NEWS RELEASES FROM GRRM--2006:
ACCOLADES FOR THE ICE DRAGON December 23, 2006 
January Magazine has included my young adult book The Ice Dragon on its annual list of gift books for children, with a lovely review. If you're looking for a last minute Christmas present for the young people on your list, you can check out January's entire list.
And Booksense, the magazine of the American Booksellers Association, has also included The Ice Dragon on its Winter list of "Children's Picks." You can check out their entire list.
My thanks to both magazines for the recommendations.
Starscape, the young adult division of Tor Books, released the YA hardcover edition of The Ice Dragon in October 3. Beautifully illustrated by the British artist Yvonne Gilbert, the book debuted at #6 on the New York Times children's bestseller list, and remained on the list for a second week at #7. For those who like to listen, Starscape has also released the story as an audiobook, read by the talented Maggi Meg Reed.
The Ice Dragon has been a personal favorite of mine, ever since I sat down to write the original version back in 1979, in a snow-bound house in Dubuque, Iowa, so it's a great thrill to see it finally getting some notice. My thanks go out to Yvonne Gilbert, to my editor Wanda June Alexander, my agent Kay McCauley, to Kathleen Doherty and Linda Quinton at Starscape, and to everyone else who helped make this possible.
GRRM INTERVIEWED ON THE ICE DRAGON December 23, 2006
A video interview about The Ice Dragon and its history can be found at:
(All of these are the same interviews. Only the gateways differ).
"VALYRIAN RESIN" TO PRODUCE ICE & FIRE MINIBUSTS December 7, 2006 
An exciting new line of colorful collectibles is in the works for fans of A Song of Ice and Fire. I am pleased to announce that I have just inked a deal with Haute Products to produce and distribute a range of mini-busts based on my fantasy series. Haute's Ice and Fire will be cast in resin in 1/6 scale (about the size and scale of a 12" action figure) and will be released under the name "Valyrian Resin." They plan to feature many of the most popular characters from the books: Jon Snow and Ghost, the Hound, Dany with her dragons, Jaime and Cersei, and many, many more.
Haute Products is a brand new start-up company, the brain child of two toy and collectible entrepreneurs, Justice Joseph and Jed Haigh. Justice will be the lead sculptor and art director for the company, while Jed serves as Haute's production manager. Haigh and Joseph have a combined sixteen years of experience in the toy and collectible industry and have worked with companies such as Gentle Giant, Toy Biz, Diamond Select, SOTA Toys, Palisades Marketing, Mattel, Hasbro, Jazz Wares, and several others.
"We're both huge fans of the books and huge fans of fantasy in general," Jed Haigh said. "It wasn't too hard for us to look at Song of Ice and Fire and see the great potential it had due to its strong fan base, wealth of characters, and consistently rising popularity."
A Song of Ice and Fire was the first license that Jed and Justice pursued when they decided to strike out on their own. A year and a half later their persistance paid off. Initially the Valyrian Resin range will be limited to the mini-busts. Once the busts are established the line will expand to include pre-painted resin statues and, eventually, pewter chess sets
"This is one of those rare projects that gets me excited just to walk into my studio," said Justice Joseph. "Approaching this as a fan and as an artist, the richness of these books offers an opportunity to create something both artistically satisfying and aesthetically impressive. It's a personal honor to be able to work with George in translating these fantastic characters into sculpture."
For my part, I was blown away by some of the busts and figures that Justice and Jed showed me when we first got together at last summer's San Diego Comicon. The Death Dealer and Star Wars figures pictured here are examples of Justice's sculpting talents. To see more, check out his website at www.justicejoseph.com. I'm pleased and delighted to be in business with Haute, and can't wait to see what they will produce.
A STORM OF SWORDS TAKES IGNOTUS December 6, 2006 
Maybe I should move to Spain. The weather's nice, there are lots of great castles, the senoritas are enchanting, the food is good (especially that ham they have), they have sangria and absinthe to wash it down with, and the Spanish fans have really terrific taste in fantasy. Once again the voters of the Spanish Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Association (AEFCFT) have honored me with the Ignotus Award (the "Spanish Hugo"), selecting A STORM OF SWORDS as the Best Foreign Novel of the year.
