October 15th has been declared as George R.R. Martin Day by his hometown

The impact of George R.R. Martin on modern literature can’t be understated. The literary giant has been crafting stories from a very young age, but his A Song of Ice and Fire novel series redefined the fantasy genre. Hence, it should come as no surprise when the novelist’s hometown decided to honor him, by marking a day of the year as the GRRM day.

Quick details:

• George R.R. Martin was born in Bayonne on September 20, 1948.
• Martin settled in Santa Fe in 1979.
• 15 October is to be officially observed as GRRM Day in Bayonne.

October 15 is now George R.R. Martin day

George R.R. Martin was born in Bayonne, New Jersey, in 1948. Then he went off to college at Northwestern in 1966 and made occasional visits to his hometown as he had family there. The Bayonne Public Library was a special place to him, and he still remembers it. The library recently honored the veteran author by naming a room and assigning a day in his name. He wrote on his blog, Not A Blog:

“I remember the library. I always will.

And it would seem that the library remembers me. They have just completed some renovations, and did me the honor of naming one of the new rooms after me: the George R.R. Martin Room for Popular Fiction. To mark the occasion, they declared October 15 to be George R.R. Martin Day.”

Check out the whole ceremony right here:

George R.R. Martin recalls his humble beginnings at Bayonne

Martin went on a nostalgia trip to his younger days in Bayonne, and his eventual move to Northwestern where he developed his love for reading, before finally settling in Santa Fe where he lives to this day. The author wrote:

“For me, home was Bayonne, New Jersey, just south of Jersey City, on a peninsula sandwiched between New York and Newark. I was born in Bayonne in 1948, and spent my childhood there, most of it in the federal housing projects on First Street, with the lights of Staten Island across the waters of the Kill Von Kull. Bayonne was my world until 1966, when I went off to college at Northwestern, the first time I ever went beyond the borders of Jersey and NYC (except in books and comics, of course, where I could oft be found wandering Middle Earth, on Barsoom, Trantor, or Venusport, or slinking down the mean streets of Gotham City).

After college, I remained in Chicago for two years of alternative service with VISTA, and a couple of additional years directing chess tournaments throughout the midwest. My years in Dubuque, Iowa came after that, until I finally settled down in the Land of Enchantment (Santa Fe) come 1979. I spent time in Hollywood as well.”

Read Next: ‘How could I be 13 years late?’: George R.R. Martin doesn’t know when he’ll finish The Winds of Winter

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01/02/2025 06:27 am GMT