By Anne Cohen June 11, 2014

How do you say Goldblatt in Dothraki?

When author George R.R. Martin, creator of the “Game of Thrones” series which led to the hit HBO show by the same name, announced that he would introduce a new character in one of his books thanks to a $20,000 charity auction prize, the Internet went wild.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Now, we know who the lucky winner is. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Dave Goldblatt. He’s a 30-year-old Jewish Facebook employee, and he’ll almost definitely die a truly gruesome and horrifying death.

“I’m just lucky enough to be in a position to do this,” Goldblatt said of the $20,000 prize. “Obviously, the money is going to charity, so it’s an added bonus. I didn’t immediately seek to help wolf sanctuaries, but the more I read about the charities, I learned it was a worthwhile cause.”

Martin’s project is raising money for Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary and the Food Depot of Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he lives with his wife, Parris. There were only two top-level “martyr” prizes available — one male, one female. The other winner has yet to be announced. The two winners will choose their “character’s station in the world (lordling, knight, peasant, whore, lady, maester, septon, anything) and you will certainly meet a grisly death!” the Prizeo website states.

Goldblatt will be a “Valyrian,” known for their almost-indestructible steel and crafstmanship. “You read some piece of fiction and for whatever reason you think one particular character or race is cool – and for whatever reason, I thought the Valyrians were cool,” Goldblatt said. “I’m hoping in future books we get to see more of them.”

Now, for the real question: What will his Westeros name be?

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount