From career breakthroughs to professional milestones, explore how George R. R. Martin made an impact.
George R. R. Martin is an American author, television writer, and producer, most famous for his epic fantasy novel series *A Song of Ice and Fire*, adapted into the acclaimed TV series *Game of Thrones*. He's also involved in the *Wild Cards* anthology and contributed to the worldbuilding of the video game *Elden Ring*. Martin's work is celebrated for its complex characters, intricate plots, and realistic portrayal of medieval-inspired political intrigue and warfare, significantly impacting the fantasy genre and popular culture.
In November 1963, a letter written by George R. R. Martin to the editor of Fantastic Four was printed in issue #20, marking his first published contribution to the comic book world.
In 1970, Martin earned a B.S. in journalism with a minor in history from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, graduating summa cum laude.
In 1970, at age 21, Martin began selling science fiction short stories professionally.
In February 1971, Martin's first sold story, "The Hero", was published in Galaxy magazine.
In 1971, Martin completed his M.S. in Journalism, also from Medill at Northwestern University.
In 1973, Martin was hired as a tournament director for the Continental Chess Association, allowing him to work as a writer five days a week.
In 1975, Martin's story "...for a single yesterday" was selected for inclusion in Epoch, a science fiction anthology edited by Roger Elwood and Robert Silverberg.
From 1976, Martin worked as an English and journalism instructor at Clarke University (then Clarke College).
In 1976, Martin completed his first novel, Dying of the Light, right before he moved to Dubuque.
From 1977, Martin served as the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) Southwest Regional Director.
In 1977, Martin's first novel, Dying of the Light, was published. The success of Star Wars also impacted the publishing industry.
From 1978, Martin became Writer In Residence at Clarke College.
In 1979, Martin resigned from his job and moved from Dubuque to Santa Fe, New Mexico, seeking to become a full-time writer.
In 1979, Martin wrote Sandkings, which he considered one of his best science fiction-horror hybrids.
In 1979, Martin's term as the SFWA Southwest Regional Director ended.
In 1979, Martin's time as Writer In Residence at Clarke College concluded.
In 1980, Martin wrote the novella Nightflyers, which later had its screen and television rights purchased.
In 1982, Martin published the vampire novel Fevre Dream, set in the 19th century on the Mississippi River.
In 1983, Martin published The Armageddon Rag, whose commercial failure significantly damaged his career as a novelist.
In 1984, Betsy Mitchell of Baen Books offered Martin a chance to create a collection of Haviland Tuf adventures, which he accepted after The Armageddon Rag's failure.
In 1984, Vista purchased the screen and television rights to Martin's novella Nightflyers.
In 1987, Martin published a collection of short horror stories, Portraits of His Children, and continued overseeing the development of the Wild Cards book series.
In 1987, the film adaptation of Martin's novella Nightflyers was released, with Martin co-writing the screenplay.
In 1989, Martin became the co-supervising producer for the TV show Beauty and the Beast, and wrote 14 of its episodes.
In 1991, George R. R. Martin returned to writing novels after becoming frustrated with TV production limitations, such as budgets and episode lengths. Inspired by J. R. R. Tolkien, he desired to write an epic fantasy without the constraints of television.
From 1996, Martin served as the vice-president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA).
In 1996, George R. R. Martin's first novel in the series "A Song of Ice and Fire", titled "A Game of Thrones", was published.
In 1998, Martin's term as the vice-president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) ended.
In 2001, Martin's political-military fiction piece, "Night of the Vampyres", was collected in Harry Turtledove's anthology The Best Military Science Fiction of the 20th Century.
In March 2010, HBO made the decision to greenlight the "Game of Thrones" series for production, after initial issues with the pilot episode.
In June 2010, production for the "Game of Thrones" series was scheduled to begin after HBO greenlit the series in March 2010.
On April 17, 2011, the first episode of "Game of Thrones", titled "Winter Is Coming", premiered on HBO in the United States and Canada, initially drawing 2.2 million viewers.
On April 19, 2011, just two days after the series premiere, HBO ordered a second season of "Game of Thrones".
As of June 2011, 21 Wild Cards volumes had been published in the series.
In 2011, A Song of Ice and Fire was adapted into the Primetime Emmy Award-winning television series Game of Thrones.
On April 1, 2012, the second season of "Game of Thrones" premiered in the United States on HBO.
On April 10, 2012, nine days after the second season's premiere, HBO renewed "Game of Thrones" for a third season.
On June 3, 2012, the second season of "Game of Thrones" concluded in the United States on HBO, with viewership rising to 4.2 million by the season finale.
In July 2012, production for the third season of "Game of Thrones" began.
On November 24, 2012, filming concluded in Iceland for the third season of Game of Thrones, which is based on the first half of the novel "A Storm of Swords".
In early 2012, Martin signed another Tor contract for the 23rd Wild Cards volume, High Stakes.
On March 31, 2013, the third season of "Game of Thrones" premiered on HBO.
On April 2, 2013, HBO ordered the fourth season of "Game of Thrones", just two days after the third-season premiere.
