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, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Roger Zelaz ...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 Martin received a B.S. in Journal...more 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 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.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/george...(less)

804 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.

Back from Montana

Back home again from Missoula, Montana, where I spent the weekend as GOH at Miscon 26.

'twas my first trip to Montana, and I can't say I really saw much of it, but Missoula was a pleasant little city, and the con itself was great. They drew 1300 people, I'm told, a record for Miscon, and I think all of them had a great time. I know I did. Miscon fen party like we did in the old days, and the hot... read more »

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Published on May 30, 2012 10:10 • 149 views

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Books by George R.R. Martin

Average rating: 4.30 · 516,170 ratings · 38,271 reviews · 290 distinct works

	A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1) 4.42 avg rating — 172,013 ratings — published 1996 — 133 editions	My rating:
	A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2) 4.38 avg rating — 94,200 ratings — published 1998 — 81 editions	My rating:
	A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3) 4.49 avg rating — 80,765 ratings — published 2000 — 3 editions	My rating:
	A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire #4) 4.00 avg rating — 64,390 ratings — published 2005 — 55 editions	My rating:
	A Dance With Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5) 4.14 avg rating — 42,020 ratings — published 2011 — 22 editions	My rating:
	A Storm of Swords: Blood and Gold (A Song of Ice and Fire #3, Part 2 of 2) 4.54 avg rating — 5,674 ratings — published 2000 — 18 editions	My rating:
	A Storm of Swords: Steel and Snow (A Song of Ice and Fire #3, Part 1 of 2) 4.49 avg rating — 4,583 ratings — published 2000 — 23 editions	My rating:
	A Game of Thrones / A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1-2) 4.47 avg rating — 3,769 ratings — published 2003 — 5 editions	My rating:
	Fevre Dream 3.85 avg rating — 3,366 ratings — published 1982 — 29 editions	My rating:
	The Hedge Knight (Graphic Novel) by George R.R. Martin, Ben Avery (Goodreads Author), Mike S. Miller 4.01 avg rating — 3,861 ratings — published 1998 — 2 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 — 472,255 ratings

Wild Cards (21 books)
by George R.R. Martin (Editor / Artist), John J. Miller, Timothy Truman (Cover Artist)

3.72 avg rating — 7,576 ratings

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

4.01 avg rating — 5,218 ratings

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

4.02 avg rating — 4,785 ratings

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

3.95 avg rating — 1,340 ratings

More series by George R.R. Martin…

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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

2,561 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

1,675 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

1,128 people liked it

See all George R.R. Martin's quotes »

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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SciFi and Fantasy...: best book you've read this year?	64	565	Dec 26, 2008 08:00am
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Challenge: 50 Books: Kez's 50 Books in a Year	22	97	Jun 03, 2009 05:54am

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George R.R. Martin

Author profile

804 posts
George R.R. Martin's Blog

combine editions
Books 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 NewVideos

George's Fans (10578)

George R.R. Martin

Author profile

804 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

804 posts
George R.R. Martin's Blog

combine editions
Books by George R.R. Martin