A GAME OF THRONES and A CLASH OF KINGS also won the Ignotus in their years of publication, so this marks my third award for A Song of Ice and Fire. This year's other nominees were Jonathan Strange and Mister Norrell, by Susanna Clarke, The Plot Against America, by Philip Roth, and Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro, certainly a distinguished list of books. Since I was not able to attend HispaCon, my wonderful translator Cristina Macía accepted the award on my behalf. By rights, she should keep half the trophy for herself; her hard work and painstaking eloquence have a lot to do with the popularity of my books in Spain.My short story "The Pear-Shaped Man" was also nominated for an Ignotus this year, as best Foreign Short Story, but lost out to "Down Memory Lane" by Mike Resnick. The other competitors were "For I Have Touched the Sky", also by Mike Resnick, "Duel", by Richard Matheson, and "We Don't Think the Same", by Bruce Sterling. All five nominees were published in Gigamesh, the leading Spanish magazine for fans of fantasy and science fiction. Once again, I would like to thank all the Spanish fans for this honor, and give a special tip of the hat to the gang at Gigamesh, who have done such a superb job of bringing my work to a new readership: Alex Vidal, Juanma Santiago, Alejo Cuevo, my cover artists Corominas and Juan Miguel Aguilera, and my translators Cristina Macía and Nuria Gres. If not for them and their hard work, I doubt that these Ignotii would be coming my way. I am grateful to them all... and I am looking forward to my next visit to Spain in 2008, when I will once again be attending Semana Negra in Gijon. THEY'RE PLAYING THAT ARMAGEDDON RAG* 
* ((FINALLY)) November 22, 2006
Better late than never, they say.
It was back in June of 2004 that Bantam Spectra picked up the rights to three of my older novels, and we announced plans to reprint them all in new trade paperback editions. Dying of the Light and Fevre Dream were released as scheduled in the fall of 2004, but when the publication date of The Armageddon Rag rolled around in February of 2005, the book did not appear. Nor has it appeared subsequently.
As those who read the novel (both of you) at the time of its original publication will recall, The Armageddon Rag is set in the world of rock 'n roll, and chronicles the reunion of a legendary '60s rock band called the Nazgul whose lead singer was killed on stage during a Woodstock-like concert on Albuquerque's West Mesa. While the Nazgul and their songs were fictional, I did make use of real rock music in the book. Every chapter began with a two-line quotation from an appropriate lyrics, and other songs were referenced (and quoted) in the text. Brief as they were, every one of those quotes required a permission... and securing those involved a negotiation and (usually) a hefty fee. It was a time-consuming and expensive process, but I felt that the lyrics were important to the theme and flavor of the novel, so back in 1983 I put in the time and spent the money and got the requisite permissions.
Problem was, as Bantam Spectra was gearing up to reissue the novel in 2005, it turned out that many of those old permissions had expired, so once again we were faced with a choice -- secure the permissions all over again (and pay another set of fees), or strip out the chapter headings and the other lyrics. This time, thankfully, I had Bantam to help me negotiate with all the rights holders (who are very seldom the original artists or composers, as it happens). My thanks to Anne Groell and Josh Pasternak for all their help.
Even with Josh and Anne on the case, however, the process of securing the permissions was once again time-consuming and laborious. That's why the book was delayed, and delayed, and delayed again.
We are finally done, however, so the reissue of The Armageddon Rag is back on track. The trade paperback is now set for release in February, 2007, a full two years after its original publication date. The Rag has always been the least commercially successful of my novels, but it is a deeply personal book for me, and will always hold a special place in my heart. It's a hybid of sorts, blending elements of horror, murder mystery, and dark fantasy into a mainstream novel of character, a look back at the tumult of the 60s and the music that provided the sound track for my generation. And though it did not sell very well (an understatement), it did get some great reviews, and was a finalist for the World Fantasy Award in 1984.
Look for it in February. After all the trouble we went through to bring it to you, the least you can do is give it a try.
And keep on rockin'.
YOU WIN SOME, YOU LOSE SOME October 30, 2006 A FEAST FOR CROWS is now three for three. I've lost the Hugo Award to Robert Charles Wilson and SPIN, the British Fantasy Award to Neil Gaiman's ANANSI BOYS, and the Quill Award to Diana Gabaldon for A BREATH OF SNOW AND ASHES. Good books, all. 
No need to send me any consolations, though. It's an honor just to be nominated, and I can console myself knowing that an awful lot of people seem to be reading and enjoying FEAST. Bantam Spectra released its mass market paperback edition on September 26, and it has been showing up on bestseller lists all over the US and Canada: B&N at #8 (week of 9/27-10/03) Seattle Times at # 4 (week of 10/1) USA Today at #41 (week of 10/5) Borders at # 8 (week of 10/7) Walden at #16 (week of 10/7) Ingram at #1 (week of 10/7) Toronto Star at #2 (week of 10/8) Toronto Globe & Mail at #2 (week of 10/8) USA Today at #65 (week of 10/12) B&N at #6 (10/12 - 10/18) Walden at #12 (week of 10/14) Toronto Star at #2 (week of 10/15) Toronto Globe & Mail at #4 (week of 10/15) BookManager (CA) at #11 (week of 10/15) B&N at #10 (10/19 - 10/25) USA Today at #97 (week of 10/19) BookManager (CA) at #7 (week of 10/22) Toronto Globe & Mail at #4 (week of 10/22) Toronto Star at #3 (week of 10/22) My publishers are thrilled, and so am I. Thanks to all my readers. THE HEDGE KNIGHT IN HARDCOVER October 18, 2006
Dunk and Egg are coming back for a third pass through the lists.
