NEWS RELEASES FROM GRRM--2003: 11/22/03 - AN AUDIO SONG OF ICE AND FIRE -- UNABRIDGED! 11/22/03 - A GAME OF THRONES WINS IGNOTUS AWARD 10/29/03 - A GREAT REVIEW FOR GRRM 10/15/03 - THE RETURN OF DUNK AND EGG 09/15/03 - ICE AND FIRE LITHOGRAPH STILL AVAILABLE 08/29/03 - TUF VOYAGES AGAIN 08/12/03 - HEADS OR STARS? 06/27/03 - A GAME OF THRONES CCG WINS ORIGINS AWARD 06/10/03 - HEDGE KNIGHT COMIC NAMED "GEM OF THE MONTH" 04/20/03 - GAME OF THRONES CCG NOMINATED FOR ORIGINS AWARD 04/03/03 - TWO GRRM DRAGONS 04/03/03 - A STORM OF SWORDS PAPERBACK RELEASED 03/28/03 - WILD CARDS VI: ACE IN THE HOLE REPRINT RELEASED 02/28/03 - A STORM OF SWORDS WINS GEFFEN PRIZE 02/20/03 - THE ART OF ICE AND FIRE 01/22/03 - HEDGE KNIGHT COMIC NOW AVAILABLE FOR PREORDERS 01/15/03 - DOWN & DIRTY REISSUED 11/22/03 AN AUDIO SONG OF ICE AND FIRE -- UNABRIDGED!      I get a lot of emails. The question asked most often is "When will A FEAST FOR CROWS be done?" But second place probably goes to "Why isn't A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE available as an audiobook?"      It's a good question, and one that came across my desk often enough so that I decided to address it in my FAQ. There was an audiobook deal for A GAME OF THRONES on the table a few years ago, but it was for an abridged nine- hour version. Nine hours sounded like a long time when the proposition was first made to me, but when I received the abridged text of the novel for approval, I realized that it was hardly any time at all. The abridgement would have been a Cliff's Notes version of the book, so I killed the project.      And that's where the matter stood...till now.      But that's all about to change. It thrills me no end to be able to announce that audiobook versions of the first three novels of A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE are now in the works, and should be on the shelves next year. If they do well enough, the rest of the series will follow in due course. And best of all, these recordings will be completely unabridged! Audiobook fans will get the books, not a summary of the plot with a few scenes sprinkled in.      The tapes are being produced by Books On Tape, the nation's largest producer of unabridged audiobooks (and a sister company to Random House Audio). Production is well underway. In fact, A GAME OF THRONES is in post-production as I write, and our reader has moved on to A CLASH OF KINGS.      Oh, and our reader? That's the best part. The novels are being read by the magnificent Roy Dotrice. Roy and I worked together for three years on the television series BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, where he played the part of Father. I can't think of anyone that I would rather have reading my books.      A list of Roy's credits would fill a sizeable book itself, but for those not familiar with his work, he is a classically trained British stage actor who has appeared all over the world in everything from Shakespeare to Xena: Warrior Princess. He was Mozart's father in Amadeus, he still holds a place in the Guiness Book of World Records for his one-man show Brief Lives, he's worked with everyone from Charles Laughton to Cheech and Chong, and he does such a marvelous range of voices and accents that you'd swear he was twenty different people. His previous narrations include the audiobook of Richard Adams' masterpiece Watership Down. I can scarcely wait to hear what Roy does with A GAME OF THRONES. It's a real pleasure to be teamed with him again.      As for the question of length... well, my producer at Books On Tape tells me that A GAME OF THRONES alone filled thirty-eight 90-minute cassettes... which should give you some small idea of how much that nine-hour abridgement would have cut. Sometimes it pays to wait. 11/22/03 A GAME OF THRONES WINS IGNOTUS AWARD      The Spanish translation of A GAME OF THRONES from Gigamesh Press of Barcelona has been named the winner of the Ignotus Award as the "Best Foreign Novel of 2002." The Ignotus Awards -- the "Spanish Hugo" -- are voted by the members of the Spanish Science Fiction and Fantasy Association (AEFCF), and given annually at Hispacon, Spain's national convention. The award is a reproduction of the 2001 monolith, done in black concrete 15cm high.      Needless to say, I'm delighted to learn that my novel was so well received by the fans and readers in Spain. But a large part of the credit goes to my Spanish translator, Cristina Macia. I hope she'll be getting a black monolith as well.      The cover art for Gigamesh's edition of DYING OF THE LIGHT also took home an Ignotus, for "Best Illustration." My thanks and congratulations go out toJuan Miguel Aguilera, the artist, who did such a splendid job of evoking Worlorn. Aguilera's award-winning cover painting can be seen in the Art Gallery, for those who'd like to have a look.      