George R. R. Martin is an American novelist and short-story writer best known for his epic fantasy novel series, ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’, which has been adapted into the hugely successful HBO series, ‘Game of Thrones’. Martin, who primarily writes in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres, has been called “the American Tolkien” by ‘Time’ journalist Lev Grossman and was included in the magazine’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world once. He is also a screenwriter and television producer who previously worked on the CBS series ‘Twilight Zone’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast’, and is now actively involved in the development of the ‘Game of Thrones’.
Quick Facts
- Also Known As: George Raymond Richard Martin, GRRM, George Raymond Martin
- Age: 75 Years, 75 Year Old Males
- Family:
- Spouse/Ex-: Parris McBride (m. 2011), Gale Burnick (m. 1975–1979)
- Father: longshoreman Raymond Collins Martin
- Mother: Margaret Brady Martin
- Occupation:
- Novelists
- Screenwriters
- Ancestry:
- German American
- British American
- Irish American
- French American
- City: Bayonne, New Jersey
- U.S. State: New Jersey
- Education: Northwestern University
Childhood & Early Life
George R. R. Martin was born as George Raymond Martin on September 20, 1948, in Bayonne, New Jersey. He was the eldest child of Raymond Collins Martin and Margaret Brady Martin, and had two sisters named Darleen and Janet. At the age of thirteen, he adopted the confirmation name Richard.
In 1953, his family moved to a federal housing project near the Bayonne docks. Martin attended grade school there and, feeling bored with his limited world, he turned to books to learn about the outside world. He also wrote monster stories and sold them to other children in the neighborhood.
Martin first enrolled in Mary Jane Donohoe School but later transferred to Marist High School, a Catholic boy’s school. During his time there, he played on the chess team and contributed to the school’s newspaper. He also developed an interest in Marvel comic-book superheroes and began writing fan-fiction for comic fanzines.
After high school, Martin attended Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism in Evanston, Illinois. He graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. degree in journalism in 1970 and went on to complete his M.S. degree in Journalism the following year.
Early Career
During the Vietnam War, Martin was eligible for the draft but opposed America’s involvement in the war. He obtained conscientious objector status and did alternative service with VISTA, attached to Cook County Legal Assistance Foundation, from 1972 to 1974.
Following Bobby Fischer’s world chess championship win in 1972, Martin used his chess skills to become a tournament director for the Continental Chess Association. He ran chess tournaments on weekends while working as a writer during the week from 1973 to 1976.
In the mid-1970s, Martin met English professor George Guthridge, who helped him secure a job as an instructor for English and journalism at Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa. He worked as a teacher at the college from 1976 to 1978 and later became a ‘Writer In Residence’ there.
Writing Career
Martin’s first professionally sold story was ‘The Hero’, which was published in ‘Galaxy’ in 1971. His story ‘With Morning Comes Mistfall’, published in ‘Analog’ in 1973, was the first to be nominated for the ‘Hugo Award’ and ‘Nebula Awards’. He won the 1975 ‘Hugo Award for Best Novella’ for ‘A Song for Lya’ and went on to win both the ‘Hugo Award’ and ‘Nebula Award’ for ‘Best Novelette’ in 1980 for his story ‘Sandkings’.
After experiencing initial success and unexpected commercial failure with his horror novels, Martin’s career was saved when Vista bought the screen and TV rights for his novella ‘Nightflyers’ and made a movie in 1987. He then moved to Hollywood and worked as a writer-producer on CBS series such as ‘Twilight Zone’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast’.
Inspired by J. R. R. Tolkien, Martin decided to write his own epic fantasy series, ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’. The series was originally planned as a trilogy, starting with ‘A Game of Thrones’, which was published in 1996. However, Martin felt that more installments were needed and expanded the series. The books have been highly successful, with several of them reaching the top of ‘The New York Times’ Best Seller lists.
Game of Thrones
In 2007, HBO bought the television rights to ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ and developed the show ‘Game of Thrones’, which first aired in 2011. Martin was heavily involved in the production process. The show has been critically acclaimed and has received numerous awards. The eighth and final season is set to air in 2019, and a prequel spinoff series is also in the works.
Major Works
The ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ series is considered George R. R. Martin’s best work. The books have sold over 70 million copies worldwide and have been translated into 47 languages.
Personal Life & Legacy
Martin co-wrote the sci-fi novel ‘Windhaven’ with Lisa Tuttle and was involved in a relationship with her in the early 1970s. He later married Gale Burnick in 1975, but they divorced in 1979. In 2011, he married Parris McBride, his longtime partner.
Martin and McBride are supporters of the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary in New Mexico.
Trivia
While working on the sci-fi novel ‘Avalon’, Martin got the idea for a boy witnessing a man’s beheading and finding direwolves in the snow. This became the first chapter of ‘A Game of Thrones’.