On June 9, 2013, the third season of "Game of Thrones" concluded on HBO, drawing 14.2 million viewers.
In July 2013, filming commenced for the fourth season of "Game of Thrones".
On November 21, 2013, filming for the fourth season of "Game of Thrones" was completed.
On April 6, 2014, the fourth season of "Game of Thrones" premiered in the United States on HBO.
On April 8, 2014, following the success of season four, HBO ordered both the fifth and sixth seasons of "Game of Thrones".
On June 15, 2014, the fourth season of "Game of Thrones" concluded. With its fourth season, Game of Thrones became the most-watched HBO series in history, averaging 18.4 million viewers across multiple platforms.
In July 2014, filming began for the fifth and sixth seasons of "Game of Thrones".
In 2014, George R. R. Martin launched a campaign on Prizeo to raise funds for Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary and the Food Depot of Santa Fe. The campaign raised $502,549.
In 2014, George R. R. Martin revealed in a BBC interview that he uses WordStar editor software on an MS-DOS computer for his writing, disliking spell-check and internet distractions. He uses a separate computer for internet tasks.
In 2014, Low Ball, the 22nd volume of Wild Cards, was published by Tor Books.
In January 2015, George R. R. Martin pledged $2.7 million toward a new art space for Meow Wolf, an arts collective in Santa Fe.
In July 2015, filming for the sixth season of "Game of Thrones" commenced with a budget over $100 million for the entire season, spanning five countries.
In August 2016, High Stakes, the 23rd Wild Cards volume, was released.
On August 31, 2016, filming for the seventh season of "Game of Thrones" began at Titanic Studios in Belfast, delayed due to necessary weather conditions.
In February 2017, filming concluded for the seventh season of "Game of Thrones", which consisted of seven episodes and largely contained original content.
In 2017, George R. R. Martin announced that he was funding The Miskatonic Scholarship. This scholarship allows a writer of Lovecraftian cosmic horror to attend the Odyssey Writing Workshop.
In 2017, George R. R. Martin confirmed his role as an executive producer for the HBO television series adaptation of Nnedi Okorafor's 2010 science fantasy novel, 'Who Fears Death'.
In 2017, Martin recalled that he had started writing science fiction-horror hybrids in the late 1970s.
In April 2018, George R. R. Martin moved his blog, 'Not a Blog', from Livejournal to his own website.
In 2019, the television series Game of Thrones, adapted from A Song of Ice and Fire, concluded its run.
In 2020, George R.R. Martin pitched the TV adaptation of Roger Zelazny's 'Roadmarks' to HBO.
In January 2021, an animated drama series was announced as being in development at HBO Max.
In February 2021, it was reported that George R. R. Martin and Kalinda Vazquez were developing a TV adaptation of Roger Zelazny's 'Roadmarks', which Martin had pitched to HBO in 2020.
In March 2021, George R. R. Martin signed an overall deal with HBO.
In June 2022, reports indicated that a Jon Snow sequel series, with Kit Harington reprising his role, was in early development at HBO and is working titled Snow, with involvement from George R. R. Martin. Also in June, Martin said there were still three other live-action series in development: 10,000 Ships (written by Amanda Segal), 9 Voyages aka Sea Snake (written by Bruno Heller), and the Dunk & Egg prequel series (written by Steven Conrad), tentatively titled either The Hedge Knight or Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
On August 21, 2022, "House of the Dragon", a prequel series based on parts of the novel "Fire & Blood", premiered on HBO, set about 200 years before the events of "Game of Thrones".
In 2022, George R. R. Martin contributed to the video game 'Elden Ring', focusing on the worldbuilding aspects of the game.
In 2022, House of the Dragon, a prequel series to Game of Thrones, premiered, and George R. R. Martin contributed worldbuilding to the video game Elden Ring.
Donald John Trump is an American politician media personality and...
Home Box Office HBO is an American pay television service...
The United States of America is a federal republic located...
Bernie Sanders is a prominent American politician currently serving as...
Guadalajara the capital of Jalisco in western Mexico is a...
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr served as the th U S...
50 minutes ago Andy Pages Shines with RBI Single and Solo Homer in Yankees Win
50 minutes ago Sadie Robertson Shares Phil Robertson's Last Message; Duck Dynasty Revival Announced.
51 minutes ago Erik Jones involved in crash with Christopher Bell at NASCAR Nashville race.
51 minutes ago Alanna Smith finds home, family with Minnesota Lynx; Collier reacts to Smith's post.
51 minutes ago Julia Fox in 'Adults' Episode 6: Dinner Party Chaos and Raw Chicken
51 minutes ago Don?i? and James Reflect on Lakers Season, Don?i?'s Love for Basketball Revealed.
Cristiano Ronaldo often called CR is a Portuguese professional footballer...
Donald John Trump is an American politician media personality and...
Michael Jordan also known as MJ is an American businessman...
LeBron James nicknamed King James is a professional basketball player...
Lionel Messi is an Argentine professional footballer widely considered one...
Elon Musk is a prominent businessman best known for leading...