And my thanks as well to Alejo Cuevo and all his crew at Gigamesh. I could not ask for a better publisher... or a better host, when last I visited Baracelona. One of these days I really must get back there. 10/29/03 A GREAT REVIEW FOR GRRM      Just had to share some great news. GRRM: A RRetrospective, my massive new career-spanning collection from Subterreanean Press, got a terrific review in the October 26 issue of the WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD.      "... the most ambitious volume ever to come from an American specialty press" and "... one of the most important -- and generous -- single-author collections of recent years" are my favorite bits, but the reviewer had lots of other good stuff to say about the book as well. For those who are curious, the entire review can be found online here.      Subterreanean released the trade hardcover of the RRetrospective at Torcon, where I was Guest of Honor. That edition has already sold out, as has the forthcoming superdeluxe lettered edition of 52 leatherbound copies, each in a handcrafted traycase. However, some copies of the numbered edition still remain available at this writing, and can be preordered from Subterranean. The numbered edition sells for $125, and for that you get an autograph, a handsome slipcase, and half a million words of stories, scripts, and commentaries.      I'm very proud and pleased with this book, and I'd like to thank all those who contributed to its success: Gardner Dozois for his introduction, Leslie Kay Swigart for her bibliography, and artists Phil Parks, Tim Truman, Ron Brown, Tom Mandrake, Janet Aulisio, and Mark Nelson, whose illustrations brought my characters and stories so splendidly to life. And thanks as well to William Schaefer and Tim Holt of Subterranean Press, for all the time, effort, and care that they lavished on this project. Their exquisite design and attention to detail made GRRM: A RRetrospective a gorgeous example of bookmaking at its best. 10/15/03 THE RETURN OF DUNK AND EGG October 15, 2003      Dunk and Egg are back! Ser Duncan the Tall and his insolent young squire made their first appearance in my novella "The Hedge Knight" in the landmark fantasy anthology LEGENDS, and are presently the stars of the marvelous HEDGE KNIGHT comic adaption from Roaring Studios and Image Comics.      But that was only the beginning of their story.      They return in "The Sworn Sword," the new novella I wrote for LEGENDS II. A new king sits on the Iron Throne and the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros are plagued by drought, lawlessness, pestilence, and the spectre of rebellion... but Dunk, his sword sworn to the service of an elderly landed knight, finds he has troubles of his own closer to home.      Like the original LEGENDS, LEGENDS II is a mammoth original anthology edited by Robert Silverberg, featuring eleven brand-new stories by some of the brightest stars of contemporary fantasy Silverbob himself gives us a new Majipoor story, Neil Gaiman returns to his AMERICAN GODS characters, Orson Scott Card pens another tale of Alvin Maker, the marvelous Robin Hobb takes us up the Rain Wild River in a prequel to her "Liveship Traders" series . Other contributors include Diana Gabaldon, Anne McCaffery, Elizabeth Haydon, Ray Feist, Terry Brooks, Tad Williams... and me.      The British hardcover of LEGENDS II has just been released by HarperCollins in the UK, and is available from any British bookstore on the net. The American hardcover, from Del Rey Books, should be out around Christmas.      Del Rey is also doing a 500-copy limited edition signed by all eleven contributors, so if you're an autograph hound, keep an eye out for that. 09/15/03 ICE AND FIRE LITHOGRAPH STILL AVAILABLE Mike S. Miller, the penciller on Roaring Studio's wonderful comic adaption of THE HEDGE KNIGHT, is also doing a series of four dramatic full-color scenes inspired by A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE. Each of them will be an original work (not a page from the comic), suitable for framing, fine art lithographs on high quality paper, limited to one thousand copies and available in three qualities. The first lithograph shows the battle between Robert Baratheon and Rhaegar, Prince of Dragonstone, in the waters of the Trident. The piece was released in February and has been selling briskly, but Mike tells me that there are still some available. If you'd to order one before they're gone, go to the Art of Ice and Fire site at http://www.theartoficeandfire.com . 