The Demons of Paris, which is the first novel in a series that combines alternate history and fantasy. Set in the late Middle Ages, the brutality of the conqueror of Central Asia, Tamerlane, triggers a rupture in the very fabric of reality. Demons and supernatural monsters of all kinds begin pouring into the human world, bringing both magic powers and devastation with them. But that’s not all they bring. The same rupture also drags into the year 1372 a van full of high school students from the year 2018 — along with all their electronic equipment. Soon it’s a race to see which pack of outsiders can create the most turmoil in the late Middle Ages — monstrous demons or precocious teenagers who soon have their own allies and followers among the ranks of demonkind. And King Charles V had already been in trouble! Piled onto his own poor health, a suspicious and contentious church, France’s always-quarrelsome nobility — worst of all, his unscrupulous and ambitious brother, Philip the Bold — the king now has both demons and people from the future to deal with. He does have one asset — and not a small one. He can place his trusted Constable of France, Bertrand du Guesclin, in charge of the rambunctious teenagers from the future and their ever-growing legion of demons. And Bertrand has a great asset of his own — his wife Tiphaine de Raguenel, perhaps the best astrologer in all of France and, for sure and certain, not a woman to take seriously the prattling nonsense of youngsters skeptical of her lore and knowledge. The Demons of Paris will be available in both electronic and trade paperback editions. And, of course, snippets will…
by Eric Flint | Dec 11, 2016 | Information | 8 comments The Dragon Award was launched this year at the 2016 DragonCon convention in Atlanta that took place over Labor Day weekend. It will be held every year hereafter. The award was given out in these categories: Best Science Fiction Novel Best Fantasy Novel Best Young Adult/Middle Grade Novel Best Military Science Fiction or Fantasy Novel Best Alternate History Novel Best Apocalyptic Novel Best Horror Novel Best Comic Book Best Graphic Novel Best Science Fiction or Fantasy TV Series Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Movie Best Science Fiction or Fantasy PC/Console Game Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Mobile Game Best Science Fiction of Fantasy Board Game Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Miniatures/Collectible Card/Role Playing Game As will be obvious to anyone familiar with the existing major awards in science fiction and fantasy, there are two features of the Dragon Award which are quite different: First, in the literary categories, no awards are given for short fiction. Only novels are eligible to be nominated. Second, much greater weight is given to non-literary forms of science fiction and fantasy. Of the fifteen awards presented, only seven of the awards—slightly less than half—are given to traditional literary forms. Two are given out for illustrated stories (comics and graphic novels), two are given out for dramatic presentations (TV series and movies), and four are given out in different gaming categories. There are a number of reasons for these differences, which I will discuss in this ongoing blog. For the moment, though, I just want to touch on what is perhaps the most basic point to be made: The Dragon Award was not set up to compete with any of the existing awards. We didn’t launch this new award because we were dissatisfied or disgruntled with the existing awards, such as the Hugo or the Nebula or the World Fantasy Award. Our attitude stems from a recognition of something that is…
by Eric Flint | Apr 27, 2016 | Hugo Controversy | 87 comments I’m under some fairly serious deadline pressure right now and will be for a couple of months. So I won’t be writing the sort of long essays I did last year on the subject of literary awards in general and the Hugo awards in particular. That said, since the nominations for this year’s Hugo awards have now been published and it’s obvious that the Rabid Puppies have been up to some mischief again, I figure I should say a few words. Let me start by quoting something that George R.R. Martin said in a recent post he made on his “Not a Blog” blog: Sad Puppies 4, this year headed by Kate Paulk, changed its approach and produced a recommended reading list, with anywhere from one to ten suggestions in each category, rather than slating four or five. The process was open and democratic, which Sad Puppies 3 often claimed to be but never was. Paulk also avoided the ugly excesses of the previous campaign, and never stooped to the sort of invective that her predecessor, Brad Torgersen, had been so fond of, with all his talk of CHORFs and Puppy-kickers. For all this she should be commended. I agree with George and I think that’s as much as needs to be said on the subject of the Sad Puppies. Whatever I think of any specific recommendation they made is neither here nor there. The Sad Puppies have as much right to make recommendations as does anyone else. Locus magazine does it routinely and no one objects—nor should they. The situation with the Rabid Puppies, however, is quite different. It’s obvious that they voted as a disciplined bloc again this year and they have enough supporters to make a difference in at least some of the categories. They also, this year, used the sleazy tactic of including in their slate a number of works by authors…
