George R.R. Martin cancels trip to Comic-Con (UPDATE: He showed up!)

George R.R. Martin said he couldn’t come to SDCC because of concern over rising coronavirus cases, but he showed up anyway!

A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin was scheduled to appear on the House of the Dragon panel tomorrow at San Diego Comic-Con. It would have been his first appearance since the COVID-19 pandemic started to spread in early 2020. Now, his minions have announced on his blog that the author will not be attending.

Predictably, the reason is “high levels of the new variant of Covid.” That would be the Omicron subvariant known as BA.5, which now makes up three-quarters of new cases in the United States and may be the most transmissible variant yet. According to The New York Times, it’s driving an increase in positive tests, hospitalizations and intensive care admissions across the country.

When Martin wrote about heading to SDCC last week, he sounded way of COVID. “I have managed to avoid getting covid so far, knock wood… but if this Comicon is like the last one I went to, I am going to be in one big room with 150,000 other people, some of whom may not have been as careful as we have. That could be a challenge. Yes, I am fully vaccinated and double boosted, but that’s true of a number of friends of mine, who have still contracted omicron despite that.”

"I do not want covid, not even a mild case, so please be advised, I will be doing all I can to prevent that. I will be masked almost all the time. I will not be shaking hands, sorry. Or even bumping fists. You can take my picture when I am signing your book, but stay on your side of the table, please. No selfies. No hugs. In past years, I was always glad to do all that, to make myself available to my readers, but these are not normal times. Once covid goes away for good — if it ever does — perhaps I will be able to do all that again. But not now. I cannot get sick. I have too much work to do."

Martin’s fears are sensible at any age, but given that he’s 73 years old, COVID is an especially big worry for him given that it effects the elderly more acutely than others. It sucks he won’t be able to talk about House of the Dragon alongside the cast and crew, but I get it.

The House of the Dragon panel will take place tomorrow in Hall H at 11:30 a.m. PST. Even though Martin won’t be there in person, you can still ask for signed copies of Fire & Blood at the Penguin Random House booth or at the Mysterious Galaxy booth. Have fun and con responsibly.

UPDATE: It ends up that Martin showed up after all! His message about cancelling his appearance is still there, but he’s at the con. Maybe something changed, or maybe it was all a ruse. In any case, George R.R. Martin has landed.

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