George R.R. Martin
American author of A Song of Ice and Fire.
George Raymond Richard Martin—often called GRRM—was born George Raymond Martin on September 20, 1948, and later added Richard as his confirmation name. He is an American writer, screenwriter, and television producer. His most famous work is the epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire, which HBO turned into the Emmy-winning show *Game of Thrones* (2011–2019) and its prequel *House of the Dragon* (2022–present). He also wrote the *Tales of Dunk and Egg* novellas, which HBO adapted as *A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms* (2026–present). Beyond that series, he co-created the *Wild Cards* anthology and helped build the world for the video game *Elden Ring* (2022).
In 2005, *Time*’s Lev Grossman called Martin “the American Tolkien,” and in 2011 he made the *Time* 100 list of the world’s most influential people. He has lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico, for many years, where he helped fund Meow Wolf and owns the Jean Cocteau Cinema.
Martin grew up in Bayonne, New Jersey. His father, Raymond Collins, worked as a longshoreman; his mother, Margaret Brady Martin, came from a family that once owned a construction business but lost everything in the Great Depression—a loss Martin was reminded of daily when he passed the dock and house that had belonged to his family. He has two younger sisters, Darleen and Janet. A DNA test on *Finding Your Roots* showed his ancestry as 53.6% British and Irish, 22.4% Ashkenazi Jewish, and 15.6% broadly Northwestern European.
The family first lived in a house on Broadway owned by Martin’s great-grandmother. In 1953 they moved to a federal housing project near the Bayonne docks. As a child, his world was mostly “First Street to Fifth Street,” between his home and school. That limited range made him long to travel and see other places, but since he couldn’t, he turned to his imagination and became a heavy reader.
He started writing and selling monster stories for pennies to neighborhood kids, even giving dramatic readings—until a customer’s mother complained about her child’s nightmares. He also wrote stories about a mythical kingdom inhabited by his pet turtles, which kept dying in their toy castle; he decided they were killing each other in “sinister plots.” He often began “endless stories” he never finished, because they didn’t come out on paper as well as he’d imagined.
Martin attended Mary Jane Donohoe School and Marist High School. Th
- born
- September 20, 1948
- field
- Author, screenwriter, television producer
- nationality
- American
- known_for
- A Song of Ice and Fire series, Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon, Wild Cards, Elden Ring
Lore & Background
George Raymond Martin was born on September 20, 1948, in Bayonne, New Jersey, the son of Raymond Collins, a longshoreman, and Margaret (née Brady) Martin. His mother's family had once been wealthy but lost their wealth in the Great Depression. He has two younger sisters, Darleen and Janet. A DNA test showed him to be 53.6% 'British and Irish', 22.4% Ashkenazi Jewish, and 15.6% 'Broadly Northwestern European'. The family first lived in a house on Broadway belonging to Martin's great-grandmother, then moved to a federal housing project near the Bayonne docks in 1953. Martin began writing and selling monster stories for pennies to other neighborhood children, including dramatic readings, but stopped after a customer's mother complained about her child's nightmares. He also wrote stories about a mythical kingdom populated by his pet turtles, which he imagined were killing each other off in 'sinister plots'. Martin attended Mary Jane Donohoe School and later Marist High School, becoming an avid comic-book fan and crediting Stan Lee as one of his greatest literary influences. In 1965, he won comic fandom's Alley Award for Best Fan Fiction for his prose superhero story 'Powerman vs. The Blue Barrier'.
Reader's Guide
Martin earned a BS in journalism with a minor in history from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism in 1970, graduating summa cum laude, and completed his MS in journalism in 1971. Eligible for the draft during the Vietnam War, he applied for and obtained conscientious objector status, doing alternative service work for two years as a VISTA volunteer. He began selling science fiction short stories professionally in 1970, with his first sale 'The Hero' published in 1971. His first novel, Dying of the Light, was completed in 1976 and published in 1977. He worked as a tournament director for the Continental Chess Association from 1973 to 1976, then taught English and journalism at Clarke University from 1976 to 1978, becoming Writer In Residence from 1978 to 1979. After the death of friend Tom Reamy in 1977, Martin decided to become a full-time writer, moving to Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1979. He served as Southwest Regional Director of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America from 1977 to 1979 and as vice-president from 1996 to 1998. In 2005, Lev Grossman of Time called Martin 'the American Tolkien', and in 2011 he was included on the annual Time 100 list. He is a longtime resident of Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he helped fund Meow Wolf and owns the Jean Cocteau Cinema.
Did You Know?
- Martin adopted the confirmation name Richard at age 13, becoming George Raymond Richard Martin.
- He wrote a letter to the editor of Fantastic Four that was printed in issue #20 (November 1963), the first of many such letters.
- He bought the first ticket to the world's first Comic-Con, held in New York in 1964.
- Martin's story 'Sandkings' (1979) was written to disprove a critic's claim that science fiction and horror were incompatible.
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