by Eric Flint | Jan 6, 2016 | Information | 37 comments First, I need to explain some recent changes in my schedule of appearances. I was planning to attend comic cons in Miami and Pensacola in January and February, but that’s fallen through. The people organizing my schedule for those events didn’t have enough time to get it put together. Instead, they’re scheduling me for appearances at two other comic cons later in the year: Salt Lake Comic Con, which takes place in Salt Lake City, Utah on March 24-26. Indiana Comic Con, which takes place in Indianapolis, Indiana on April 29-May 1. See the Appearances section in the web site for more details. In other news of the day:I just turned in the manuscript for The Alexander Inheritance. That’s a novel I wrote with Gorg Huff and Paula Goodlett, with whom I’ve also collaborated on three novels in the Ring of Fire series: 1636: The Kremlin Games, 1636: The Viennese Waltz and the forthcoming (no date set yet) 1637: The Volga Rules. The Alexander Inheritance is not part of the Ring of Fire series, but is related to it. Like the novel Time Spike, which I wrote with Marilyn Kosmatka, The Alexander Inheritance posits that another Assiti Shard strikes the Earth, this time in the near future, and transposes a cruise ship in the Caribbean into the Mediterranean just after the death of Alexander the Great. That period in history is often called “The Age of the Diadochi” that’s a Greek term that means “successors” and it was one of the most savage periods in human history. By the time Alexander’s generals finished carving up his empire, Alexander’s entire family had been wiped out: wife, sister, mother, half-brother, son, you name it, and only three generals survived out of the dozens who started the civil war.Think of it as Game of Thrones on steroids. I’m now back to work on The Gods of Sagittarius, which is a novel I’m writing with Mike Resnick. This is unrelated…
by Eric Flint | Nov 25, 2015 | Eric’s enterprises, Information | 17 comments I just turned in the manuscript for RING OF FIRE IV, the next 1632 series anthology. It’s coming out in May. I’m cutting it a wee bit close on the deadline for this one, although nothing compared to a few thrill rides of the past. The hang-up was finishing my story for it, which is a short novel titled “Scarface.” I’m pleased with the story, although it was tricky to write. It’s basically a romance pretending to be an action story. The action story disguise is admittedly a bit skimpy, seeing as how no humans and only one cranky critter were killed in the course of the story. And now, back to work on THE GODS OF SAGITTARIUS. I got my publication schedule from Baen for the next year or so (fourteen months, to be precise). Here it is: January, 2016: 1636: A Parcel of Rogues (new title, hardcover)February, 2016: Castaway Planet (reissue, mass market paperback)March: nothingApril, 2016: Grantville Gazette VII (reissue, mass market paperback)May, 2016: Ring of Fire IV (new title, hardcover). I have a short novel in this anthology titled ScarfaceJune, 2016: Black Tide Rising (new title, hardcover). This is an anthology set in John Ringo’s zombie apocalypse universe. I have a novella in it titled “Up on the Roof.”July: nothingAugust: 1636: The Chronicles of Doctor Gribbleflotz (new title, hardcover). I didn’t write this, Kerryn Offord and Rick Boatright did. But I’m including it since it’s part of the 1632 series.September, 1636: The Span of Empire (new title, hardcover). This is the sequel to The Course of Empire and The Crucible of Empire.October 1636: Castaway Odyssey (new title, hardcover). This is the sequel to Castaway Planet.November, 2016: nothingDecember, 2016: 1636: A Parcel of Rogues (reissue, mass market paperback)January, 2017: 1636: The Ottoman Onslaught 17 Comments Simon Proctor on November 25, 2015 at 8:22 AMUmm Eric. I think you’ve got a few too many 1636’s there.I’m sure no one would complain… Eric Flint on November 25, 2015 at 8:58 AMThat’s kinda funny, actually. I hadn’t…
