The 2001 Hugo Awards saw some thrilling competition in the Best Novel category, as George R.R. Martin’s A Storm of Swords and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire went head-to-head. Thereafter, when the announcement came, although Martin’s work was critically hailed, Rowling was crowned as the winner.
However, as J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire surpassed George R.R. Martin’s nomination for A Storm of Swords, the atmosphere began crackling with tension. Rowling’s triumph thus set the stage for a memorable reaction from Martin, who in a rare display of raw emotion expressed his disappointment and true feelings.
George R.R. Martin’s Candid Response to Losing the Hugo Award to J.K. Rowling
Marking a pivotal moment in literary history, the 2001 Hugo Awards ceremony pitted George R.R. Martin’s A Storm of Swords against J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Recognizing each author’s exceptional talents and celebrating the fantasy genre legends, the ceremony eventually crowned Rowling for her contributions with her Harry Potter novels.
Surprisingly, J.K. Rowling‘s win sparked tension as it became a sore subject for George R.R. Martin. So much so that Martin later expressed his vexation and even harbored a distaste for the Harry Potter novels. Interestingly, according to his website, Martin refused to list his 2001 Hugo nomination for Best Novel, despite listing his 2006 and 2012 nominations.
Perhaps, George R.R. Martin’s loss to J.K. Rowling turned out to be more upsetting for him than his loss to the following authors. At least that’s what it seemed like after his comments on his loss appeared on BwB (via Business Insider), and later went viral on Reddit. Shared by gorgagon, the author’s remark then spurred a fierce debate online, which reminded fans of how Martin often poked fun at Harry Potter in his later works.
According to Business Insider, the American author’s A Feast for Crows featured exacts where the author had dragged the disappointment of his loss by poking fun at Harry Potter. Therein, Martin wrote about female knight Brienne of Tarth defeating two male knights, Harry Sawyer and Robin Potter, giving the latter a nasty scar (much like Harry’s distinct forehead scar).
Despite His Grudge, George R.R. Martin Paid His Respect to J.K. Rowling
However, in the end, despite publicly expressing his anguish over his loss against J.K. Rowling, George R.R. Martin also made it clear that he respects and values the British writer’s work and her contribution to the fantasy genre. After dissing Rowling’s works for years and even dropping sarcastic remarks about Barack Obama being a Harry Potter fan, in his LiveJournal, Martin told Adria’s News about his appreciation for Rowling.
I wish I have beaten her, what can I say! I would have liked to win that award and I don’t think Rowling cares much about it. And she didn’t send anyone to accept the award, which is certainly annoying.
But she has done a great stuff for fantasy and many of my readers are people who started with Harry Potter; they’ve grown up and she got them to reading, she got them to fantasy. J.K. Rowling has grown up an entirely generation of children into the field and for that I applaud her.
Eventually, both George R.R. Martin and J.K. Rowling witnessed remarkable success, as their novels got adapted into series and films, respectively. Thereafter, garnering widespread acclaim, the British writer sold 450M copies of Harry Potter in 2011, followed by Martin’s sale of 24M copies of A Song of Ice and Fire in 2013.