DBPro, the publishers of THE HEDGE KNIGHT graphic novel, have recently announced a new partnership agreement with Marvel Comics.
The Dabel brothers will continue to handle all the creative aspects of
their line of SF and fantasy adaptations, but Marvel will
take over the publishing, solicitation, and distribution of DBPro's titles, starting this Halloween with the much anticipated first issue of Laurell K. Hamilton's ANITA BLAKE, VAMPIRE HUNTER.
A wide range of other comics and graphic novels will follow, including adaptations of work by Orson Scott Card, Ray Feist. Roger Zelazny, Jane Lindskold ... and a 3rd edition of my THE HEDGE KNIGHT graphic novel, this time in hardcovers. The new hardback will be printed with two variant covers, as shown here, and should be on sale in your favorite bookshop this December.
With the Marvel deal in place, DBPro is also finally in position to move ahead with their adaptaton of the second Dunk and Egg adventure, "The Sworn Sword" from Robert Silverberg's anthology LEGENDS II. Ben Avery will once again be doing the script and Mike S. Miller the artwork. THE SWORN SWORD will initially be published as a six-issue miniseries, and later collected into a graphic novel. Look for the first issue some time in 2007.
GRRM PODCAST October 5, 2006 Join George R. R. Martin, the New York Times bestselling author of the epic A Song of Ice and Fire cycle, for his very first podcast. In these eight episodes, George covers a range of topics from the birth of his acclaimed saga, to his experiences in Hollywood, to "weird stuff," and even reads an excerpt his new paperback novel A FEAST FOR CROWS. Subscribe to the podcasts via these links: iTunes RSS You'll need to have iTunes or an RSS Reader to subscribe to the podcasts. You can also click here to listen any of the episodes. Episode 1 Episode 2 Episode 3 Episode 4 Episode 5 Episode 6 Episode 7 Episode 8 SUBPRESS STORM NOW SHIPPING September 14, 2006 
Subterranean Press is now shipping its long-awaited deluxe edition of A STORM OF SWORDS, a two-volume set in slipcase lavishly illustrated by the award-winning fantasy artist Charles Vess, with more than 70 black and white interiors, several full-color plates, and wraparound dust jacket paintings for each volume. The edition is limited to 448 numbered and 52 lettered copies, each autographed by both author and artist. Publisher William Schafer of Subterranean writes to say, "At this point, with shipping just beginning, we have fewer than 40 numbered sets yet to be reserved -- the lettered is long sold out. That means we'll need to neatly bag, bubble wrap, and house in protective cardboard boxes more than 410 orders, which is going to take some time." 
Readers who purchase A STORM OF SWORDS will also acquire the right to acquire the same number copy of Subterranean Press's forthcoming deluxe edition of A FEAST FOR CROWS, illustrated by Tom Canty, as well as subsequent volumes in the series. The remaining copies of STORM are likely to go quickly, so if this is one you've wanted, now is the time to visit the SubPress website at http://www.subterraneanpress.com and place your order.