by Eric Flint | Aug 31, 2015 | Hugo Controversy | 185 comments Several people, in their commentaries on my recent essay (“Do We Really Have to Keep Feeding Stupid and His Cousin Ignoramus?”), challenged or at least questioned the assertion I’ve made several times in my various essays on the Hugo ruckus that the Hugos (and other major F&SF awards) have drifted away over the past thirty years from the tastes and opinions of the mass audience. It’s a fair question, so I’ll address it in this essay as best I can. It’s not an easy issue to analyze, though. That’s for the simple reason that popularity is gauged by sales, and there are no publicly available records on the sales of various authors. That’s information which is privately held. When I published my first essay on the Hugo ruckus a few months ago (“Some comments on the Hugos and other SF awards,” posted here on April 16), a number of people privately expressed their astonishment, or bemusement, or admiration at the amount of work I’d put into it. Or in the case of my publisher, Toni Weisskopf—although she never said a word to me about it—probably exasperation. (“What the hell is he doing writing this stuff instead of novels, dammit?”) The essay does indeed represent a lot of work, since it’s 7,200 words long. (If word counts don’t mean much to you, that’s the length of two or three chapters in most novels.) But, in fact, I put very little work into it—this year. That’s because most of the essay had been written eight years earlier. Here’s the history: Back in 2007, I wound up—I can’t remember how it got started—engaging in a long email exchange with Greg Benford over the subject of SF awards. Both of use had gotten a little exasperated over the situation—which is closely tied to the issue of how often different authors get reviewed in major F&SF magazines. In the…
by Eric Flint | Aug 26, 2015 | Hugo Controversy | 246 comments Wired magazine just ran an article on the recently-concluded Hugo awards, voted on at Sasquan, the world science fiction convention held in Spokane, Washington over the past weekend. There is much in the article that I have no objection to, but it does not begin well. Here is a passage from early in the article: “Though voted upon by fans, this year’s Hugo Awards were no mere popularity contest. After the Puppies released their slates in February, recommending finalists in 15 of the Hugos’ 16 categories (plus the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer), the balloting had become a referendum on the future of the genre. Would sci-fi focus, as it has for much of its history, largely on brave white male engineers with ray guns fighting either a) hideous aliens or b) hideous governments who don’t want them to mine asteroids in space? Or would it continue its embrace of a broader sci-fi: stories about non-traditionally gendered explorers and post-singularity, post-ethnic characters who are sometimes not men and often even have feelings?” As a description of the Sad Puppies and the sort of fiction they prefer, this sentence manages the singular feat of being simultaneously dishonest and laughable: Would sci-fi focus, as it has for much of its history, largely on brave white male engineers with ray guns fighting either a) hideous aliens or b) hideous governments who don’t want them to mine asteroids in space? I suppose it’s possible that one of the Sad Puppies or the authors they tend to like has at one time or another written a story whose central protagonist is a white male engineer with a ray gun, but I’ve never seen it. Is it really too much to ask people who take it upon themselves to criticize the Sad Puppies to FUCKING READ what they actually write? Instead of doing what the Puppies themselves are…
by Eric Flint | Aug 17, 2015 | Information | 11 comments I just turned in a novella to Kelly Lockhart titled “Up On the Roof,” for an anthology he’s editing based on John Ringo’s Black Tide Rising series. For those of you not familiar with the series, it’s John’s take on the zombie apocalypse theme. What I did in my story was depict how people might survive a zombie apocalypse in my neighborhood, using characters modeled (loosely-there’s no direct one-to-one relationship) on my own neighbors and people I encounter regularly whenever I go out of the house. The characters, as is true of the part of the country where I live (which is northwest Indiana), are predominantly working class and racially mixed. So my characters are industrial workers, some retired and some active, a waitress and a restaurant manager, a cop and his daughter, a security guard at a casino and his wife who works in a factory making cardboard containers, etc. They are armed in the way in which blue collar civilians in the US usually are, but they are not survivalists or gun nuts and while some of them have military experience they are not a military unit of any kind. Their survival depends partly on weapons but mostly on being smart and decisive, and being willing to help others. Insofar as I have a beef with apocalypse stories, it’s that they tend to grossly underestimate the survival value of being cooperative and behaving decently to people and tend to grossly overestimate the extent to which a dog-eat-dog mindset would really help you very much in a real catastrophe. I should make clear, by the way, that that’s not a criticism of John Ringo’s novels in the series. John’s actually very good on this subject, which is part of the reason I enjoyed the series. John Scalzi is also writing a story for the anthology. I’m not sure who else is. Sarah Hoyt started to, but…
