Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

George RR Martin responds to 13-year-old fan's 'heartfelt' letter asking for a grisly death in Game of Thrones

Author said he was 'moved' by Jack's letter

Christopher Hooton
Friday 25 July 2014 04:24 EDT
Comments
George R.R. Martin speaks at the Wild Spirit wolf sanctuary
George R.R. Martin speaks at the Wild Spirit wolf sanctuary (YouTube/Prizeo)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

You may remember last month that George R. R. Martin held an online fundraiser on behalf of a wolf sanctuary in which a donation of $20,000 got you a grisly death in his next A Song of Ice and Fire novel, Winds of Winter.

13-year-old fan Jack didn't have $20,000, but he did have a handful of pocket money and a huge amount of passion for wolves.

He decided to write to the author, with Mashable obtaining a copy of his letter this week:

(Large version here)

Jack's letter to GRRM (Picture: Mashable)
Jack's letter to GRRM (Picture: Mashable)

Martin responded, saying how moved he was by Jack's donation, and while he couldn't offer him a suitably bloody death, wolves profited hugely out of the exchange. Yay wolves!

From GRRM:

Dear Jack,

Thank you so much for your heartfelt, touching note.

I’ve heard that you donated all your £153 pocket money savings to my Prizeo fundraiser on behalf of the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary. I cannot tell you how much that moved me. It pleases me no end to know that my novels, and the TV series based on them, have inspired readers as young as yourself to rally to the support of these majestic and too often stigmatized animals

Alas, I cannot promise you a grisly death in THE WIND OF WINTER. Those spots have already been filled by some very generous donors, and there’s a limit to how many people even I can kill.

However, inspired by your example, my friends at Prizeo and I would love to follow your lead with a $10,000 in your name to the UK Wolf Conservation Trust. That’s a wonderful organization that I’ve heard much about, and they are lucky to count people like you as supporters.

I wish you the best of luck in your future career as a wolf conservationist, and hope that you inspire many others to follow your lead.

Yours,

GRRM

It's a little disappointing that Martin couldn't throw in an extra death, the series already has hundreds after all, but I hope his reponse heartens the boy in his mission of wolf conservation.

Martin is currently working on the next book in the series, recently giving a big "f*ck you!" to anyone suggesting he'll die before finishing A Song of Ice and Fire.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in