Tag Archives: George R.R. Martin

Voyager Australia, Voyager UK |

George R.R. Martin on Jack Vance

HarperVoyager UK and ANZ author George R.R. Martin posted a moving tribute to Jack Vance on his Not a Blog last week.

[Vance] had a huge influence on me and my work, and for the past fifty-some years has ranked among my very favorite writers. Every time a new Jack Vance book came out, I would drop whatever else I was doing and read it. Sometimes I did not mean to, but once you cracked the covers of a Vance book, you were lost.

It pleases me no end that Gardner Dozois and I were able to do our tribute anthology, SONGS OF THE DYING EARTH, when Jack was still alive, so he could hear how many of today’s fantasists he had inspired.

…

Jack Vance left the world a richer place than he found it. No more can be asked of any writer.

- George R. R. Martin

The anthology edited by Gardner Dozois and Martin, SONGS OF THE DYING EARTH, features stories  inspired by Vance’s world by authors such as George R.R. Martin, Neil Gaiman, Elizabeth Hand, Tanith Lee, Michael Moorcock, and Tad Williams, among many others.

*

Voyager Australia |

Raymond E. Feist and George R.R. Martin coming to Supanova Australia this year!

Well, it’s official folks! 2013 is shaping up to be Voyager Australia’s biggest event year EVER. Not only is Raymond E. Feist’s generation-spanning saga of Pug the Magician coming full cycle this year, but he will be touring Australia in June, including 2 big Supanovas in Sydney and Perth! But wait, there’s more! Everyone’s favourite Greek fisherman’s cap wearing author of A Song of Ice and Fire, and probably the biggest fantasy author in the world right now, George R.R. Martin will be coming to Supanova in November as well!

Here’s Supanova’s official statement yesterday: “And in another coup for fans of literature, our triple play of authors is complete with our June star just outing himself today as well. We have Tad Williams in April, George R.R. Martin in November, and now it gives us the pleasure of allowing him to out himself, the imperious chronicler of one of the world’s favourite fantasy-lands, The Magician’s, Raymond E. Feist! In an additional supa-bonus, not only can Supanova fans catch him at our expos in Sydney and Perth, but fans in Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne will also have their chance to see him (details to be confirmed). Its going to be epic!”

AND Raymond E Feist’s post on his Facebook page:

“See more Early tour info: OK, this is what I know this weekend.  I’ll be passing along more info when I get it. Don’t ask if I am coming to your city because I don’t know.  Don’t ask if there’s a chance, because I don’t know. In March, I will be in Brussels Belgium at the Fantasy Festival called Trolls et Légendes on the 29th through the 31st.  I will be in Paris on the 1st of April, but I do not know …if we’re doing public appearances of media only. In the US I will be at Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego on the 17th of May.  Other US cities will be Houston, TX: Murder by the Book on the 21st, and University Bookstore at UW in Seattle on the 23rd.  We may be adding two more cities.  Information as followed.  I will also be attending the San Diego Comic in July, specific day and time TBA. I will be in the UK/Ireland (?) beginning May 4th and leaving May 12th.  Cities, venues, and times to be announced.  London, obviously, Manchester and Birmingham (likely) others could be anywhere. Lastly, I will be doing two Supernova Expos in Australia, Sydney and Perth, as well as other cities in Australia and New Zealand.   I’ll be in New Zealand on the 19th and 20th of June.  I’ll be at Sydney Supernova on the 22nd and 23rd, then to Brisbane on the 24th, Melbourne on the 25 or 26th, Adelaide on the 28 (TBC), then on to Perth for Supernova on the 29 and 30th. That’s what I have so far. When I get more information I’ll post it.”

Did we say we were excited??

Voyager UK |

Voyager UK hosts a party at the Tower of London

It’s certainly been a week to remember for HarperVoyager UK. Having the great George R.R. Martin in town means that we have been able to toast his great success and to celebrate all the other fantastic authors and team members that have made Voyager the UK’s number one science fiction and fantasy publisher.

