George Raymond Richard Martin (born September 20, 1948) is an American novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, and television producer. He is best known for the author of the epic novel series A Song of Ice and Fire, which has been an international bestseller and was adapted into the HBO drama series Game of Thrones. Martin is a co-producer of the series and writes an episode for every season except for the fifth, when Martin announced he would not write any episodes to complete the sixth book in the series, The Winds of Winter. Time magazine has described George as the American Tolkien. In 2011, the magazine named him one of the most influential people in the world.
In 2005, Lev Grossman of Time magazine described Martin as “the American Tolkien,” and in 2011, he was included in the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world. He is a lifelong resident of Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he helped finance Meow Wolf and owns the Jean-Cocteau Cinema. The city celebrates March 29 as George R.R. Martin Day.