08/29/03 TUF VOYAGES AGAIN Haviland Tuf, ecological engineer, interstellar trader, keeper of cats, lover of mushrooms, and master of the Ark, the last surviving seedship of the old Empire, will be voyaging back onto the bookshelves soon. The good folks at Meisha Merlin Publishing are bringing out a brand new edition of TUF VOYAGING, originally published by Baen Books in 1986. The collection includes all of Tuf's adventures from the pages of ANALOG and the other markets where they first appeared, including the Hugo nominee "Guardians." Several of those old ANALOG stories were illustrated by Janet Aulisio, whom I've always regarded as the definitive Tuf artist. Janet's original ANALOG illustrations are included here; in addition, Meisha Merlin commissioned her to do twenty-eight new pieces exclusively for this new edition, so the book is handsomely illustrated throughout. The limited edition will also include Janet's ANALOG cover for "Manna From Heaven" as a full-color frontiespiece. Michael Komarck has done the cover art, a beautiful wraparound showing Tuf on the command deck of the Ark surrounded by his travelling companions. Meisha Merlin will be releasing the book as a trade paperback, a trade hardcover, and a signed, numbered limited edition. Go to http://www.meishamerlin.com/TufVoyaging.html to place your order. TUF VOYAGING should be out by Labor Day. 08/12/03 HEADS OR STARS? The Seven Kingdoms of Westeros have the usual sort of maddening medieval monetary system. No simple base ten nonsense here. No, Westerosi coinage is more akin to old, pre-metric British money, with its pounds, shillings, guineas, ha'pennies, tuppences, and groats. No wonder Robert Baratheon hated counting coppers. You would too. And now you can have the chance. Will Whitfoot of Shire Post, who has long been renowned for turning out splendid Middle Earth coinage for Tolkien fanatics, has retooled his presses for the Seven Kingdoms, and will be issuing a series of Westerosi coins. He's started with the copper, but silver stags will follow if there's enough demand for them, and perhaps even a golden dragon. Will's first Westerosi coin is a heavy copper produced late in Robert's reign. It bears the king's head on one side, and the seven-pointed star of the Faith on the reverse. You can add one to your collection by heading for Shire Post's online shop at http://www.shirepost.com . One of these fat coppers will buy you a steaming bowl of brown in any pot shop in King's Landing, with some ale to wash it down. On Earth, it will buy you... absolutely nothing. 6/27/03 The collectible card game of A GAME OF THRONES won the Origins Award for the best new CCG at the recent Origins convention. Congratulations to the guys from Fantasy Flight Games! 6/10/03 HEDGE KNIGHT COMIC NAMED "GEM OF THE MONTH" The first issue of THE HEDGE KNIGHT comic book will be released next month from Image Comics and Roaring Studios. PREVIEWS, the trade magazine of the nation's largest comics distributor, has named the book one of its "Gems of the Month." THE HEDGE KNIGHT will be released with two different covers -- the regular cover, by Mike S. Miller, and a special "variant" cover by Mike Kaluta, who needs no introduction to anyone who knows comics. They're both fabulous, in my (admittedly prejudiced) opinion. Here's a look at the art for the Kaluta cover. Subsequent issues of THE HEDGE KNIGHT will offer variant covers by Tom Mandrake, Tom Yeates, Boris Vallejo, and other terrific artists, as well as Mike Miller's fabulous work. Meanwhile, progress on the later issues continues apace. Ben Avery is hard at work on the script for issue four, Mike S. Miller, and Mike Crowell are doing the art for issue three, and Roaring Studios is overseeing the lettering and coloring of issue two. But for any of that to matter, issue one has to sell some copies. If you like comics, buy early and often, and tell all your friends. 04/20/03 GAME OF THRONES CCG NOMINATED FOR ORIGINS AWARD The good folks at Fantasy Flights Games have been doing a wonderful job with the collectible card game based on A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE, and it looks as though I'm not the only one to think so. The game has been nominated for the prestigious Origins Award, the Hugo of the gaming industry. The Origins Awards are hobby game industry awards given each year for many different categories of games. The nominees are chosen by the members of GAMA (the Game Manufacturers Association) but the winner of each category is determined by fan voting. The GAME OF THRONES collectible card game is one of five finalists for Best New Trading Card Game, and the first expansion set, A SEA OF STORMS, has been nominated as Best Card Game Expansion. Needless to say, I'm delighted. The guys from Fantasy Flight impressed me from the first with their enthusiasm, their expertise, and their obvious knowledge of Westeros and my world. I had every hope that they would do a terrific game, and it seems they have... so that sound you hear is me, giving a rousing hand of applause to Eric Lang, Brian Wood, Christian Petersen, and the rest of the crew at Fantasy Flight, and all the wonderful artists who have helped them bring the Seven Kingdoms to life. The Origins Award is decided by fan vote. If you've played and enjoyed the Fantasy Flight ccg of A GAME OF THRONES and would like to see it win, you should cast your vote at: http://www.aagad.org/FinalPublicvotinginstructions.html Remember that after you vote, you'll be emailed a link to confirm your vote -- until you click on that link your vote isn't counted! 