by Gorg Huff | Jul 18, 2015 | Information | 5 comments I was just invited to be the Guest of Honor at Balticon over the weekend of May 26-29, 2017. That takes place in Baltimore, if you haven’t figured it out already. The reason for the invitation so far ahead of time is because Balticon also agreed to host the 1632 series minicon that year as well. Next year, in 2016, the 1632 series minicon is being hosted by Fencon in Dallas over the weekend of September 23-25. 5 Comments John Cowan on July 18, 2015 at 1:45 PMEh, when I saw the title I figured it was going to be in Latvia, Lithuania, or Estonia. Color me over-sophisticated. Joe on July 20, 2015 at 2:35 PMThat would be Baltikon. Easy mistake. Steve on July 20, 2015 at 4:38 PMEric Flint would not be the guest of honor were it in Latvia, Erics Flints would be (on account of a weird Latvian linguistic convention that all mens’ names must end in at least one “s”). But I think Sweden or Germamy would be more appropriate for a con on the Baltic with him as GOH. Bret Hooper on December 5, 2016 at 10:49 PMWhen and where can one get info about the 2017 Balticon and RoF Minicon? Balticon’s website is still all about the 2016 Balticon, which I doubt is still attracting many more fans to the 2016 con. How can they be persuaded that it is too late to get more people to the 2016 con? That their money would be better spent to increase attendance at the 2017 con?Provided that Eric is still going to be GoH and the Minicon is still going to be there, I want to be at the 2017 Balticon, with my son who lives nearby in Maryland, but how does one register for it? And what is the program schedule? And . . . ? Bret Hooper on January 5, 2017 at 9:41 PMUpdate:…
by Eric Flint | Jun 26, 2015 | Information, Newsletters | 16 comments There have been some modifications in my publication schedule from what it looked like in March. Here’s how it looks now: 1636: The Cardinal Virtues will be coming out in a week, at the beginning of July. It’s probably already showing up in some bookstores. In October, Baen is publishing an anthology in honor of David Drake titled Onward, Drake! (Which has a really, really ridiculous cover which I am really, really, really looking forward to teasing David about when I see him this coming weekend at Libertycon. Oh, chortle!) I have a story in the anthology titled “A Flat Affect.” In November, the mass market edition of Cauldron of Ghosts will be coming out. That’s a novel I co-authored with David Weber set in his Honor Harrington universe. In December, the mass market edition of 1636: The Viennese Waltz is coming out. 1635: A Parcel of Rogues will be coming out in January, 2016. Ring of Fire IV will be coming out in May, 2016. The lead story in that volume will be a novelette by David Brin. The Span of Empire will be coming out in late summer or early fall of 2016. 1636: The Ottoman Onslaught will be coming out in January, 2017. The big modification in my schedule is that we swapped places between The Span of Empire and 1636: The Ottoman Onslaught. We decided to do that for several reasons. First, I didn’t particularly want to have four Ring of Fire volumes coming out in a row without anything else in the mix. Yes, I know the Ring of Fire series is what I’m best known for, but I write lots of other stuff as well. In fact-harrumph-of the fifty novels I will have published when 1635: A Parcel of Rogues comes out in January, only fifteen of them are Ring of Fire volumes. So there. Second, my co-author on The Span of Empire is David Carrico, and he’s been waiting an awful long time to see this novel…
by Eric Flint | Jun 23, 2015 | Hugo Controversy | 90 comments John Scalzi has raised some objections to and reservations about the proposal that will be coming out of Sasquan for making some changes in the structure of the Hugo awards. I thought his comments were worth taking up and I’ll be doing so here. I had a friendly private exchange with John on the subject, and I want to emphasize that I view this as a discussion more than a debate. You can find John’s remarks here: Note to WSFS Members: Killing the Best Novelette Hugo is a Terrible Idea Since he put up this post and he and I had our private exchange, John’s major objection seems to have become a moot point. It now seems that the proposed amendment to the Hugo rules that would have eliminated the category of “Best Novelette” has been withdrawn. But he also registered a disagreement, if not as strong a one, to the idea of adding a category for “Best Saga.” (I.e., a best series award.) And that’s what I want to address in this essay. I want to start indirectly, though, by taking up some comments that were made by other people in response to John’s post. I was particularly struck by comments that expressed either indifference or even hostility to a series award because it would mostly benefit male authors. A series award wouldn’t be helpful to female authors? Let’s consider some authors active today in fantasy and science fiction: Ilona Andrews Kelley Armstrong Elizabeth Bear Patricia Briggs Jacqueline Carey Julie Czerneda Kate Elliott Diana Gabaldon Barbara Hambly Laurell K. Hamilton Charlaine Harris Tanya Huff Kim Harrison Robin Hobb Sherrilyn Kenyon Mercedes Lackey Elizabeth Moon Naomi Novik Jody Lynn Nye Tamora Pierce Melanie Rawn Laura Resnick Kristine Kathryn Rusch Nalini Singh Judith Tarr Sherri Tepper Margaret Weis Janny Wurtz Jane Yolen Sarah Zettel Of the thirty authors listed above: All are popular and have published…
