George R.R. Martin was born in 1948 in Bayonne, New Jersey. From an early age he was interested in science fiction, fantasy and comic books, and as a child began writing stories. In 1970 Martin graduated from Northwestern University with a B.S. in journalism, and received an M.S. in journalism in 1971. Martin objected to the Vietnam War, and rather then beng drafted applied for and received conscientious-objector status. For his alternative service, he worked for two years (1972–1974) as a  VISTA volunteer, attached to the Cook County Legal Assistance Foundation. From 1976 -1978 he was an English and journalism instructor at Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa, where he also served as Writer-in-Residence from 1978-1979. In 1979 he moved to Santa Fe, where he has resided ever since.

Martin has won multiple Hugos, Nebulas, and other awards for his fiction. Martin's novels include Dying of the Light(1977), Windhaven(with Lisa Tuttle, 1981), the vampire novel Fevre Dream(1982), and The Armaggedon Rag(1983). He has authored a number of acclaimed short story collections, including A Song for Lya and Other Stories(1976), Sandkings(1981), and Tuf Voyaging(1986), among others. In addition, Martin has also edited a number of anthologies.

Martin is the chief creator, a primary contributor, and the main editor for the ongoing "mosaic universe" _Wild Cards_series of novels. The series, which began in 1987 and is still running, is written by Martin and a number of collaborators who write individual stories and novels all set within the same universe. The _Wild Cards_stories are set on an Earth where an alien virus released in 1946 caused a number of humans to be infected, turning some into "aces" (those with superpowers) and others into "jokers" (those with horrible deformities or crippling physical conditions). The series tells individual stories of aces' comic book-like adventures while also describing the social and political conditions of a planet affected by the presence of superheroes and villains.

In addition, he has written and produced for television, including the critically acclaimed Beauty and the Beast(1987-1990). as well as episodes of The Twilight Zone(1985-1989). He created and wrote a pilot __for a science fiction series in 1993, Doorways, which was not picked up.

His most notable and popular works are the books in the fantasy novel cycle A Song of Ice and Fire(1996 - ongoing), which include A Game of Thrones (1996), A Clash of Kings(1999), A Storm of Swords(2000), A Feast for Crows(2005), and A Dance with Dragons(2011). Included as part of this cycle are several short stories and novellas (the "Dunk and  Egg"  stories) that take place in the centuries before the novels.

_A Song of Ice and Fire_is one of the most popular series in the history of American fantasy. Inspired in part by the real-life English Wars of the Roses, the series details the military struggles, political machinations, and personal sufferings resulting from a prolonged civil war and bloody battle for kingship that roil the fictional continent of Westeros. The series has been translated into dozens of languages and has been made into a successful, critically acclaimed television series for HBO, Game of Thrones.