George R.R. Martin, the critically acclaimed fantasy writer whose series of novels inspired the hit television drama “Game of Thrones,” will visit UC San Diego on May 2nd to discuss his life and work at a public panel hosted by science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson, UC San Diego announced in a Facebook post today.

Scheduled to take place in Price Center Theater at 7 p.m., tickets for the discussion will become available for purchase online or at the Price Center Theater box office this Friday, April 7, at 10 a.m. Tickets can also be purchased by phone at 858-534-TIXS. Admission for students is free with student ID. General admission is $40, and $20 for faculty and staff.

Ethnic Studies professor and director of the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer’s Workshop at UC San Diego Shelley Streeby, expressed excitement regarding Martin’s return to UC San Diego.

“We’re excited to welcome George back to UC San Diego where he last taught at Clarion in 2010,” said Streeby. “Not only is Martin one of the great science fiction and fantasy writers of our times but he is also adept at teaching the craft of fiction. Martin represents the very best of the science fiction and fantasy writing Clarion aims to produce and foster.”

Marshall College senior and Literature/Writing major Matthew Jennings told The Triton that visits from established literary figures are an honor for the literature community on campus.

“The literary community here is small, but full of passion, so it’s always a great honor when these figures visit us,” he said. “It reminds us that there are people out there who love and appreciate literature as much as we do.”

The discussion is sponsored by the Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination, which “integrates the arts, sciences, humanities, engineering and medicine to work on a new theoretical framework for exploring the basis of imagination,” according to their website.

All proceeds from the discussion will go toward supporting the Clarion workshop.

Matthew Zamudio is a staff writer at The Triton.