Fire & Blood, the first book in a two-volume series about the history of the Targaryen dynasty, is coming out on November 20, and publishers are turning up the hype. They’ve unveiled a bunch of variant covers and author George R.R. Martin published an excerpt on his personal blog. Now, USA Today reports that Martin, the acclaimed author of the Song of Ice and Fire series, will make a rare public appearance at the the Loew’s Jersey Theatre in Jersey City, New Jersey, not far from Martin’s hometown of Bayonne.
Martin will appear onstage on November 19, a day before Fire & Blood hits store shelves. Interviewing him will be actor, writer and comedian John Hodgman, who’s had a long career but may still be best known for playing the PC in those Mac commercials from a decade ago.
Anyway, in addition to the formal interview, Martin will also take questions from the audience, given ahead of time at the door. We can’t be sure, but Martin has traditionally asked that audience questions stay on topic, so while you can try to ask him when The Winds of Winter is coming out, don’t expect much of an answer. He’ll also be signing books.
Tickets to the event are $40, which price includes a copy of Fire & Blood to take home. You can buy them here.
In other Martin news, the Albuquerque Journal reports that he’s established a new scholarship to help film students at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where Martin lives. The scholarship will cover the full yearly tuition of one student — $15,000 — plus $5,000 for two others. Talking about the scholarship, Martin quoted science fiction author Robert Heinlein:
"Heinlein said, ‘You can never pay back the people who helped you when you were starting out, so you have to pay it forward.’ You have to pay the people who come after you. I hope these scholarships will do a little of that."
Martin is very active in the Santa Fe community; he owns the Jean Cocteau Cinema, where he holds many events, and started a non-profit company called the Stagecoach Foundation to attract filmmakers to the area. The scholarships are very much in keeping with this.
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