by Eric Flint | Jun 16, 2015 | Hugo Controversy | 245 comments Having come up with that nifty albeit long-winded title, I’m tempted to just write “see above” and take a nap. Mission accomplished… Sadly, some people need to be convinced that “inevitable” means “not evitable.” You don’t think there’s such a word as “evitable”? Tch. Of course there is! If there weren’t, how could anything be in-evitable? “Evitable” derives from the Latin evitare (“to avoid). It’s an adjective that means capable of being avoided; avoidable. In essence, what the Sad Puppies are arguing is that if people follow their lead, the tendency of the Hugo Awards to be slanted in favor of what are generally called “literary” qualities can be avoided. No, sorry, it can’t. You have as much chance of eliminating the tendency of a literary award to be tilted in favor of literary factors as you have of doing any of the following: Getting a fashion competition to award first place to blue jeans and a sweatshirt. But they’re so comfortable! And people wear them all the time—including those God damned probably-a-bunch-of-pinkos (PABOPs) when they’re not putting on a public show. Getting a dog show to award “best dog of show” to an unpedigreed mutt. But he’s such a good dog! Friendly, great with kids, never growls at anybody except people trying to break into the house and then—hooweeeeee!—watch the bastards run for their lives. And they gave the award to that—that—look at the damn thing! Its skull is narrower than a high-heeled shoe! God damn pointy-headed effete asinine retards (PHEARs). Getting a gourmet cooking competition to award first place to a dish consisting of a cheeseburger and fries. But almost everybody eats cheeseburgers and fries! Try setting up a chain of escargots-and-tofu restaurants and see how fast you go bankrupt! This is pure snobbery, what it is. God damn highbrow elitist stuffed shirt icky abominable nabobs (HESSIANs). Shall I go on? And on… and on… What the Sad Puppies can’t seem to grasp is that any sort…
by Eric Flint | Jun 13, 2015 | Hugo Controversy | 68 comments In this essay, I want to address the second of the two objective problems with the Hugo Awards that I referred to in my last essay. That problem is the ever-widening distance between the structure of the awards and the reality of the market for fantasy and science fiction. When the Hugo Award was first launched, in 1953, four awards were established. The distinction between them was based on word count, as follows: Best short story: Any story up to 7,500 words. Best novelette: Any story between 7,500 and 17,500 words. Best novella: Any story between 17,500 and 40,000 words. Best novel: any story longer than 40,000 words. A little more than a decade later, in 1966, the newly-founded Science Fiction Writers of America (which later became the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America) launched the Nebula Award, which is considered the other major award in F&SF. The award structure they adopted for written fiction was identical with that of the Hugo; i.e., the same division between three short form and one long form stories, using the same word counts. At the time, it made perfect sense to structure the awards in this manner, that is to say, heavily in favor of short fiction and with the definition of novel set with a very low word count. The genre of F&SF was predominantly a short form genre, and what (relatively few) novels got published were generally in the word count range of 40,000 to 60,000 words. Today, that structure is hopelessly outdated. Short form fiction is now a very small part of fantasy and science fiction, whether you measure that in terms of money—where it’s now a tiny percentage of the income authors receive—or in terms of readership. It’s certainly a larger percentage of the readers than it is of income, but it’s not more than 10% and it’s probably closer to 5%.…
by Eric Flint | Jun 11, 2015 | Hugo Controversy | 66 comments What I want to do in this essay is go back to where I started in my very first post on subject (“Some comments on the Hugos and other SF awards,” posted April 16), which is to discuss the problems the Hugo awards actually do have—which, as I’ve now spent a lot of time explaining, has nothing to do with the political issues that the Sad Puppies insist are central. I singled out three key problems, two of them objective and one which is of a more subjective nature. The first of the two objective problems is the subject of this essay. It’s not complicated. The genre of science fiction and fantasy with all its related sub-genres—some of which, like paranormal romance, are so popular they often get their own sections in bookstores—has become enormous. It is a far, far larger field than it was half a century ago. But even back then, there was always some disparity between the tastes and opinions of the people who voted for the Hugo awards and the F&SF