At their second annual conference the Historical Writers of America will award their PastWords Award to seven artists whose “work illuminates the past”. The award was setup “to recognize creators who have produced an outstanding body of work.”
Among the winners of the 2017 awards is none other than A Song of Ice and Fire, and therefore TV sensation Game of Thrones, creator George RR Martin.
Not widely recognised as historical work, A Song of Ice and Fire is known to be strongly influenced by the historical events known as the War of the Roses, as well as medieval England in general.
Still, this comes as a surprise inclusion in the awards!
HWA Executive Director Theresa Guzman Stokes had these words to say about Martin’s work:
“Martin creates a world rich and complex; good and bad are carefully drawn sides, until you turn the page – then all bets are off. His work has elements of history, fantasy, political intrigue…with a dash of paranormal thrown in for fun.”
We can’t disagree with that!
Whether or not you agree that Martin’s body of work can really be considered historical, it is yet another award that marks his extraordinary impact on culture as a whole, outside the limited sphere of us genre fans. And therefore, is well deserved.
The other winners of the 2017 PastWords Awards come from a variety of professions and the full list is:
- Larry McMurtry – Novelist
- James McMurtry – Songwriter
- George R.R. Martin – Fantasy Novelist
- Hampton Sides – Nonfiction Author
- John Lewis – U.S. Congressman
- Andrew Aydin (writer) and Nate Powell (illustrator), the creative team behind the three-volume graphic novel, March.
Congratulations to all the winners!
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