Anyone who has read A Song of Ice and Fire (or seen the HBO TV show Game of Thrones) knows that author George R.R. Martin has a thing for wolves. So it was no surprise when Martin started a Prizeo-powered crowdfunding campaign for a wolf sanctuary: Fans who donated $200,000 or more were eligible to get characters named after them in his next book. Martin promised that two supporters would get a bloody death in one of the chapters. The campaign has raised over $450,000, and two people have already bought the “martyr” roles.
But that didn’t stop one teenage fan from writing Martin about his dream of working in wolf conservation and asking to be considered as a character. Here’s 13-year-old Jack’s letter (courtsey of Prizeo):
Jack, who hails from the United Kingdom, included £153 ($260) as a donation to the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary in his letter. Though the spots had already been filled, Martin was touched by Jack’s letter and offered to make a donation to the U.K. Wolf Conservation Trust on his behalf:
Dear Jack,
Thank you so much for your heartfelt, touching note.
I’ve heard that you donated all your £153 pocket money savings to my Prizeo fundraiser on behalf of the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary. I cannot tell you how much that moved me. It pleases me no end to know that my novels, and the TV series based on them, have inspired readers as young as yourself to rally to the support of these majestic and too often stigmatized animal.
Alas, I cannot promise you a grisly death in THE WIND OF WINTER. Those spots have already been filled by some very generous donors, and there’s a limit to how many people even I can kill.
However, inspired by your example, my friends at Prizeo and I would love to follow your lead with a $10,000 in your name to the UK Wolf Conservation Trust. That’s a wonderful organization that I’ve heard much about, and they are lucky to count people like you as supporters.
I wish you the best of luck in your future career as a wolf conservationist, and hope that you inspire many others to follow your lead
Yours,
GRRM
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Inside Elon Musk’s War on Washington
- Meet the 2025 Women of the Year
- The Harsh Truth About Disability Inclusion
- Why Do More Young Adults Have Cancer?
- Colman Domingo Leads With Radical Love
- How to Get Better at Doing Things Alone
- Cecily Strong on Goober the Clown
- Column: The Rise of America’s Broligarchy
Write to Eliana Dockterman at eliana.dockterman@time.com