readership as a whole. To name what is probably the most outstanding example, Andre Norton never received a Hugo award. She was only nominated twice. But she was hardly alone in being overlooked in the Hugo awards. Many other prominent and important authors of the time, whose stories filled the major magazines and the shelves in bookstores, also never received a Hugo award and in many cases were never even nominated. Christopher Anvil was never nominated. Not once. A Bertram Chandler was never nominated. Hal Clement was only nominated once. He didn’t win. L. Sprague de Camp did win one Hugo, but it was for his autobiography and came almost at the very end of his long life. He never received the award for his fiction, despite that fiction being an enormous body of work spanning more than half…
by Eric Flint | Jun 9, 2015 | Hugo Controversy | 366 comments One of the comments that was put up on my web site while I was out of town was a long one by Brad Torgersen. Because of Brad’s prominence in the debate over the Hugo Awards, I think it’s incumbent on me to respond to him. My response is going to be long because I’m going to put it all up in one post today. I’m doing that because Brad will be deploying soon and is likely to lose access to the internet for a while. I don’t think it’s fair for me to criticize his arguments if he can no longer respond. Whether he chooses to respond or not will be his decision. If he does, I will make no further responses to him beyond this one. I think the argument we’re having about the Hugo awards is approaching its productive limits. I will make one more post in a day or so, but that one will deal purely with my own practical suggestions for ways I think the Hugo awards could be improved. The post by Brad that I’m responding to here is a long one—you can find it in the thread under “AND AGAIN ON THE HUGO AWARDS”—so I think this will work best if I begin by quoting all of it. My reply will come afterward: (the original comment can be found in context in the thread under “AND AGAIN ON THE HUGO AWARDS”— webmaster) “The following is general commentary, not directed at Eric Flint per se. But at the body of the thread and all the comments as a whole. “The thing about self-identifying progressives in 21st century America is that they don’t realize when they’ve won. Especially in the field of SF/F publishing. You cannot fight against The Man when you are The Man. In SF/F publishing, progressives make up the vast bulk of editors, authors, artists, and publishers. Oh,…
by Eric Flint | Jun 8, 2015 | Hugo Controversy | 342 comments I’ve been traveling a lot for the past few weeks, so my ability to respond to comments made here is intermittent. One of the comments that was put up on my web site while I was gone lately was a long one by Brad Torgersen. Because of Brad’s prominence in the debate over the Hugo Awards, I think it’s incumbent on me to respond to him. Before I can do that, however, something else has to be dealt with first. One of the main points I’ve been trying to make, partly in the hope that I can persuade the Sad Puppies to change their minds, is that while scurrilous attacks have been made on them those attacks have come from people who have no real power or influence in the science fiction and fantasy community. Unfortunately, there’s a reliable old quip, variously attributed to Voltaire and Maréchal Villars: Lord, protect me from my friends; I can take care of my enemies. With the modification that I don’t consider the Sad Puppies to be “enemies” but simply opponents in the current wrangle over the Hugos, the quip has found a home again. While I was attending SFWA’s Nebula Awards weekend, the following statement was made on her Facebook page by Irene Gallo in response to a question. (The question was “what are the Sad Puppies”?) “There are two extreme right-wing to neo-nazi groups, called the Sad Puppies and the Rabid Puppies respectively, that are calling for the end of social justice in science fiction and fantasy. They are unrepentantly racist, sexist and homophobic. A noisy few but they’ve been able to gather some Gamergate folks around them and elect a slate of bad-to-reprehensible works on this year’s Hugo ballot.” When it comes to sheer, breath-taking dishonesty and just plain silliness, this statement is far worse than any of the ones cited by James May which I dealt…