NEW GRRM INTERVIEW September 13, 2006 "Geeks On" interview at the San Diego Comicon, August 4, 2006. SPIN WINS HUGO, CROWS COME FIFTH September 8, 2006 LACon IV has come and gone, and with it this year's Hugo Awards. Alas, the "Big One" eluded me once again, as A FEAST FOR CROWS finished a rather ignominious fifth in the Best Novel balloting. My membership (second class) in the Hugo Losers' Club is safe for another couple of years. The award went to SPIN by Robert Charles Wilson, a terrific book and a worthy addition to the long and distinguished list of Hugo Award. Wilson was at the ceremony, and was plainly elated by the award, which was good to see. I have seldom lost to a better book. My heartfelt congratulations go out to Wilson and his editor at Tor, Theresa Nielsen Hayden. Thanks to everyone who nominated FEAST, and to all the Hugo voters, no matter who you voted for. It is your participation that makes the Hugo meaningful to readers and writers alike. FEAST NOMINATED FOR BRITISH FANTASY AWARD September 3, 2006 I am pleased to report that A FEAST FOR CROWS has earned a spot on the shortlist for this year's British Fantasy Award, given annually by the British Fantasy Society at its annual convention. The nominees were chosen by the members of the BFS (website http://www.britishfantasysociety.org.uk). Six books were nominated in the Best Novel category: Ramsey Campbell, SECRET STORIES Mark Chadbourn, THE HOUNDS OF AVALON Hal Duncan, VELLUM: THE BOOK OF ALL HOURS Neil Gaiman, ANANSI BOYS George R. R. Martin, A FEAST FOR CROWS Mark Morris, NOWHERE NEAR AN ANGEL A complete list of the finalists in all of the categories can be found on their site at http://www.fantasycon.org.uk/blog/?p=17 The winners will be announced at the Sunday banquet of this yea's British Fantasy Convention, Fantasycon XXX*, scheduled to be held on September 22-24 at the Britannia Hotel in Nottingham, England. I will not be able to attend the convention myself, alas, but I am grateful to the members of the BFS for the honor, and pleased to have A FEAST FOR CROWS included among such a terrific group of novels. BANTAM TO PUBLISH THE WORLD OF ICE AND FIRE September 2, 2006 I've had readers writing and emailing me for years asking for some sort of "encyclopedia" or concordance for Westeros and the world of A Song of Ice and Fire, so it thrills me no end to announce that a few hours ago I signed a contract with Bantam Books for just such a companion book. We're calling it The World of Ice and Fire. . . mainly because The World of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire is too long and cumbersome to put on a cover, and way clunky besides. The "world book" will be a big undertaking, and much too complicated for me to tackle alone, especially since I have this novel still to finish (you know the one), but I've been lucky enough to find some splendid help in persons of Elio M. Garcia, Jr. and Linda Antonsson., who will be my co-authors on the project. Elio (sometimes known as "Ran") and Linda are the hosts and webmasters at Westeros.org, with its terrific concordance and colorful rolls of arms, and I have long had the feeling that both of them know a lot more about the Seven Kingdoms than I do. With the ink not quite dry on the contracts yet, I can't tell you much about the contents of The World of Ice and Fire, but we do know that it will include a lengthy section on the history of the Seven Kingdoms, and a "who's who" of characters past and present, living, dead, and legendary. Heraldry and genealogy will also be included. Oh, and maps. Lots of maps. You asked for them, and we're going to give to them to you. This will be a large and splendid coffee-table sized book, with full color throughout and artwork on every page. Some of the illustrations will, of necessity, be reprinted from among the best of the work seen in the art book, the card game, the board game, the RPG, and various books and comics, but a lot of it will be original, commissioned especially for the world book. More details when we have them. As for the rest of the contents... we want to know what you would like to see in an encyclopedia/ concordance/ companion book. However, PLEASE DO NOT EMAIL ME your suggestions. What you should do instead is go to the bulletin board that Elio and Linda maintain at Westeros.org and post your ideas there. This book is for the fans, so tell us what should be in it. There's no way to project a firm publication date at this time, but my best guess is that The World of Ice and Fire will be released in late 2007 or early 2008, after A Dance With Dragons but before The Winds of Winter. (And yes, this was one of the "secret projects" that I referred to in some earlier news stories and on my live journal. It has been in the works for some time, but I don't like to announce projects until contracts are signed. Watch this page for news about the other "secret projects," when the time is ripe to announce them). A FEAST FOR CROWS CONTENDS FOR QUILL September 1, 2006 My fantasy novel A FEAST FOR CROWS has been named a finalist for this year's Quill Award in the Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror category. The other contenders are A BREATH OF SNOW AND ASHES (Dell) by Diana Gabaldon, CELL: A NOVEL (Scribner, Simon & Schuster) by Stephen King, THE STOLEN CHILD: A NOVEL (Doubleday) by Keith Donohue, and LABYRINTH (Putnam) by Kate Moss. All finalists in all nineteen categories, including A FEAST FOR CROWS, are also de facto nominees for the "Book of the Year" award, the grand prize of the evening. 
This is only the second year for the Quill Awards, which were established in 2005 as a new broad-based national book award, intending to promote reading, literacy, and excellence in literature. The awards are sponsored by Reed Business Information and the National Broadcasting Company, who say "The Quills [are] designed to be an industry qualified 'consumers choice' awards program for books, honoring the current titles readers deem most entertaining and enlightening The Quills celebrate the best books of the year in nineteen popular categories, ranging from romance to biography to graphic novels." A full list of all of this year's nominees and finalists can be found at http://www.bookreporter.com/features/awards-quill.asp#2006 .
The Quill is a popular award determined by the votes of the reading public. The balloting is done on line, and all readers are eligible to help determine the winner of the award. To cast a vote for your favorite, go to the Quill website at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13737579/ Voters also have the opportunity to enter the Quill Sweepstakes, for a chance to win a trip for two to New York City, or autographed copies of the nominated books.
