Summary
- Years of waiting for The Winds of Winter, with growing anticipation and pressure on George R.R. Martin to deliver.
- Martin's continuously shifting estimates for the release date of the eagerly awaited novel.
- Despite progress and rewrites, The Winds of Winter remains a distant dream for fans, with expectations repeatedly dashed.
Since Game of Thrones aired in 2011, book readers have eagerly waited for the next novel in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, and he's made several comments regarding the anticipated release since. As Martin expanded his universe, the time between novels continuously grew. The previous novel, A Dance with Dragons, was released on July 12, 2011, six years after A Feast For Crows. But with over twelve years of waiting, The Winds of Winter is infamously late.
Game of Thrones was a cultural phenomenon, launching George R.R. Martin from a successful author to one of the world's most famous and prolific storytellers. With that notoriety came excruciating pressure to release his novel to provide the series with the source material to adapt. That ship sailed, and the series was left to resolve without his work. Martin's novels are in such high demand that anything he says about The Winds of Winter is a news story, as readers crave any nugget of hope for its release.
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10 "I’m Not Going To Say"
July 22, 2011
When Game of Thrones debuted in 2011, interest in George R.R. Martin's novel series naturally skyrocketed, as did questions around when the final book would be completed. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, George R.R. Martin spoke about The Winds of Winter for the first time while promoting A Dance with Dragons. When asked about the sixth book, Martin responded:
”I’m not going to say. I’ve gotten in constant trouble for that. There’s an element of fans who don’t seem to realize I’m making estimates. I’ve repeatedly been guilty of an excess of optimism.”
The statement, which he would later contradict by providing estimates, should have been the first sign of a long wait for The Winds of Winter. A Dance with Dragons only grew his world, and more narratives to tie together make for a more challenging conclusion.
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9 "I Really Look Forward To Publishing It In 2014"
December 7, 2012
The next time the author would give an update on The Winds of Winter came over a year later, several months after the conclusion of Game of Thrones season 2. In 2012, George R.R. Martin spoke with the Spanish blog Adria’s News, where he gave some brief updates on the next A Song of Ice and Fire novel:
"I've already written 400 pages of my sixth book and I really look forward to publishing it in 2014, but I am really bad for predictions.”
At the time, HBO was preparing for the release of Game of Thrones season 3, meaning he was already behind schedule if he wanted to stay ahead of the adaptation. The Winds of Winter is meant to be roughly 1,600 pages, meaning he was a quarter finished in 2012, not accounting for the immense re-writes he described.
8 "I Still Have A Lot Of Pages To Write"
March 27, 2015
By 2014, Game of Thrones was entering season 4, but despite George R.R. Martin's previous estimations that the book series would have an additional installment by then, the year came and went without The Winds of Winter. By 2015, fans of the TV show who'd also read the books began to voice concerns, as the amount of source material left for HBO to adapt was noticeably dwindling, and it seemed increasingly likely that Game of Thrones would pass up the novels. In a 2015 interview with Access, Martin mentioned progress toward writing season 6 and The Winds of Winter:
"I still have a lot of pages to write, but I also have a lot of pages that are already written."
This was a far cry from the previous 2014 release of The Winds of Winter George R.R. Martin had previously touted. Sadly, the lack of source material led to the downfall of Game of Thrones, which suffered from an oversimplified ending in the absence of Martin's structure.
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7 "Anything I Can Do To Clear My Decks And Get This Done"
April 3, 2015
George R.R. Martin gave a second update on The Winds of Winter shortly after the previous interview in 2015. Just under two weeks before the debut of Game of Thrones season 5, Martin was asked by Entertainment Weekly about whether the novel could be published before the show was set to return to the air in the spring. In response, Martin said:
"Maybe I’m being overly optimistic about how quickly I can finish. But I canceled two convention appearances, I’m turning down a lot more interviews — anything I can do to clear my decks and get this done."
This The Winds of Winter update had a touch of humility to it compared to previous responses from George R.R. Martin, and was one of the first signs that the author might possibly be struggling with completing his epic fantasy saga. The message got hopes up for a 2016 release date for The Winds of Winter, and while season 5 made for one of the best Game of Thrones seasons, the book didn't arrive.
6 "But The Book's Not Done"
January 2, 2016
While many fans of the A Song of Ice and Fire novels hope that The Winds of Winter would arrive in 2016 after the last update, it was not meant to be. The next update on the penultimate book in the saga came directly from the author himself on his blog. George R.R. Martin's active engagement with fans via his blog is a blessing but, unfortunately, he's had to utilize it to deliver some disappointing news. In early 2016, Martin broke the news on his blog that he wouldn't be done by Game of Thrones season 6 and was done setting deadlines:
"But when delivery will be, I can't say. I am not going to set another deadline for myself to trip over. The deadlines just stress me out."
This was a bittersweet The Winds of Winter update for fans in many ways. On the one hand, Martin did a much better job than he had previously when it came to managing their expectations. On the other hand, the dismissal of any set deadlines could — and was, by some at least — read into as the author losing motivation for the project.
5 "I Think It Will Be Out This Year"
January 10, 2017
2017 marked the seventh season of the Game of Thrones TV series, and by this point the show was entirely on its own without any source material to adapt. This ensured that questions on the progress of The Winds of Winter were evermore abundant, especially since it was known that the show would finish on season 8, and there were incredibly vocal concerns among the fanbase on how the ending could be carried off without a book to adapt it from.
Responding to a comment on his blog in January 2017, George R.R. Marting gave another update on The Winds of Winter, and it was once again a touch of his self-professed over-optimism:
"Not done yet, but I've made progress. But not as much as I hoped a year ago, when I thought to be done by now. I think it will be out this year."
George R.R. Martin's comment clearly noted that while he saw it as a possibility, he could never say so with absolute certainty. And, of course, 2017 wasn't the year that The Winds of Winter was released.
4 "I Do Think You Will Have A Westeros Book From Me In 2018"
July 22, 2017
After the January comment, George R.R. Martin wasn't done with The Winds of Winter updates in 2017. He returned to his blog to explain the concept of Fire & Blood, the prequel history book about the Targaryen Dynasty. At the end, he added a tease suggesting that readers would have something in 2018, saying:
"I do think you will have a Westeros book from me in 2018... and who knows, maybe two. A boy can dream..."
He was partially correct, as Fire & Blood was released in 2018, tiding readers over in preparation for House of the Dragon. While much of his devoted fanbase was, of course, thrilled to have another book set in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire, this still wasn't the book many had hoped for, as it didn't continue the story of Game of Thrones.
3 "I Still Have A Long Way To Go"
June 23, 2020
It would be another three years before George R.R. Martin would give an update on his progress with the penultimate A Song of Ice and Fire novel. By this point the Game of Thrones TV show had concluded, so the concerns about how the show could end had abated (although, admittedly, these worries were replaced with dissatisfaction at the conclusion in the minds of many fans).
The COVID-19 Pandemic seemed like the perfect time for Martin to make some headway on The Winds of Winter. However, the next update from the author on his progress felt like a step backwards from his previous estimations on when it could arrive. An Esquire article described a since-deleted blog post from the author, which quotes him saying:
"I am spending long hours every day on The Winds of Winter, and making steady progress. I finished a new chapter yesterday, another one three days ago, another one the previous week. But no, this does not mean that the book will be finished tomorrow or published next week. It’s going to be a huge book, and I still have a long way to go."