04/03/03 TWO GRRM DRAGONS The gaming magazine DRAGON is offering a double dip of Westeros for fans of A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE. The current issue of DRAGON (#305) includes "The Arms of the Kraken," a novella-length excerpt from A FEAST FOR CROWS, illustrated by Justin Sweet. The novella tells the story of the fight for the driftwood crown of the Iron Islands in the aftermath of the events of A STORM OF SWORDS. This is the March issue of the magazine, on sale at newsstands and bookshops from coast to coast... but if you'd like to read the novella, you had better snap up a copy soon, since the April issue will soon be taking its place. That's only the opening act, however. The May DRAGON (issue #307) will be a special Westeros issue. A spendid cover painting, by Hugo-nominated artist Donato Giancola, depicts everybody's favorite red priestess, Melisandre of Asshai. Inside, readers will find art and articles about the world of the Seven Kingdoms, including scenarios and suggestions for role-playing campaigns set on the Wall, or amongst the backstabbers and intriguers of King's Landing. The issue will also feature a full-color fold out map of Westeros, north and south, and a brand new interview with yours truly. 4/03/03: A STORM OF SWORDS PAPERBACK RELEASED      All those Ice and Fire readers who have been waiting with bated breath for the mass market paperback of A STORM OF SWORDS can finally exhale. Bantam Spectra released its paperback of the third volume of A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE this month... and yes, unlike the British edition, Bantam got the entire book into a single volume.      The mass market also includes a new, never-before-published preview chapter from A FEAST FOR CROWS, volume four in the series... just to whet your appetites a little more. 3/28/03 iBooks has released their reprint of WILD CARDS VI: ACE IN THE HOLE 2/28/03 A STORM OF SWORDS wins Geffen Prize The Hebrew translation of A STORM OF SWORDS has won the Geffen Prize for the best fantasy book of the year in Israel. The award was announced at Icon 2002, the Israeli national SF convention. The Hebrew editions of A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE are being published by Opus Press. 02/20/03 THE ART OF ICE AND FIRE Artist Mike S. Miller has been doing a sensational job on the pencils for the graphic version of "The Hedge Knight" (forthcoming from Roaring Studios and Image Comics), bringing Dunk and Egg and their friends and enemies to vivid life.. but either Mike is a glutton for punishment, or Westeros must have gotten into his blood. I'm thrilled to announce that Miller will be producing a series of four large-size limited edition lithographs of scenes from the Seven Kingdoms and A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE. Each of these will be an original work (not a page from the comic), suitable for framing. Not a poster... these are fine art prints, true lithographs on high quality paper, limited to 1000 numbered copies and available in three states. The first lithograph, just completed, shows the final confrontation between Robert Baratheon and Rhaegar, Prince of Dragonstone, in the waters of the Trident. Here's a look. Check out the Art of Ice and Fire at http://www.theartoficeandfire.com for more on the lithographs -- including ordering information. Mike has also made the scene available as wallpaper for your computers. 01/22/03 HEDGE KNIGHT COMIC NOW AVAILABLE FOR PREORDERS http://www.roaringstudios.com/mainsite/news.html Roaring Studios has been roaring right ahead with their comic book version of "The Hedge Knight," my novella from Robert Silverberg's first LEGENDS anthology. The first issue is nearing completion, and Roaring is now accepting preorders. For details, check out their website at the link above. Roaring's version of "The Hedge Knight" will be a six-issue miniseries. Mike S. Miller is penciling the comic, with Ben Avery handling the adaption and scripting chores. The color is by Liquid. For a taste, here's the first two pages. Enjoy. And of course, the original novella version of the tale remains available in LEGENDS, if any of you have yet to read it (shame on you). The novella is set in the Seven Kingdoms of A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE, but takes place ninety years earlier, during the reign of King Daeron II Targaryen. 01/15/03 Down & Dirty reissued WILD CARDS V: DOWN & DIRTY, has been reissued by iBooks.