Pulitzer winner Eboni Booth joins Game of Thrones spinoff 10,000 ships as writer

Eboni Booth, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright behind the acclaimed drama Primary Trust, is diving into the world of Westeros in a major way. The multi-talented writer has been tapped to develop a new pilot for 10,000 Ships, the long-gestating Game of Thrones spinoff that chronicles the legendary exodus of Nymeria and the Rhoynar from Essos to Dorne. After years of development limbo—including a previous version led by writer Brian Helgeland—this project is finally getting the creative momentum it needs with Booth at the helm.

Quick read:

• Pulitzer winner Eboni Booth writing 10,000 Ships Game of Thrones spinoff

• Nymeria and the Rhoynar exodus set 1,000 years before Game of Thrones

• George RR Martin praises Booth’s talent and work on the project

From stage to Westeros: Eboni Booth’s surprising pivot

Eboni Booth made headlines in 2024 when she won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play Primary Trust, which starred William Jackson Harper as a bookstore worker navigating life’s complexities. The achievement cemented her status as one of the most exciting voices in contemporary American theater.

But as George R.R. Martin revealed, Booth has been quietly working on bringing 10,000 Ships to life alongside her theatrical commitments. “She’s an amazingly talented young playwright, and a joy to work with; when not writing and producing her prize-winning plays on- and off-Broadway, she has been kept busy by me and HBO, working on a new pilot for 10,000 Ships, a Game of Thrones spinoff about Nymeria and the Rhoynar,” Martin wrote on his blog.

The acclaimed author added, with his characteristic humor, “We’re all very excited about this one… though we’re still trying to figure out how we’re going to pay for ten thousand ships, three hundred dragons, and those giant turtles.”

What makes Nymeria’s story the perfect vehicle for prestige television

10,000 Ships explores one of the most compelling backstories in the A Song of Ice and Fire universe—the legendary warrior-queen Nymeria and her journey across the Narrow Sea with her people, the Rhoynar. Set roughly 1,000 years before the events of Game of Thrones, the narrative is essentially an epic reimagining of historical exodus stories.

Credits: HBO

Writer Brian Helgeland previously described the concept as “like Ray Harryhausen’s Sinbad films mixed with The Odyssey. In a way, Nymeria is Odysseus, but instead of a 12-person crew, she’s responsible for every citizen in this floating city-state.”

Booth’s theatrical background—her ability to write intimate character moments within grand, sweeping narratives—makes her the ideal choice to capture both the intimate personal stakes and the mythic scope of Nymeria’s journey. This is a story about leadership, survival, and belonging on an epic scale, and Booth’s sensibility suggests HBO is serious about creating prestige drama, not just spectacle.

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