Balloting will close on September 30. The winners will be announced on October 10 at the awards ceremony in New York City, which I expect to be attending. Some of the highlights of the evening will be broadcast on MSNBC, although I am not certain whether the SF/ Fantasy/Horror category will be among those shown. THE ICE DRAGON COMING IN OCTOBER July 31, 2006 The deluxe hardcover edition of my short fantasy "The Ice Dragon" is now scheduled for October release from Starscape, the young adult division of Tor Books. Here's a look at the cover.
The edition is lavishly illustrated by the acclaimed British fantasy artist Yvonne Gilbert, whose previous work includes a long list of beautiful covers and several illustrated books, among them A Dictionary of Fairies and the Richard Adams novel Iron Wolf. If you would like to see more of Yvonne's art, check out her website at http://www.yvonnegilbert.com .
Written in 1979, "The Ice Dragon" has always been one of my personal favorites among my shorter works. It was originally published in the Orson Scott Card anthology Dragons of Light (Ace, 1980) and has appeared in several of my collections. Parris has been telling me for twenty years that "Ice Dragon" would make a wonderful children's book, and a great way to introduce my work to younger readers. To make the story more suitable for children, the text has been divided into short chapters and certain minor cuts have been made (most notably, one very violent scene has been toned down, though it was only a matter of removing a couple of sentences). Look for The Ice Dragon in the YA section of your favorite bookstop, come October... and look closely, because some of the copies will be signed. GUARDIANS OF ORDER OUT OF BUSINESS July 28, 2006 I regret to announce that Guardians of Order, the Canadian games company that issued the GAME OF THRONES role-playing game last fall, is closing its doors and going out of business.  Although the GoO website remains open and there is some fan activity on the message boards there, it would appear that orders are no longer being fulfilled and emails to Guardians itself are going unaswered. The company's office has been vacated, and the company phone has been disconnected, When I finally reached GoO's owner and president Mark MacKinnon last week, he confirmed what many had come to suspect -- that he is shutting down operations. MacKinnon is presently attempting to place some of GoO's games with other companies. I am not privy to all of the details of how and why Guardians is going under, but I do know the company's finances were very badly affected by the decline in the value of the American dollar against the Canadian dollar. Most of GoO's sales were in the United States, so a weaker dollar meant less money coming in. The massive and gorgeous GAME OF THRONES role-playing book, four years in the making, was finally released last November (for details, see the news stories in my archives) and appears to have sold quite well, but its success proved too little and too late to save Guardians of Order. I am presently attempting to work out some sort of settlement with Guardians that would allow the RPG to continue with another company, but at this writing the future of the game (if any) remains unresolved. Ironically, this announcement comes just as the GAME OF THRONES RPG has been nominated for four "ENie" awards as one of the best games of 2005. The game has been nominated in the categories of Best Production Values, Best d20/ OGL Product, Best Product, and Best Game. If you're a fan of the game and would like to cast a ballot, voting is open until July 30 at http://www.enworld.org/ennies/voting.php Addendum: August 7, 2006 Fans of the GAME OF THRONES rpg have established an unofficial forum to discuss the game at http://z7.invisionfree.com/AGOT_RPG . AVATAR TO PREVIEW FEVRE DREAM COMIC AT SAN DIEGO July 8, 2006 
Avatar Comics will have a special treat for my fans at this year's San Diego Comicon -- a special convention preview of their forthcoming comic book version of my historical horror novel, FEVRE DREAM. The preview will only be available at the Avatar booth (2851)... and the best part is, it will only cost 99 cents! And if you want to get your copy signed, that will be possible too. I will be autographing the FEVRE DREAM preview at the Avatar booth on Wednesday from 6:00 to 7:00 pm, and on Saturday from 2:00 to 3:00 pm.
Avatar's adaptation of the novel was scripted by the talented Daniel Abraham, whose own novel A SHADOW IN SUMMER (Tor, 2006) is already creating quite a stir among fantasy fans. Daniel's done a terrific job of bringing Abner and Joshua and the fleet packet steamer Fevre Dream to a new medium, while remaining very faithful to my novel. The cover and interior art are by the Spanish artist Rafa Lopez. The special Comicon preview will contain several pages of Rafa's finished art from issue #1. 
Originally published by Poseidon Press back in 1982, FEVRE DREAM is set on the Mississippi in the antebellum south, and combines two of my favorite things -- vampires and steamboats. Roger Zelazny once called it, "a novel that will delight fans of both Stephen King and Mark Twain." The story of steamboat captain Abner Marsh and his mysterious partner Joshua York, it was my third novel, and by far my most popular... at least until A GAME OF THRONES came out in 1996. After decades out of print, the novel was reissued by Bantam in a classy trade paperback edition in 2004. If you'd like to read the original novel before sampling the comic, the Bantam paperback is still available through your favorite bookstore... and I even have some beat-up comics of the first edition Poseidon Press hardcover listed on my "Signed Books" page, which I'd be glad to scrawl in for those that want 'em.
