Premier fantasy writer finds kindred spirits, ‘family’ at Worldcon

This isn’t George R.R. Martin’s first visit to Spokane. In a suite near the top of the new Davenport Grand Hotel, marveling at the giant Radio Flyer wagon sculpture on the ground below, the author reaches far back into his memory. It’s all sort of hazy, but he’ll try to remember anyway.

He was here sometime in the late ’80s, he said, as a guest at a small fantasy convention. He recalls his host, who was a local firefighter, taking him beyond the city limits and out onto a beautiful scenic overlook. Later that day, he had a burger and fries at Dick’s. And that’s the extent of his recollection.

Martin, 66, is back in the Inland Northwest for the World Science Fiction Convention, known colloquially as Worldcon, which is at the Spokane Convention Center this year. In keeping with the annual tradition of bestowing a unique nickname upon the event, this year’s con is referred to as Sasquan, a sobriquet that tips its hat to a certain mythic beast of the region.

“I’ve been coming to this World Science Fiction Convention since 1971, and there were years when my schedule was very busy,” Martin said. “I’d have three to four panels every day. Breakfast meetings, lunch meetings, dinner meetings. … My conventions are a little more restful than they used to be. I’m not so concerned with promoting myself.”

That’s because Martin doesn’t need to promote himself: He’s one of the pre-eminent fantasy writers in the world. He’s been a dominant figure in fantasy circles since he began writing in the ’70s, but his acclaimed book series “A Song of Ice and Fire,” which served as basis for the massively popular HBO show “Game of Thrones,” made him a household name.

“There are several hundred authors here, anywhere from old pros like me to kids who have just sold their first story,” Martin said. “But fortunately, this field has been good to me … and I can just do the things that are actually fun.”

A lot has changed since Martin’s first Worldcon in ’71. Sci-fi and fantasy are no longer fringe genres with small, rabid followings. Worldcon has begun drawing crowds of thousands, with last year’s convention in London bringing out a record-breaking 10,000 attendees. And Martin himself, with his avuncular personality and distinctive dress, has become a pop culture icon, which has resulted in long waits between books.

“As you get more and more successful, stuff gets bigger and bigger and bigger,” Martin said. “That’s the impact that the success has had on my writing. There are days I’d just like to concentrate and write, but there are 17 urgent things that I need to take care of today. … People who are not writers have this idea of writers sitting in ivory towers making up stories and writing.”

So, if you’re wondering when “The Winds of Winter,” book six of the “Ice and Fire” series, is going to come out – don’t even bother prying.

“I get asked that a fair amount,” Martin said. “But the people who know me know better than to ask me that because I gave up on answering that years ago.”

While Martin’s Worldcon schedule consists mostly of after-hours parties and book signings, he will be participating in a couple of panel discussions, and he’ll be reading a chapter from that much-anticipated sixth “Game of Thrones” novel.

But it’s the camaraderie of the event itself that keeps Martin following Worldcon wherever it leads him, and he said he’s still rubbing elbows with some of the same folks he befriended 30 or 40 years ago.

“It’s a family, in a sense,” Martin said. “It’s a community of writers and fans. There are some writers who don’t respond to it, who come to one and never come back, but most of us love it. We see our colleagues here, we meet our readers. We meet new readers every year. It’s like an annual family reunion.”