You may think of yourself as a serious fan of A Game of Thrones, but are you enough of a fan to drop $2,200 on a limited-run collected version?
Each of the five existing books in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire has received a special reprinted edition courtesy of the London-based publisher The Folio Society, which feature exclusive illustrations by the English artist Jonathan Burton.
Notably, Burton produced his illustrations for A Game of Thrones without ever having watched the HBO series. While only a few of his pieces are available outside of actually reading one of the Folio Society’s books, they still represent an interesting alternative view of Martin’s characters and story. If you can’t imagine Jon Snow as anyone besides Kit Harington anymore, check out Burton’s illustrations.
On July 14, the 30th anniversary of the publication of A Game of Thrones, the Folio Society announced it had produced a new 872-page single-volume collection of the series, The Illustrated A Game of Thrones. This print run is limited to 1,000 copies, with no plans to ever make any more.
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The Illustrated A Game of Thrones (2026) Source: The Folio Society -
The Illustrated A Game of Thrones (2026) Source: The Folio Society
Each book is hand-bound in leather (the Society keeps saying it’s real dragon leather, which can’t be true, right?), printed on bespoke paper, edged in real gold, signed by Martin, and features a new introduction by British fantasy author Joe Abercrombie. In addition, each copy comes in a special clamshell box with a hidden compartment that contains a map of Westeros printed on linen.
“This volume is so stunning it could have been taken directly from the Citadel library itself,” the Folio Society’s James Rose wrote in a press release. “We have been incredibly fortunate to work with the finest British craftspeople on this special 30th anniversary version: from the leather makers who created our incredible dragonskin leather, to the James Cropper paper mill who made our bespoke endpapers, to Ludlow Bookbinders who are binding each volume with care.”
Despite the £1,500 (US$2,200) price tag and, well, the lack of an ending, over 900 copies of the Illustrated A Game of Thrones sold within the first 3 hours it was available. It was sold exclusively through the Folio Society’s website. If you’re in the market for a copy after today, you’ll need to keep an eye on auction sites, or else arrange for some kind of heist.
The Folio Society was founded in 1947 and became employee-owned in 2021. Most of its catalog consists of special illustrated hardcover editions of both modern and classic pieces of literature, which range from children’s stories to poetry collections to recent novels. Some of its other releases include Andy Weir’s The Martian, with illustrations by Dániel Taylor; a special collection of foundational Batman stories, including comics by Alan Moore and Frank Miller; and Cormac McCarthy’s disturbing Western Blood Meridian, with new illustrations by Gérard DuBois.
Oddly, the Folio Society collection appears to be the only planned celebration of A Game of Thrones‘ 30th anniversary. We also recently passed the point at which the wait for the sixth book, The Winds of Winter, has lasted longer than it took Martin to publish the first five books in the series.
In other UK-based Game of Thrones news, Martin recently announced via his official blog that a play based on A Game of Thrones, the prequel The Mad King, will be presented by the Royal Shakespeare Company beginning on August 8. Previews are planned to start on July 20. The Mad King is set 10 years before A Game of Thrones, featuring Michael Shaeffer (Star Wars: Rogue One, Black Mirror) as the titular ruler, Aerys II Targaryen.