SUBTERRANEAN STORM OF SWORDS AT PRINTER June 19, 2006
The long-awaited illustrated limited edition of A STORM OF SWORDS is finally on its way. All the artwork is complete, the interior design has been finished and checked, and the book is in the hands of the printers. Bill Schafer of Subterranean expects the finished books to be completed in 4 to 5 weeks. After that there will be another 4 to 5 week wait while the slipcases are manufactured, so the book should ship in late August or early September.
Subterranean's STORM OF SWORDS is the third in the series of limited editions originally begun by Meisha Merlin. Each of the books is lavishly illustrated, slipcased, and signed. The art for the Meisha Merlin editions of A GAME OF THRONES and A CLASH OF KINGS was done by Jeff Jones and John Howe, respectively. The spectacular artwork for A STORM OF SWORDS is by Charles Vess.
Because of the size of the book, the Subterranean edition will be issued in two volumes, each with its own gorgeous Vess cover. There will also be two full-color plates, and dozens of black-and-white interiors. The books will be available in two states: a deluxe numbered edition limited to 448 copies, and a superdeluxe lettered edition of 52 copies. Both versions will be autographed by author and artist. The lettered edition will also include remarques by Charles Vess.
Bill Schafer informs me that the lettered edition of A STORM OF SWORDS is sold out, although he is taking names for a waiting list in the event of cancellations. Copies are still available for the numbered edition, but those are going fast as well, and the book may well be sold out before publication. Subterranean has also purchased the remaining stock of the Meisha Merlin edition of A CLASH OF KINGS with its stunning John Howe artwork, and can provide matching numbers for collectors who purchase both CLASH and STORM. Purchasers will also receive first right of refusal on the rest of the series. Tom Canty has already begun work on the artwork for the Subterranean edition of A FEAST FOR CROWS, and Ted Nasmith has been signed to illustrate A DANCE WITH DRAGONS. DREAMSONGS COMING THIS SEPTEMBER June 15, 2006 DREAMSONGS, the gigantic collection of my short fiction known in the US as GRRM: A RRETROSPECTIVE (Subterranean Press, 2003) will have its first British publication in September, when Gollancz SF releases the book as a trade hardcover. 
The Gollancz edition has a different title and a different cover, and will not include the interior artwork featured in the Subterranean edition. Aside from that the contents will be the same -- half a million words of my fiction, teleplays, and commentary, spanning my entire career from my early days writing for the comics fanzines of the 60s through my Hugo- and Nebula-award winners (and losers), right up to my work. The table of contents includes "The Hedge Knight," "Sandkings," "A Song for Lya," "Portraits of His Children," and many, many more, a teleplay from my days on The Twilight Zone, the pilot script for my SF series Doorways, a taste of Tuf and the Great and Powerful Turtle, and an introduction by Gardner Dozois, the editor who fished me out of the slush pile back in 1970. If you missed your chance to get GRRM: A RRETROSPECTIVE, here's an opportunity to snag all the same stories in a handsome hardcover edition at a much lower price. GRRM AT NATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL A webcast of GRRM's appearance at the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. is available here NEW GRRM ONLINE INTERVIEW June 6, 2006 A new online interview with GRRM has just gone up: NEW DEAL FOR WILD CARDS June 5, 2006 We can't die yet. We haven't seen The Jolson Story. The WILD CARDS series is back in business. We've just signed a contract with Tor Books for a new triad of WILD CARDS mosaic novels, to be titled Inside Straight, Busted Flush, and Suicide Kings. Work on the books has already commenced. Tor hopes to release the first volume in hardcover in 2007, with the subsequent volumes following a year apart. 
