George R.R. Martin's Blog, page 235

Hiya, kids, hiya, hiya, hiya.

I know some cool stuff.

You don't.

And I can't tell you yet.

(Yes, I am a monster of inhuman cruelty).

Well, maybe I'll let slip a few things at the Montreal worldcon. Or maybe not. You'll have to ply me with booze and plunk my magic twanger, and we'll see.

Off on Tuesday...

SONGS OF THE DYING EARTH is now out of print in all editions, Subterranean Press informs me.
(The lettered and numbered versions will ship as soon as the slipcases come in)

Don't say I didn't warn you.

Sorry if you missed your chance the snag a copy of this beautiful illustrated edition. You can still read the stories, though. The Harper Collins Voyager hardcover from the UK will be along in October, and can be preordered from Amazon UK. Tor's edition will follow in about a year.

Subterranean Press reports that they are down to their last seventy-five copies of SONGS OF THE DYING EARTH, the Jack Vance tribute anthology, co-edited by me and Gardner Dozois and featuring stories by Neil Gaiman, Dan Simmons, Phyllis Eisenstein, Paula Volsky, Walter Jon Williams, Glen Cook, Howard Waldrop, and many other top fantasists and Vancephiles, all gorgeously illustrated by Tom Kidd.

http://subterraneanpress.com/index.php/2009/07/31/songs-of-the-dying-earth-going-out-of-print/



If you've

Pat's Fantasy Hotlist is having another one of their terrific contests.

This time around the prize is not one book but three: the Jack Vance tribute collection SONGS OF THE DYING EARTH, Jack's autobiography IT'S ME, JACK VANCE, and a new Jack Vance collection WILD THYME, GREEN MAGIC.

To get the details and enter the drawing go to

http://fantasyhotlist.blogspot.com/2009/07/win-jack-vance-prize-pack.html

And good luck.

My congratulations to Chris Pramas and his crack team at Green Ronin Games. Nominations have been announced for this year's prestigious ENnie Awards, given each year at Gencon, and Green Ronin scored five nominations for their licensed games:

Best Interior Art: Wild Cards
Best Rules: A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying
Best Free Product: A Song of Ice and Fire Quickstart
Best Game: A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying
Product of the Year: A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying



The final awards are determine

Just got a peek at the final cover for SUICIDE KINGS, courtesy of the good folks at Tor Books. The art is by Michael Komarck.




SUICIDE KINGS will be the twentieth overall volume in the Wild Cards series, and the third and concluding book in the current "Committee" triad. Written by S.L. Farrell, Ian Tregillis, Melinda M. Snodgrass, Daniel Abraham, Caroline Spector, and Victor Milan, and edited by yours truly.

Well, Reuters has the story out already, so there's no longer any reason for me to keep mum. Yes, the rumors you've been seeing all over the web the last few days are true. Another huge piece has fallen into place for the HBO pilot of A GAME OF THRONES -- we have signed Sean Bean to play the part of Lord Eddard Stark.

For the movie fans out there, Sean Bean needs no introduction. I mean, what the hell, he was Boromir and he was Sharpe, he was terrific in both roles, and in a hundred other part

I've received my preliminary schedule from Anticipation, next month's Montreal worldcon.

Here's what it looks like at the moment:

THURSDAY AUG 6
12:30 pm panel: Werewolves of Brigadoon

FRIDAY AUG 7
3:30 pm panel: Writing a Series

SUNDAY AUG 9
12:30 pm panel: Writing for a Living
4:00 pm autographing

MONDAY AUG 10
3:00 pm reading

Aside from these "official" appearances, of course, I will also be doing the usual worldcon stuff -- hanging around the hotel bar, hitting the

Here's a sneak peak at two new Ice & Fire figures from Dark Sword Miniatures -- a couple of the battling babes of Westeros, the wildling spearwife Ygritte ('You know nothing, Jon Snow')and the kraken's daughter, Asha Greyjoy.






Both sculpts are by the talented Jeff Grace. They're not available yet, but will be soon. Watch the Dark Sword website for further details and more pix.

Wonderful article in the NEW YORK TIMES about Jack Vance:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/magazine/19Vance-t.html?%20_r=5&partner=rss&emc=rss

It is nice to see one of our genre's few authentic masters finally getting some recognition from the mainstream press. I agree with most everything that's said here: Vance is not only a great SF and fantasy writer, he's a great writer, period, and deserves a place in the canon of American literature.