George R.R. Martin

George Raymond Richard Martin, also known by his publishing name George R.R. Martin, is an American novelist, screenwriter and television producer. Martin has written professionally since he sold his first short story at the age of 21, taking turns throughout his career to work in television, writing novels, editing anthologies and even teaching writing. His most well-known work is the popular A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy novel series which has been adapted into the equally as popular HBO television series Game of Thrones.

Martin was born on September 20, 1948 in Bayonne, New Jersey. His zodiac sign is Virgo.

George R.R. Martin – His Religion

While he was raised Catholic the author considers himself a soft atheist, making him a non-believer in God.

“I suppose I’m a lapsed Catholic. You would consider me an atheist or agnostic. I find religion and spirituality fascinating. I would like to believe this isn’t the end and there’s something more, but I can’t convince the rational part of me that that makes any sense whatsoever.” (1)

George R.R. Martin – His Politics

Martin is a Democrat. In the 2016 presidential election he campaigned for Hillary Clinton as President. (2)

He is also very anti-Trump and hasn’t been quiet about expressing his intense dislike of the 45th President. The day after Trump won the presidency, Martin published a blog post about Trump victory.

“Trump was the least qualified candidate ever nominated by a major party for the presidency. Come January, he will become the worst president in American history, and a dangerously unstable player on the world stage,” he said. (3)

A few months later, George still hadn’t warmed up to The Donald. “I think Joffrey is now the king of America,” the author said, referring to Game of Thrones’ spoiled and cruel teenage king. “And he’s grown up just as petulant and irrational as he was when he was 13 in the books.” (4)

George R.R. Martin – His Relationships

Martin has been married twice in his life. His first marriage was to Gale Burnick in 1975, and it ended in divorce in 1979.

Martin married again in 2011 to Parris McBride.

The writer has two younger sisters, Darleen and Janet. His parents were Irish (his mother’s side) and Italian (his father’s side). There is also Welsh, French, English and German in George’s family tree.

George R.R. Martin – Charities

Martin has donated his time and money to several charitable causes. He’s helped raise money for the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary and the Food Depot of Santa Fe, New Mexico. (5)

George R.R. Martin – Trivia & Miscellaneous Facts

• As a teenager Martin read and was a fan of Marvel’s Fantastic Four comic book series. He wrote several letters to the comic which were published.
• His favorite sports teams are the New York Mets and the New York Jets. (6)
• His favorite music act is The Grateful Dead.

Sources:

1: Entertainment Weekly

2: CNN

3: Martin’s blog

4: Esquire

5: The Wall Street Journal

6: NJ.com

Photo by Henry Söderlund. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Cropped from original.

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