The three new books will be volumes eighteen, nineteen, and twenty in the overall chronology, but they will also represent a new beginning for the series. A few of our older characters will make appearances in the new books, but the spotlight this time around will be on the next generation of aces and jokers, coming of age in a world transformed by xenovirus Takis-A. "It's 2007. Do you know where your children are?" Here's a first peek at ten of our new cast members, courtesy of Mike S. Miller. From L to R, let me present (back row) Jonathan Hive, Double Helix, Drummer Boy, and Lohengrin, and (front row) Hoodoo Mama, Little Fat Boy, John Fortune, Curveball, Dragon Girl, and The Genetrix. Many of the writers who helped make the original WILD CARDS series so popular will be contributing to the new books as well, including Walter Jon Williams, John Jos. Miller, Michael Cassutt, Walton (Bud) Simons, Stephen Leigh, Kevin Andrew Murphy, and others. They will be joined by Daniel Abraham, who made his WILD CARDS debut in volume sixteen, and newcomers Christopher Rowe, Caroline Spector, Ian Tregillis, and Carrie Vaughn. As with previous volumes, George R.R. Martin will edit the books, with the able assistance of Melinda M. Snodgrass. The WILD CARDS series made its debut in 1987, during the heydey of the shared world anthology, when a dozen different series from as many publishers were competing for rack space. Twelve volumes were published by Bantam from 1987 through 1993, and three by Baen Books from 1993 to 1995. After a seven-year hiatus, iBooks revived the series in 2002, reprinting six of the old Bantam titles and adding two new volumes, the anthology Deuces Down and a solo novel by John J. Miller, Death Draws Five, before going into bankrutcy. The series has also spawned a comic mini-series from Marvel/ Epic, a role-playing game from Steve Jackson Games, and several film options. WILD CARDS has outlasted all the other shared world anthologies of the 80s to become the longest-running series in the history of our genre... and with a little help from our readers, we hope to run for another twenty years at least. If you haven't visited the Wild Cards universe yet, it is never too late. You can find the old books on ABE, ebay, and Amazon, and a few are even available here on my Signed Books page. Check 'em out. CROWS CONTEND FOR HUGO AWARD April 5, 2006 
The members of the LACon IV and Interaction worldcons have nominated A Feast for Crows for the Hugo Award for the Best Novel of 2005. The Hugo is the oldest and most prestigious award in science fiction and fantasy, and it is a thrill, as ever, to be on the ballot.
The other finalists in the Best Novel category are Learning the World by Ken MacLeod (Orbit; Tor), Old Man's War by John Scalzi (Tor), Accelerando by Charles Stross (Ace; Orbit), and Spin by Robert Charles Wilson (Tor).
For the rest of this year's Hugo nominees, check out my "Not a Blog" page, where I have posted the full list. All members of LACon IV are eligible to vote for the Hugo Awards. To join the convention, as either an attending or supporting member, go to their website at http://www.laconiv.org/ . The Hugo winners will be announced at the awards ceremony in Anaheim, California, on the evening of Saturday, August 26.
It is always an honor to be nominated for a Hugo, especially in the novel category (the "Big One," as someone once dubbed it, can't think who). So many good books are published each year that every place on the ballot is sharply contested. This marks the third time one of my books has been nominated for the Best Novel Hugo. Dying of the Light lost the award in 1978 to Frederik Pohl's Gateway, and A Storm of Swords was crushed in 2001 by J.K. Potter's megabestseller Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
TUF VOYAGING NOMINATED FOR SEIUN AWARD April 13, 2006 
The Japanese edition of TUF VOYAGING has been nominated for the Seiun Award as Best Translated Novel of 2005. The Seiun is the "Japanese Hugo," voted on by Japanese fans and readers and awarded annually at the Japanese National Convention.
The other finalists for Best Translated Novel are DIASPORA by Greg Egan, REVELATION SPACE by Alastair Reynolds, SPACE CHANTEY by R.A. Lafferty, the "Neanderthal Parallax Trilogy" by Robert J.Sawyer, VENUS PLUS X by Theodore Sturgeon, ALTERED CARBON by Richard Morgan, and THE SWORDS OF LANKHMAR by Fritz Leiber. It's a fascinating sort of crosstime competition, and I must admit that it's cool to be on the same ballot as Sturgeon and Leiber, two of my heroes. Tuf versus Fafhrd and the Mouser, now there's an odd notion...  The winners of the Seiun Awards will be announced at the 45th Japan Science Fiction Convention "Michinoku SF Festival ZUNCON," to be held on July 8 - 9 at the Hotel Sohkan in Miyagi prefecture. Regrettably, my schedule does not allow me to attend, but my best wishes go out to all of my Japanese readers. I do hope to meet many of you in 2007, when I am planning on flying over for Nippon 2007, the Yokahama worldcon.
The Japanese edition of TUF VOYAGING was published by Hayakawa Publishing, and translated by Akinobu Sakai. Win or lose, my thanks go out to both of them for a fine job. TESTOR CORPORATION RELEASES 'RUBY FORD' LIMITED EDITION April 9, 2006 For all you figure collectors and miniature painters who have been waiting so patiently, the Testor Corporation has just announced the release the first set of figures based on the characters in A Song of Ice and Fire - The Ruby Ford, designed and sculpted by the legendary Tom Meier. 
