George R.R. Martin to talk about his life and work at UC San Diego in May

(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

So far as we know, George R.R. Martin is still working on The Winds of Winter, the long-awaited sixth book in his Song of Ice and Fire series. In order to focus on that, he’s been cutting back on his public appearances for a couple years now. To that end, he’s foregone attending the San Diego Comic-Con, the biggest event of its kind, and said he won’t travel to Texas A&M University to accept an honorary degree “till WINDS is done.”

Now, NBC San Diego reports that Martin will travel to both a university and to San Deigo, specifically to the University of California at San Diego, to give a talk about his life and work. He’ll be joined onstage by science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson, who’s probably best known for his Mars trilogy. The full title of the event: “An evening on the craft of writing with George R.R. Martin in conversation with Kim Stanley Robinson.”

Fans could take this a number of ways. Martin has been consistent with cutting back his appearances while he works on Winds, so if he’s adding something new to his schedule, they could dare to hope that he’s made meaningful progress.

Then again, fans have gotten their hopes up before, and while Martin has cut back his appearances, he never claimed he was going to stop them altogether. For example, he still attends the World Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention, where they hand out the Hugo Awards, every year.

As for what exactly he’ll talk about at UC San Diego, who knows? Of note, Martin occasionally interviews science fiction and fantasy authors onstage at the Jean Cocteau Cinema, which he owns in his hometown of Santa Fe. If Martin goes into as much detail about his work as author Carrie Vaughn did about her’s during her visit to the Jean Cocteau, we could be in for a treat.

Martin will appear at UC San Diego on May 2. His talk will kick off at 7:00 p.m. at the Price Center Theater, and is sponsored by the Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination. Tickets will be available through the UCSD Box Office starting tomorrow, April 7. Tickets run $40 for general admission, $20 for faculty and staff, and free for UC San Diego students with student ID. We predict a healthy turnout.

h/t Not a Blog