by Eric Flint | May 18, 2015 | Hugo Controversy | 160 comments James May, who keeps posting here, is the gift that never stops giving. In one of his most recent posts, he insists once again that the SJW (social justice warrior) hordes are a menace to science fiction. So, in this essay, I will go through his points one at a time to show how ridiculous they are whether examined in part or (especially) as a whole. Let’s start with his first two paragraphs: “I don’t have to pretend anything. It’s not my imagination this crusading feminist movement exists nor that it’s baked into core SFF at every level as the new go-to ideological orthodoxy. In fact they do amount to squat. This is a very specific ideology that speaks a very specific faux-academic language and has very specific goals and issues. It is radical lesbian-centric racialized feminist to its core and its central bogey man is the straight white man. “As an example, just the 5 ideologically same-page winners of the Nebulas last year alone outnumber the entire imaginary racially and sexually supremacist culture supposedly bound by a similar opposite number ideology from Burroughs in 1912 to Niven/Pournelle in 1974. There is no semantic or thematic ideology that binds Burroughs, Heinlein, Van Vogt, Asimov, Herbert, Zelazny and Niven into such a club. That is a matter of record, as is the non-fiction writings of those 5 2014 Nebula winners.†The first thing to notice about this rant is that in the name of attacking a “crusading†movement which is an “ideological orthodoxy†that “speaks a very specific faux-academic language†James May immediately proceeds to… Use crusading terminology which is ideologically orthodox and speaks a very specific faux-academic language: “It is radical lesbian-centric racialized feminist to its core.†That phrase is practically dripping Rush Limbaugh-speak. He then informs us that all—yup, each and every one—of the 2014 Nebula winners were “ideologically same-page†which is a…
by Eric Flint | May 14, 2015 | Hugo Controversy | 172 comments I swore to myself—again—that I was I was going to stay away from this ruckus after my first two essays (one long, one short) but some of the posts put up on my web site have worn down that resolve. A friend of mine once said “ignorance can be fixed; stupid is forever.” I suspect he’s right, but I will sally forth once again in the hopes that some of these seemingly-stupid statements and arguments are really just the product of ignorance. Let me start with this statement, from a recent poster named James May (and don’t complain, dammit; once you post on MY web site, you’re fair game): “The social justice warrior argument is not specious but right on point. When you have SF authors writing posts about white privilege and others saying straight out they won’t review white men then that represents a sea-change, and a very new one, only 3 years old or so. That sort of thing is not occasional but obsessive and daily and it is not the usual right vs. left, although it is often couched in those terms. That is why people make the mistake of stretching this conflict years and even decades back rather than the months back it deserves.” I have two points to make about this, one of which is: Who the hell are you talking about outside of your right-wing echo chamber where idiot acronyms like “SJW” mean something? But I’ll get back to that. My first point—picture me spluttering my coffee all over the place when I read it—has to do with this statement: “When you have SF authors writing posts about white privilege… that represents a sea-change… This is why people make the mistake of stretching this conflict years and even decades back rather than months it deserves.” Excuse me? SF authors have been writing about racism—AKA “white privilege”—for decades. And they came…
by Eric Flint | Apr 23, 2015 | Hugo Controversy | 20 comments In light of the discussion that’s ensued here and elsewhere in response to my essay on the current situation with the Hugo awards (see below), I decided to make a few more comments. There are two points I want to make, the first in the way of a clarification. The following statement of mine in the initial essay has been somewhat misinterpreted, I think: “What’s involved here is essentially a literary analog to genetic drift. Biologists have long known that the role played by pure chance in evolution is greater in a small population than a larger one. The same thing happens in the arts, especially those arts which have a huge mass audience. The attitudes of the much smaller group or groups of in-crowds who hand out awards or do critical reviews are mostly influenced by other members of their in-crowd, not by the tastes of the mass audience. Over time, just by happenstance if nothing else, their views start drifting apart from those of the mass audience.” Some people have interpreted this as a sarcastic remark, in which they seem to think I am deriding the tastes of what I called the “much smaller group or groups of in-crowds.” But that wasn’t my point. What I was trying to explain, perhaps not clearly enough, was that once science fiction and fantasy became the enormously popular genre of fiction that it is today, the critical attitudes of any group of fans or aficionados will inevitably diverge over time from those of the mass audience as a whole. The problem, I think, lies in a misunderstanding of the term “popular” when it is used to refer to a “popular author.” What happens is that people start thinking that a “popular” author somehow represents or reflects the mass audience—as opposed to the oft-derided “literary author” who only appeals to a small subset of the mass audience. But…
