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George R.R. Martin

Author profile

born

September 20, 1948 in Bayonne, New Jersey, The United States

gender

male

website

http://www.georgerrmartin.com/

genre

Science Fiction & Fantasy, Horror

influences

Robert E. Howard, Robert A. Heinlein, H. P. Lovecraft, F. Scott Fitzgerald ...more

About this author

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George R.R. Martin was born September 20, 1948, in Bayonne, New Jersey. His father was Raymond Collins Martin, a longshoreman, and his mother was Margaret Brady Martin. He has two sisters, Darleen Martin Lapinski and Janet Martin Patten.

Martin attended Mary Jane Donohoe School and Marist High School. He began writing very young, selling monster stories to other neighborhood children for pennies, dramatic readings included. Later he became a comic book fan and collector in high school, and began to write fiction for comic fanzines (amateur fan magazines). Martin's first professional sale was made in 1970 at age 21: "The Hero," sold to Galaxy, published in February, 1971 issue. Other sales followed.

In 1970 ...moreGeorge R.R. Martin was born September 20, 1948, in Bayonne, New Jersey. His father was Raymond Collins Martin, a longshoreman, and his mother was Margaret Brady Martin. He has two sisters, Darleen Martin Lapinski and Janet Martin Patten.

Martin attended Mary Jane Donohoe School and Marist High School. He began writing very young, selling monster stories to other neighborhood children for pennies, dramatic readings included. Later he became a comic book fan and collector in high school, and began to write fiction for comic fanzines (amateur fan magazines). Martin's first professional sale was made in 1970 at age 21: "The Hero," sold to Galaxy, published in February, 1971 issue. Other sales followed.

In 1970 Martin received a B.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, graduating summa cum laude. He went on to complete a M.S. in Journalism in 1971, also from Northwestern.

As a conscientious objector, Martin did alternative service 1972-1974 with VISTA, attached to Cook County Legal Assistance Foundation. He also directed chess tournaments for the Continental Chess Association from 1973-1976, and was a Journalism instructor at Clarke College, Dubuque, Iowa, from 1976-1978. He wrote part-time throughout the 1970s while working as a VISTA Volunteer, chess director, and teacher.

In 1975 he married Gale Burnick. They divorced in 1979, with no children. Martin became a full-time writer in 1979. He was writer-in-residence at Clarke College from 1978-79.

Moving on to Hollywood, Martin signed on as a story editor for Twilight Zone at CBS Television in 1986. In 1987 Martin became an Executive Story Consultant for Beauty and the Beast at CBS. In 1988 he became a Producer for Beauty and the Beast, then in 1989 moved up to Co-Supervising Producer. He was Executive Producer for Doorways, a pilot which he wrote for Columbia Pictures Television, which was filmed during 1992-93.

Martin's present home is Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is a member of Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (he was South-Central Regional Director 1977-1979, and Vice President 1996-1998), and of Writers' Guild of America, West. (less)

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759 posts
George R.R. Martin's Blog

George R.R. Martin isn't a Goodreads Author (yet), but he does have a blog, so here are some recent posts imported from his feed.

Invitation to the Set

Here's yet another glimpse of the GAME OF THRONES second season, courtesy of HBO.

This one is called "Invitation to the Set."

Enjoy (but don't really try to visit the set, security will stop you).

read more »

View more on George R.R. Martin's website »

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Published on February 21, 2012 19:19 • 147 views

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Books by George R.R. Martin

Average rating: 4.29 · 359,947 ratings · 29,508 reviews · 168 distinct works

	A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1) 4.41 avg rating — 115,123 ratings — published 1996 — 89 editions	My rating:
	A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2) 4.38 avg rating — 66,395 ratings — published 1998 — 68 editions	My rating:
	A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3) 4.49 avg rating — 59,241 ratings — published 2000 — 50 editions	My rating:
	A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire #4) 4.01 avg rating — 45,946 ratings — published 2005 — 46 editions	My rating:
	A Dance With Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5) 4.11 avg rating — 26,851 ratings — published 2011 — 19 editions	My rating:
	A Game of Thrones / A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1-2) 4.45 avg rating — 3,025 ratings — 4 editions	My rating:
	A Storm of Swords: Blood and Gold (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3 part 2) 4.55 avg rating — 3,167 ratings — published 2000 — 16 editions	My rating:
	A Storm of Swords: Steel and Snow (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3 part 1) 4.50 avg rating — 2,760 ratings — published 2000 — 17 editions	My rating:
	Fevre Dream 3.84 avg rating — 2,755 ratings — published 1982 — 27 editions	My rating:
	The Hedge Knight (Graphic Novel) by George R.R. Martin, Ben Avery, Mike S. Miller 3.97 avg rating — 2,740 ratings — published 1998 — 10 editions	My rating:

More books by George R.R. Martin…

Series by George R.R. Martin

A Song of Ice and Fire (7 books)
by George R.R. Martin

4.34 avg rating — 323,993 ratings

The Tales of Dunk and Egg (3 books)
by George R.R. Martin

3.98 avg rating — 3,714 ratings

Dreamsongs (2 books)
by George R.R. Martin

3.96 avg rating — 1,162 ratings

The Tales of Dunk and Egg (3 books)
by George R.R. Martin

4.11 avg rating — 845 ratings

More series by George R.R. Martin…

Upcoming Events

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Quotes by George R.R. Martin

“A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

tags: books , mind

1,942 people liked it

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies," said Jojen. "The man who never reads lives only one.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Dance With Dragons

tags: read , readers , reading , reading-books

807 people liked it

“Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armour yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

tags: identity

697 people liked it

See all George R.R. Martin's quotes »

Polls

Which series should become our first ever Beyond Reality Series?

The Miles Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold

14 votes 31.1%

A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin

7 votes 15.6%

The Honorverse (Honor Harrington series) by David Weber

5 votes 11.1%

The Morgaine Saga by C.J. Cherryh

4 votes 8.9%

The Elric series by Michael Moorcock

4 votes 8.9%

The Malazan Books of the Fallen by Steven Erikson

3 votes 6.7%

The Saga of Recluce by L.E. Modesitt Jr.

3 votes 6.7%

The Sun Sword series by Michelle Sagara West

3 votes 6.7%

The Troy trilogy by David Gemmell

1 vote 2.2%

The Deverry series by Katharine Kerr

1 vote 2.2%

45 total votes

10 comments

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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
SciFi and Fantasy...: best book you've read this year?	64	507	Dec 26, 2008 08:00am
SciFi and Fantasy...: Worst/Most Disappointing Book You've Read This Year?	79	652	Mar 10, 2009 05:30am
Fantasy Book Club: Peeve: Publishers chopping Fantasy books down	19	162	Apr 01, 2009 10:37pm
The Alternative W...: We Just Want to have Fun!	27	24	Apr 28, 2009 05:12am
Beyond Reality: "Series Discussion" - nominations and poll	28	99	Apr 30, 2009 09:33am
Amazon Kindle: What kind of book fits the Kindle best?	26	282	May 31, 2009 06:59am
Challenge: 50 Books: Kez's 50 Books in a Year	22	75	Jun 03, 2009 05:54am

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George R.R. Martin

Author profile

759 postsGeorge R.R. Martin's Blog

combine editionsBooks by George R.R. Martin

Series by George R.R. Martin

Upcoming Events

Quotes by George R.R. Martin

Polls

Topics Mentioning This Author

Add New
Videos

759 posts
George R.R. Martin's Blog

combine editions
Books by George R.R. Martin