2026 is an important year for fans of George R.R. Martin's epic fantasy saga A Song of Ice and Fire, because it marks the 30th anniversary of the publication of the first book in the series, A Game of Thrones. And premiere independent book publisher The Folio Society is ringing in the occasion in style with a brand new, ultimate limited illustrated edition of A Game of Thrones, which is now available!
Just as it's an understatement to say that Martin's fantasy series reshaped the genre across both books and television these past three decades, it's an understatement to say that The Folio Society's new edition is just another special edition re-release. This is the definitive edition of A Game of Thrones, beautifully crafted to awe even the most diehard fans and book collectors. This hardcover book contains numerous pieces of original artwork by Jonathan Burton, a 'dragon-leather' binding, a rolled map, gilded edges, handmade endpapers and more, along with a stunning clamshell box featuring even more beautiful artwork. Each copy is hand bound by Ludlow Bookbinders and features a signature from George R.R. Martin himself. You don't need to take my word for it that this is one of the most visually arresting editions of A Game of Thrones ever created; feast your eyes:
“This volume is so stunning it could have been taken directly from the Citadel library itself,” said Folio Society Editor James Rose in a press release. “We have been incredibly fortunate to work with the finest British craftspeople on this special 30th anniversary version: from the leather makers who created our incredible dragonskin leather, to the James Cropper paper mill who made our bespoke endpapers, to Ludlow Bookbinders who are binding each volume with care. With a limitation page blocked in real gold, a rolled map and a stunning box — and each copy personally signed by George R. R. Martin himself — this is truly a limited edition worthy of the Iron Throne that absolutely every fan of the series needs in their library.”
Of course, not every fan will be able to get this edition into their library, because only 1,000 of them are being printed as of this writing. That not only makes it arguably one of the most beautiful editions of A Game of Thrones, but also one of the rarest.
It also features another gem that will delight fantasy readers: an introduction by none other than Joe Abercrombie, one of Martin's contemporaries and the man behind The First Law, The Devils, and more. Abercrombie has worked with Martin on a number of projects over the years, but beyond that, A Game of Thrones is a particularly influential book for his own journey as a reader and writer. His own First Law series features characters with similar layers of flaws and complexity, unnervingly dark magic and betrayals, and many of the other hallmarks that made A Game of Thrones so gripping. I've long held that Abercrombie is one of the predominant heirs to the mark Martin left on the genre, so to see him contribute a special introduction to this anniversary edition feels incredibly fitting.
To that end, Abercrombie graciously took time out from his own book tour for The Devils paperback release for an email interview about The Folio Society's new limited edition of A Game of Thrones, his views on the book and its cultural impact, and what makes this edition stand apart from other special editions. Read on for Abercrombie's insights, as well as more jaw-dropping pictures of The Folio Society's limited anniversary edition of A Game of Thrones.
DANIEL ROMAN for Winter Is Coming: What sets this edition of A Game of Thrones apart from other special editions of the book?
JOE ABERCROMBIE: The Folio Society obviously have quite the reputation for sumptuous editions, and their original version of Game of Thrones was already spectacular, with decorated slipcase, gilded boards, many illustrations, not only a full colour map but a separately bound full colour map and, of course, most importantly an introduction by me. This new version dials everything to 11, limited to 1,000 copies with leather binding and a clamshell box, each one signed by GRRM himself...
WiC: How did you become involved with writing the introduction to this Folio Society limited edition of A Game of Thrones?
JA: I've done a few events with George over the years; I interviewed him for Sky TV before the Game of Thrones TV series aired, and then he interviewed me in Albuquerque last year—plus I've contributed to a few anthologies he's edited and A Game of Thrones in particular was a very important one for me. So I was asked, fundamentally...
WiC: Do you have any favorite artwork or features from this edition of A Game of Thrones?
JA: I hear the introduction is pretty special ... but it's just generally the richness of illustration and coherence of design, the house symbols and heraldry from the series suffusing every part of the presentation from covers to chapter headings to end papers to the inside of the slip case, for heaven's sake. It adds a whole layer of immersion to the reading experience.
WiC: How has A Song of Ice and Fire impacted your own work and career?
JA: It was a huge influence, I think it's fair to say, probably the biggest after Lord of the Rings. I read a huge amount of fantasy as a kid but drifted away from it in my teens because I was starting to find the genre a bit heroic and predictable. A Game of Thrones changed all that, and reignited my interest in genre, proving that you could do something shocking, funny, explosive, and character-focused while very much still writing a brilliant epic fantasy. It made me want to try it myself...
WiC: Looking back on A Game of Thrones 30 years after it was first published, what are some of your own personal highlights as a reader from this first A Song of Ice and Fire book?
JA: Reading it was just a lightbulb moment for me. Partly it was the tight focus on the internal lives of vivid and arresting and unnervingly believable characters, a feeling of being pressed uncomfortably close to this very unheroic and human rogue's gallery of characters.
WiC: How different do you think the fantasy landscape would be today if A Game of Thrones was never published?
JA: It's a really tough question to answer — certainly A Game of Thrones, first as a book, and then as a TV show, changed the perception of what epic fantasy could be — still with the magic and mystery, the scale and adventure, but adding surprise, danger, intrigue, crunching action and brilliant characters to the mix. In a way I feel it did something similar for fantasy that books like James Ellroy's LA Quartet had done for thrillers, or Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove had done for westerns — so perhaps it was a move that was inevitable. But for many writers, including me, A Game of Thrones was the catalyst.
WiC: If you had to give this gorgeous Folio Society limited anniversary edition of A Game of Thrones to any character in The First Law world, who do you think would be the most suitable recipient?
JA: Bayaz, the First of the Magi, is a man who appreciates a fine edition. He lives in the Great Northern Library, after all. And he's a useful man to owe you a favour too...
A huge thank you to Joe Abercrombie for swinging by the site to talk A Game of Thrones! Abercrombie's latest book The Devils is out now in paperback, with the sequel, The Heretics, due out in May 2027.
The Folio Society's lush new ultimate 30th anniversary edition of George R.R. Martin's A Game of Thrones is now available at their website. Hurry and check it out, before all 1,000 copies of this extremely limited run are snatched up and it becomes an artifact so rare that it would make even the most seasoned scholars of the Citadel weep with envy to behold.
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