Women of Ice and Fire ─ Gender, Game of Thrones, and Multiple Media Engagements

George R.R. Martin's acclaimed seven-book fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fireis unique for its strong and multi-faceted female protagonists, from teen queen Daenerys, scheming Queen Cersei, child avenger Arya, knight Brienne, Red Witch Melisandre, and many more. TheGame of Thrones universe challenges, exploits, yet also changes how we think of women and gender, not only in fantasy, but in Western culture in general.

Divided into three sections addressing questions of adaptation from novel to television, female characters, and politics and female audience engagement within the GoT universe, the interdisciplinary and international lineup of contributors analyze gender in relation to female characters and topics such as genre, sex, violence, adaptation, and fan fictions and fan reviews. The genre of fantasy was once considered a primarily male territory with male heroes.Women of Ice and Fire shows how the GoT universe challenges, exploits, and reimagines gender and why it holds strong appeal to female readers, audiences, and online participants.

Anne Gjelsvik is Professor in Film Studies in the Department of Art and Media Studies at Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, Norway. Her research includes popular cinema, film violence and representation of gender in the media. Among her recent publications are Eastwood's Iwo Jima: A Critical Engagement with Flags of Our Fathers & Letters from Iwo Jima(2013) and Adaptation Studies: New Challenges, New Directions (2013).

Rikke Schubart is Associate Professor in Media Studies at the Institute for the Study of Culture, University of Southern Denmark in Odense, Denmark. Her research focuses on gender, genre, and emotions in cinema and media. Schubart's publications includeMastering Fear: Women, Emotions, and Contemporary Horror (forthcoming), Eastwood's Iwo Jima (2013), and Super Bitches and Action Babes: The Female Hero in Popular Cinema, 1970-2006(2007).