Cast in pewter in 54mm scale (the traditional "toy soldier" scale, equal to about 1/35), the Ruby Ford dramatizes the final and fatal confrontation between Robert Baratheon, Lord of Storm's End, and Rhaegar Targaryen, Prince of Dragonstone, during the Battle of the Trident. For a look, go here . Testor's is offering this initial set as either a unassembled kit (for modelers and painters) or as a finished, unpainted pewter display piece (for collectors of Rawcliffe figures and similar "gift shop" miniatures). Both versions will be limited production with combined total of 1,500 castings sold world-wide. Each set will be numbered and will include a certificate of authenticity. 
The Ruby Ford is on sale now, and can be ordered directly off the Testor's website. Each set will be made to order right here in the US. The figures will ship in 4-6 weeks. The larger 1/18 scale painted resin miniatures that Testor's has been working on are still in the works, and should be released later this year, along with more of Tom Meier's wonderful 54mm figures, and (eventually) a miniatures game and a range of smaller Night's Watch and wildling figures. Watch this page for details of future releases. April 9, 2006 Two new online interviews with GRRM have just gone up: Afterburn SF TOR TO PUBLISH ILLUSTRATED "ICE DRAGON" March 21, 2006 Tor Books will publish a new deluxe edition of my short fantasy "The Ice Dragon" this September, as part of their Young Adult line. The book will be lavishly illustrated by the acclaimed British fantasy artist Yvonne Gilbert, with the beautiful cover seen here and black & white drawings on every page.  Born and raised in Northumberland, Yvonne Gilbert's previous work includes a long list of beautiful covers and several illustrated books, among the A Dictionary of Fairies and the Richard Adams novel Iron Wolf. It has been a thrill having her illustrated my work. If you would like to see more of Yvonne's art, check out her website at http://www.yvonnegilbert.com .
"The Ice Dragon" was written in 1979, and has always been one of my personal favorites among my shorter works. It was originally published in the Orson Scott Card anthology Dragons of Light (Ace, 1980) and has appeared in several of my collections, most recently GRRM: A RRetrospective (Subterranean, 1983) , but this edition will be a little different. To make the story more suitable for children, the text has been divided into short chapters and certain minor changes and cuts have been made (most notably, one very violent scene has been toned down, though it was only a matter of removing a couple of sentences). Parris has been telling me for twenty years that "Ice Dragon" would make a wonderful children's book, and a great way to introduce my work to younger readers. Thanks to Yvonne Gilbert and the good folks at Tor for making it happen. Look for The Ice Dragon in the YA section of your favroite local bookstore, come September 28... and look closely, because some of the copies will be signed. WILD CARDS Good News and Bad March 20, 2006 I have good news and bad news for fans of the long-running Wild Cards series of shared world anthologies and mosaic novels.  Good news: the seventeenth volume in the series, John J. Miller's novel Death Draws Five, was released by iBooks in January, and is now available at your local bookshop, or over the net from Amazon and other internet booksellers. The first new installment since the release of Deuces Down in 2002, Death Draws Five is a tale of fists, faith, and armageddon in America's heartland, featuring John's asskicker ace Billy Ray (aka Carnifex), the long-time fan favorite Fortunato and his son John Fortune, and the shape-shifting private dick Mr. Nobody, along with John Nighthawk, the Midnight Angel, and a host of other characters, old and new.
Bad news: unfortunately, iBooks filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in late February, a few weeks after releasing the novel. Word is that they have suspended all operations and terminated their entire staff, so there is no telling how long Death Draws Five will remain available. Bookshops that sell out their current stock are not going to be able to reorder with the publisher out of business, and the chances of a later paperback reprint are iffy at best. In other words, if you're like to read the novel, buy a copy now.  Good news: Wild Cards may be down, but we'll be bouncing back again as we have before. With iBooks out of the picture, we have opened up talks with several other publishers, and the interest is strong. It may take a few months, but we are going to find a new home, and the writers of the Wild Cards Consortium (both old and new) have already begun planning the next three books. I won't give anything away here (yet), but a lot of my writers are getting excited. It feels a little like it did back when we first started the series in 1985. Seventeen volumes is nothing. Hell, we're just getting warmed up... so look for a major series rebirth in the near future.
 And if you have never read a Wild Cards book and are wondering what all the excitement is about, check out "Wild Cards Online," the brand new fan website that has just opened at http://www.wildcardsonline.com It's a fan site, still under construction, but there's already tons of good information there, including a gallery of covers and reviews and summaries of many of the books (beware of spoilers and strong opinions). The site was created by Jason Redgewell, a long time fan of the series, and while I can't endorse all of his views about the stories and characters, there's no doubt that he's designed a handsome website, a terrific resource for readers of the series.
AUDIO CLIPS FROM A FEAST FOR CROWS NOW ON RANDOM HOUSE WEBSITE January 1, 2006 Two excerpts from the forthcoming audio edition of A Feast For Crows are now available: clip 1 - clip 2 |