From L-R: Jon Courtney Grimwood, Sam Baker, Abdel Bakrim, George R.R. Martin, and two guests from HBO

Last night was literally the ‘crowning’ event, a party celebrating Voyager held at the infamous White Tower at the Tower of London, with George as the guest of honour. Invitees were treated to a private tour of the crown jewels (we really could have done with the royal punch bowl to fill with 100 bottles of wine) and the armoury, before heading up to the second floor of the White Tower to mingle with our guest of honour and his lovely wife Parris; fellow Voyager authors Stacia Kane, James Smythe and Stephen Hunt; and Game of Thrones cast members John Bradley West and Gethin Anthony.

George R.R. Martin with the two Waterstones competition winners

Voyager publishing director Jane Johnson and deputy publishing director Emma Coode gave a joint speech, with a well-deserved thank you to Laura Mell, publicity maven extraordinaire who organized the event as well as the rest of George’s packed schedule.

Then the rest of the evening was dedicated to champagne, canapés and ogling Henry VIII’s codpiece (who did he think he was kidding?). George, Parris and all the Voyager authors were then whisked away to witness the Ceremony of the Keys – the traditional locking up of the Tower of London, an event that has happened every night, without fail, for 700 years.

And may all our Voyager books last that long!

The tower at night - no tourists to be seen... spooky

Voyager UK |

EasterCon – Eat, Drink and talk SFF!

This weekend was Eastercon – and the Voyager team was there in full force! It was one of the biggest Eastercons to date, with over 1400 people in attendance! Two of our authors were there as Guests of Honour: George R.R. Martin and Cory Doctorow.

For those who have never attended a convention or are curious about them, Eastercon is a great place to start. As was well documented in this Guardian article [http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/apr/09/eastercon-sf-fantasy-convention?INTCMP=SRCH], Eastercon feels like one of the most inclusive genre events – and it is one of the biggest too, as the UK’s annual national SF convention.

This year, there was a noticeable shift of focus onto fantasy fiction as the UK’s biggest selling author of second half of 2011 (that’s the entirety of the UK book market, not just genre!), George R.R. Martin, took to the stage. He thrilled audiences by reading the first two chapters of The Winds of Winter (currently the viewpoint characters Victarion and Tyrion, but that is certainly subject to change) and answering some questions from the audience. He was also on several panels, including ‘How Pseudo do you like your Medieval?’ and ‘Nature of Heroism’. Even a few of the cast members from Game of Thrones turned up at Eastercon to enjoy the festivities, including Gethin Anthony (Renly Baratheon), John Bradley West (Samwell Tarly), and  Miltos Yerolemou (Syrio Forel).

Our very own Cory Doctorow was also on hand as a guest of honour – he had a fabulous interview with his US editor Patrick Nielsen-Hayden and continued to blow everyone’s minds on panels like ‘Death of the Internet’, ‘Dystopian YA’ and ‘The Future of Ebooks’. Other Voyager authors in attendance included Stephen Hunt and Janet Edwards – great to have such a stronger Voyager contingent out in force!

The best thing about Eastercon is the chance to meet and chat in person with all the authors that you admire. You could probably miss out all of the panels and just sit at the bar, and still have a fabulous time (OK, we admit it; there was quite a lot of bar sitting time for the Voyager team too!)

If you were sad to miss out, a few of the panels and interviews were recorded online.  Check the videos out here: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/2012—olympus

Voyager UK |

You Win or You Die!

 If, like the rest of us here at Voyager, you are counting down the days till the second Season of Game of Thrones airs in April, we have some links that might keep your occupied. HBO have released a tantalising trailer called ‘You Win or you Die’:

Game of Thrones Season 2 Trailer

If you haven’t seen the chilling teaser narrated by Stannis (perfectly cast as the gravelly Stephen Dillane), then look no further! He isn’t too happy that Cersei and Joffrey have usurped his rightful throne.

Stannis Teaser

And if that’s not enough to keep you going, you can get a glimpse of a few more scenes including King’s Landing and the Iron Islands, and some fascinating production insight, in these videos:

Behind the scenes: Croatia

Behind the scenes: Belfast

Finally, you can find a detailed on set diary, updated regularly, with some pretty hilarious posts and videos on costume design and fight choreography:

http://www.makinggameofthrones.com/

Our personal favourite, from a post called One Extra to Another:

One extra to another: “I will sword you.”

In the tea tent: “Forget the Baratheons! We must guard the cake. We ARE the chocolate cake guard.”

During a fight: AD: “Can you move to your left?” Soldier: “I can’t. I haven’t got my glasses on.”

 

April can’t come soon enough!