George RR Martin biography

Born on the 20th September 1948 in Bayonne, New Jersey, George Raymond Richard Martin began writing at a very early age; creating scary monster stories and selling them to the other children that lived in the neighbouring area. His father, Raymond Collins Martin was a longshoreman. His mother was called Margaret Brady Martin. He has 2 sisters, Darleen and Janet. He attended Mary Jane Donohoe School and Marist High School. Martin received a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from Northwestern University, Illinois in 1970 and a Master of Science from the same university in 1971. He had his first book published in 1971; the book was called The Hero and Martin was 21 years of age.

Martin’s works are often dark, brooding and imbued with a strong sense of melancholy. Reviewers of his books suggest that his writings are not for those in search of joy or of an uplifting experience. One of Martin’s strongest points is his attention to detail when creating his characters. This dedication leads to the reader becoming attached to, and caring deeply about the outcome of the characters. The characters are complex and multi-faceted, all with involved pasts and entangled ambitions.

In 1996, Martin began work on “A Song of Ice and Fire”, a series of books inspired by the War of the Roses (a series of civil wars fought between the House of York (white rose) and the House of Lancaster (red rose) for the English throne in the 15th century). The first book published from this series was “The Game of Thrones”, and the fourth book; “A Feast of Crows” became The New York Times No.1 bestseller. Readers and critics alike acclaim the series.

Each book I write, you know, I want to go back to A Game of Thrones and say, "Wow I should I should really change that. I could put this thing here and change that it would come around nicely in book three." So you're limited to a certain extent more than you know. But in large I'm pretty pleased with it.

From: An interview with George RR Martin

In 1986 Martin went to Hollywood and signed as a story editor on CBS Television’s The Twilight Zone. In 1987 he became an executive story writer on CBS Television’s Beauty and the Beast – going on to become co-supervising producer in 1989. Between 1992 and 1993 he was the executive producer on Doorways, a pilot written for Columbia Pictures Television.

George RR Martin is a member of the SFWA (Science Fiction Writers of America) and the HWA (Horror Writers of America) and the Writers Guild of America. George Martin married his wife Gale in 1975. They divorced 4 years later. In 1986, he became a story editor on the famous American TV show The Twilight Zone.

He currently resides in Santa Fe in New Mexico. George RR Martin official website

"Fantasy literature has never shied away from grandeur, but the sheer mind-boggling scope of this epic has sent other fantasy authors away shaking their heads ... Its ambition: to construct the Twelve Caesars of fantasy fiction, with characters so venemous they could eat the Borgias" Guardian

"Colossal, taggering ... Martin captures all the intoxicating complexity of the Wars of the Roses or Imperial Rome in his imaginary world ... The writing is always powerful." SFX

All George RR Martin Reviews