Chancellor John Sharp Invites Game of Thrones Fans to Visit Unique George R.R. Martin Collection at Texas A&M


It’s one of the largest looming questions for Game of Thrones fans: Who will ultimately claim the Iron Throne?

Texas A&M University may have the answer.

Texas A&M University System Chancellor Sharp has had the opportunity to examine much of an exclusive collection of original Game of Thrones-related material housed at the Cushing Library at Texas A&M. Now, Chancellor Sharp wants to make sure fellow fans of the fantasy books and the HBO television series have the chance to do the same.

On Monday, Chancellor Sharp encouraged students, faculty and members of the general public to peruse Texas A&M’s collection of notes, manuscripts and other documents by Game of Thrones creator and author George R.R. Martin.

“The papers and hand-written notes by George R.R. Martin possibly could contain clues about upcoming storylines, and anyone is welcome to search for themselves,” Chancellor Sharp said. “Whether you’re developing fan theories or just want to take the opportunity to see Martin’s fantasy writing in its rawest form, A&M’s library staff is happy to show off a true treasure of modern literature.”

Martin’s relationship with Texas A&M began in the 1970s when he first visited AggieCon, an annual student-run science fiction and fantasy convention. Martin ended up demonstrating his appreciation of the university in 1993 – three years before Game of Thrones was published – when he chose Cushing Library’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Research Collection to deposit his personal collection of letters, books and manuscripts.

At the time, Martin told Texas A&M Today: “When I was drowning in papers here, I thought of putting it all on deposit in a library somewhere. I remembered Texas A&M and the great facilities you have there.”

Martin’s generosity goes beyond Game of Thrones-related papers and memorabilia. Martin has also donated a special edition of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit that includes original sketches by Tolkien.

Chancellor Sharp recently spoke with Jeremy Brett, curator of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Research Collection at Texas A&M, about Martin, the university’s collection and the hope of bringing one the iconic Iron Thrones used in the HBO series to Texas A&M someday.

“It is an interesting, one-of-a-kind resource,” Brett told the chancellor.

To see a video of a chancellor and Brett, please visit http://chancellor.tamus.edu/videos/.

About The Texas A&M University SystemThe Texas A&M University System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the nation, with a budget of $4.2 billion. Through a statewide network of 11 universities and seven state agencies, the Texas A&M System educates more than 148,000 students and makes more than 22 million additional educational contacts through service and outreach programs each year. System-wide, research and development expenditures exceeded $972 million in FY 2016 and helped drive the state’s economy.

Contact: Laylan Copelin
Vice Chancellor of Marketing and Communications
(979) 458-6425
(512) 289-2782 cell
lcopelin@tamus.edu