A Evening with George R.R. Martin-Author of the Song of Ice and Fire Series

Lecture and book signing

Saturday, September 3rd

KiMo Theatre, 7:30 pm

Who would have thought that a youngster born in Bayonne, New Jersey in 1948 would go on to become the author of some of the best-loved books of fantasy?  George R. R. Martin began writing early in life and sold his first story in 1970 to Galaxy Magazine. The story, "The Hero", was subsequently published in the February 1971 issue.  He went on to earn a B.S and M.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University and became an instructor at Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa for a few years before heading out to Hollywood.  George became a story editor for the reworked Twilight Zone series in 1986 and then went on to have three different positions with the CBS series Beauty and the Beast, including producer and co-producer.  His first novel Dying of the Light was a Hugo award nominee in 1978. The first novel in the highly popular Wild Cards series, which Martin edits & has contributed to, was published in 1987.  But it is the bestselling series A Song of Ice and Fire that has endeared him to many fans of high fantasy fiction. The first novel in the series, A Game of Thrones, was published in 1996 and the latest, A Dance with Dragons, is certain to be at the top of the bestseller lists, thanks in part to the recent television adaptation by HBO of the first novel, starring Sean Bean as Eddard Stark.  The HBO series has now received 13 Emmy nominations and been picked up for a second season.

Not too shabby for a hard-working writer who probably never thought that 2011 would bring more accolades and more readers to a body of work treasured by many fans around the world!   Don't miss your chance to see and hear George when he will have a benefit show for the Friends for the Public Library at the KiMo Theatre on Saturday, September 3rd, with a lecture and book signing at 7:30 pm, and a VIP reception and reserved seating at 6:30 pm.  For more information and to buy tickets, follow this link to KiMoTickets.com.

The library is fortunate to have quite a few of his works! Here are a few to tweak your interest:


Windhaven  A story of young girl, Maris, who wants nothing more than to have wings and fly. Co-written with Lisa Tuttle.

Fevre Dream  Vampires, need I say more?

The Science-Fiction Weight Loss Book  Stories by some of the great science fiction writers about weight, diet and obesity, edited by Martin, Isaac Asimov and Martin Greenberg.

Nightflyers  A collection of stories of group of people heading out into space looking for a mythical race called the Volcryn.

Wild Cards, Vol. 1  An anthology collection with several volumes dealing with the aftermath of the Wild Cards virus unleashed in the 1940's where part of the population become superheroes and others become mutants.  It's a great series, having read several volumes myself and several of the authors reside here in New Mexico.  Highly recommended!

Hunter's Run  A gritty sci-fi collection of adventure among the stars, edited by Martin, Daniel Abraham and Gardner Dozois. 

Songs of the Dying Earth: Stories in Honor of Jack Vance  These stories honor the late Jack Vance and his Dying Earth Series, featuring such authors as Neil Gaiman, Walter Jon Williams, Kage Baker, and Glen Cook.  George also has a story in it!

Warriors and Warriors 3   If you love stories about warriors and war, these anthologies edited by Martin and Dozois will be equally appealing.  A lot of familiar authors are published here, such as Diana Gabaldon, Naomi Novik, Steven Saylor, Joe Haldeman, David Weber, S.M. Stirling, Carrie Vaughn, Lawrence Block, Joe Morrell and James Rollins.

The Hedge Knight  A graphic novel adapted from a story set in the magical world of Martin's popular Song of Ice and Fire novels.

A couple of notable titles not in the library catalog:

Armageddon Rag(1983)  Horror story about a rock band and the dark side of rock and roll. The story's crescendo is a concert called "West Mesa", an Albuquerque version of Woodstock.

Tuf Voyaging(1986)  Collection of short stories about Haviland Tuf, a space trader who acquires an ancient warship and becomes an ecological engineer.

Also, George will be attending this year's Bubonicon being held on August 26th-28th, 2011 at the Sheraton Albuquerque Airport Hotel. George will be doing a one hour presentation with John Picacio at 12 pm Saturday and on Sunday he will be interviewing Ohio author Stephen Leigh at 11 pm.

Run, don't walk, to the KiMo to rub elbows with this legendary sci-fi and fantasy author!

Some links you may enjoy:

George R.R. Martin bibliography

Not a Blog

Musings (includes speeches)

Wild Cards website