George R.R. Martin has a room filled with his collections of warriors, knights, crusaders, and more.
Some are set in dioramas like this one, most are reminiscent of his tales.
George R.R. Martin: Writer
“I love movies, I love T.V. But books are the most magical of all. ”
Even the bathroom was built like a castle . . .
including a dragon faucet.
From the moment we pulled up at the post box in front of George R.R. Martin's writing studio, we knew we were were entering a different world.
We filmed our interview with him in his study, an elegant room with two walls filled with dioramas of miniatures engaged in medieval war, science fiction disasters, and flights of fancy – a fitting backdrop for our talk.
We are pleased and proud to share with you our talk with a master storyteller.
Our 38th interview is with George R.R. Martin, one of our modern storytellers who has for years, in a number of ways, spun his legends and kept us watching, listening, and reading. He has been telling fantastical tales since he was a child. His genres are most often fantasy, science fiction, and horror. His mediums have included comic books, short stories, bestselling novels, and episodic as well as epic television programs, series and films. His art has been acknowledged with bestselling sales and numerous awards, including his selection as one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2011.
A storyteller (and producer) of the first order, Martin has been telling his tales since he was a child growing up in New Jersey. His stories have appeared in comics, books that have been translated around the world, and on TV series like Twilight Zone, Max Headroom, Beauty and the Beast, and of course his successful HBO series, Game of Thrones, based upon his blockbuster series of novels, A Song of Fire and Ice.
This last summer we had the great fortune to visit Martin at his writing studio in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Interview Movie
(Embedded version below)
Audio File
(Note: To download the podcast,
right click on the link if you are on a PC,
or control click if you are on a Mac. )
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Location: |
Santa Fe, NM |
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Run Time: |
31:00 |
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Genre: |
Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Horror |
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Website: |
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Raised: |
Bayonne, New Jersey |
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Youthful Influence: |
Andre Norton, Frank Russell, Edgar Allen Poe, and especially Robert Heinlein's Have Space Suit, Will Travel |
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Favorite Authors: |
Martin is a voracious and varied reader. See his website for what he is reading now. |
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Creative Habit: |
On a computer, usually in his studio - a "dervish of writing" |
T'was a good conversation.
Two diamond windows grace GRRM's study. This one was blue with a wolf shield; the other red with a royal lion shield.
A knight and his feathered companion.
A knight alone.
The proverbial smoking gun in this somewhat steampunk painting.
A crusader diorama.
Selected Works
(We tried to get 'em all, but there are just too many)
Novels
Dying of the Light, 1977
Windhaven (with Lisa Tuttle), 1981
Fevre Dream, 1982
The Armageddon Rag, 1983
Dead Man’s Hand (with John J. Miller), 1990
A Song of Ice and Fire (Series):
*A Game of Thrones,1996
*A Clash of Kings, 1999
*A Storm of Swords, 2000
*A Feast for Crows, 2005
*A Dance with Dragons, 2011
*The Winds of Winter, forthcoming
*A Dream of Spring, forthcoming
Shadow Twin (w/ Gardner Dozois & Daniel Abraham), 2005
Hunter’s Run (w/ Gardner Dozois & Daniel Abraham), 2008
Short Story Collections
A Song for Lya and Other Stories,1976
Songs of Stars and Shadows, 1977
Sandkings, 1981
Songs the Dead Men Sing, 1983
Nightflyers, 1985
Tuf Voyaging, 1986
Portraits of His Children, 1987
Quartet, 2001
GRRM: a RRetrospective, 2003
(also published as Dreamsongs, 2007, two volumes)
Starlady / Fast-Friend, Subterranean Press, 2008
Anthologies (edited and contributed)
21 Wild Card series books from 1987 to 2011
Dangerous Women, "The Princess and the Queen" (Edited w/ Gardner Dozois)- 2013
Warriors 3 (Edited w/ Gardner Dozois)
Warriors 2 (Edited w/ Gardner Dozois)
Warriors 1 (Edited w/ Gardner Dozois)
Warriors (Edited w/ Gardner Dozois)– 2010
Songs of the Dying Earth (Edited w/ Gardner Dozois) – 2009
The Wit & Wisdom of Tyrion Lannister (author) – 2013
Children's
The Ice Dragon (illustrated by Yvonne Gilbert), 2006
Teleplays (produced)
Twilight Zone, 18 teleplays written between 1986 and 1990
Beauty and the Beast, 11 teleplays written between 1987 and 1990
Game of Thrones, 40-episode HBO series. 2011 - 2014
Stories Adapted for Film and Television
“Remembering Melody”– Episode of The Hitchhiker, Home Box Office, November 1984
Nightflyers – Feature film, Vista Films 1987, screenplay by Robert Jaffe, directed by Robert Collector
“Sandkings” – Two-hour TV movie for The Outer Limits, Showtime, 1995, teleplay by Melinda M. Snodgrass
Skin Trade, feature film, 2015
Video Games
Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones Ascent
Awards
Hugo Award for Best Novella, "A Song for Lya" – 1975
Hugo Award for Short Story, “The Way of Cross & Dragon”– 1979
Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Novelette, "Sandkings" – 1980
Daikon (Japanese Hugo) Award, Best Short Fiction in Translation, “Nightflyers” – 1982
Balrog Award,Fantasy Novel, The Armageddon Rag – 1983
Nebula Award, Novelette, “Portraits of His Children”– 1985
Nebula Award for Best Novelette, "Portraits of His Children" – 1986
Daedelus Award for Wild Cards – 1987
Bram Stoker Award, Novelette, “The Pear-Shaped Man”– 1987
Gigamesh (Spanish) Award, Best Collection/Anthology, Songs the Dead Men Sing – 1987
World Fantasy Award, Novella, “The Skin Trade” – 1988
Hugo Award, Novella, “Blood of the Dragon” – 1997
Tops Locus Poll for Best Fantasy Novel, A Feast for Crows – 1999
Ignotius Award, A Game of Thrones, Best Foreign Novel - 2002
A Storm of Swords
#1 on SF Site Readers’ Choice Best SF and Fantasy Books, A Clash of Kings – 2000
Premio Ignotus for Best Foreign Novel, A Game of Thrones – 2003
Locus Poll Award for Best Fantasy, A Storm of Swords – 2003
Premio Ignotus for Best Foreign Novel, A Clash of Kings – 2004
One of Time Magazine's '100 Most Influential People in the World' – 2011
Locus Poll Award for Best Original Anthology, Warriors (co-edited with Gardner Dozois) – 2011
Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form (Co-Executive Producer of the HBO series) Game of Thrones Season 1 (10 episodes) – 2012
Locus Award winner for Best Fantasy Novel, A Dance with Dragons – 2012
World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement – 2012
Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form, Game of Thrones, Season 2, Episode 9, "Blackwater" (Screenwriter) – 2013
There are also numerous nominations and finalist spots for yet more awards, and probably a few awards we've missed.
