March 24, 2012. Smart Pop—the pop culture imprint of BenBella Books—is pleased to announce the upcoming release of Beyond the Wall: Exploring George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, From A Game of Thrones to A Dance with Dragons, edited by award-winning author and anthologist James Lowder, with a foreword by fantasy fiction legend R.A. Salvatore.

The world created by George R.R. Martin in his high fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire—now the basis for the hit HBO series Game of Thrones—is not only richly drawn, but also immensely popular. By the time the TV series debuted in May 2011, the book series already had more than 6 million copies in print in the US and had sold more than 16 million worldwide. Beyond the Wall explores the book series’ influences, its place in the fantasy pantheon, its challenging narrative choices, and the pull of its stunningly epic scope.

The full list of contributors:

Daniel Abraham

Linda Antonsson

Myke Cole

Elio M. García, Jr.

Brent Hartinger

Andrew Zimmerman Jones

John Jos. Miller

Alyssa Rosenberg

Jesse Scoble

Caroline Spector

Matt Staggs

Susan Vaught

Ned Vizzini

Gary Westfahl

Adam Whitehead

Beyond the Wall will be available in late June in trade paperback and ebook editions from local and online retailers. You can also pre-order directly from BenBella here.