by Eric Flint | Apr 22, 2015 | Hugo Controversy | 4 comments I can see it’s time I need to establish some rules for the ongoing discussion/debate on my essay (see below) on the current ruckus over the Hugo Awards. Rule One. Do not come into my web site and call me a liar or stupid or dishonest or any other derogatory term. You’re welcome to disagree with me, but do so in a civil manner. There is no warning for this rule violation, because it’s so obvious it shouldn’t need one. So, whoever the jackass is who goes by the monicker of “rollory”, a pseudonym, naturally, you’re out of here. The technical term is banned, I believe. I’m willing to suffer fools up to a point, but I’m not willing to suffer assholes. Rule Two. This is not your private soapbox. I don’t mind people posting their opinions here, even when I sharply disagree with them. But once or twice is enough. After a while, it becomes obvious that someone isn’t going to let go of a bone and they keep chewing on it. Do so elsewhere. Specifically, I don’t have time to argue any longer over whether Theodore Beale’s pseudonym “Vox Day” is the vicious (not to mention stupid) racist and misogynist he so obviously is. You have the constitutional right to defend racism and misogyny. You do not, however, have the constitutional right to do it in my web site. So take a hike, at least on that subject. I’m not removing any of the existing posts, not even the ones by the shithead who calls himself “rollory.” But if anyone puts up any more posts defending Beale and/or his opinions, the post will be removed and you will be henceforth banned from the site. Eric 4 Comments Steve Bailey on May 6, 2015 at 10:39 AMMan, what a poor time for a first visit.It took the better part of an hour digging through other posts…
by Gorg Huff | Mar 13, 2015 | Information | 5 comments After it became clear that we wouldn’t be holding the 1632 series minicon at Contemporal this year, we approached LibertyCon and they’ve agreed to host us. LibertyCon is a longstanding and very popular SF convention in Chattanooga that I’ve attended a number of times, including as MC and (IIRC) Guest of Honor. This year, David Weber and David Drake will be attending LibertyCon also. LibertyCon is being held this year on the weekend of June 26-28. Here’s the URL, for those of you who are interested: http://www.libertycon.org 5 Comments George ferguson on March 16, 2015 at 10:20 AMKeep it in NC, but, come west to Asheville or Charlotte. Bryan on March 16, 2015 at 9:34 PMor go a little further west to Chattanooga, TN http://chattanoogaconventioncenter.org/ Reinaldo on March 28, 2015 at 5:52 PMHi all, here every person is sharing these experience, so it’s pleasant to read thisweblog, and I used to go to see this web site daily. masajistas alicante on April 19, 2015 at 7:49 AMMuy Interesante Mike on May 19, 2015 at 11:40 AMGorg, it looks like Eric’s Appearances page still lists Contemporal and not Chattacon. Alas, I won’t be able to make either. Libertycon filling up fast by Gorg Huff | Apr 28, 2015 | Information | 2 comments Minicon Update: Latest report from Uncle Timmy: they already have over 550 people preregistered and the Banquet is almost sold out. Remember that Libertycon has a hard cap of 700 registrations. 2 Comments Jen on May 11, 2015 at 2:33 AM What I’m Reading on 04/17/2015 | Blog | Bob Sutor Innovation on June 10, 2015 at 6:16 AM Ericflint.net – The official home page of author Eric …
by Gorg Huff | Mar 13, 2015 | Information | 25 comments I’ve discussed my publication schedule with Baen Books and here’s how it looks now: 1636: The Cardinal Virtues will be coming out in July, 2015. 1635: A Parcel of Rogues will be coming out in January, 2016 Ring of Fire IV will be coming out in May, 20161636: The Ottoman Onslaught will be coming out either in late summer or early fall of 2016. The Span of Empire will be coming out either at the end of 2016 or early in 2017 1636: The Ottoman Onslaught is my next solo novel in the 1632 series and is the direct sequel to 1636: The Saxon Uprising (as well as “Four Days on the Danube,” my short novel in Ring of Fire III). The Span of Empire is the third book in the Jao Empire series, which began with The Course of Empire and The Crucible of Empire. David Carrico is my co-author on the book.I’m only listing new titles. There will also be a number of reissues – Mother of Demons (April), 1636: Commander Cantrell in the West Indies (June), Cauldron of Ghosts (October) and 1636: The Viennese Waltz (November).I also have coming out:— a short novel (“Sanctuary”) coming out in April in Bill Fawcett’s anthology By Tooth and Claw— a novelette (“Operation Xibalba”) in an anthology dedicated to Poul Anderson that Baen is reissuing in June (Multiverse)— and a short story (“A Flat Affect”) that will be included in a David Drake commemorative anthology being edited by Mark Van Name. I don’t know yet when that will be published. 25 Comments John Cowan on March 13, 2015 at 10:22 AMYou gave me quite a shock there! Usually people are only commemorated after they’re dead. Mike on June 22, 2015 at 7:27 PMThat was my reaction too! Tweeky on March 14, 2015 at 5:03 PMI’m wondering when the first snippet for 1636: The Cardinal Virtues will be posted. Drak…