George R.R. Martin’s The Winds of Winter was supposed to come out years ago, but lots of things happened in between that delayed its progress and release. From working on television adaptations to publishing other novels, the author had a packed schedule that devoured what could have been his time finishing the long-overdue book.
Throughout the years, Martin assured fans that he would finish the sixth installment in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, even marked dates and made predictions. Evidently, none of his forecasts came true, and we gathered every single one of his promises in one list.
1. April 2011: GRRM Estimated The Winds of Winter Will Be Done By 2014
Martin’s first prediction of The Winds of Winter’s release was during his interview with The Guardian. He said, “Realistically, it’s going to take me three years to finish the next one at a good pace.” The author hoped the sixth book wouldn’t take as long as A Dance With Dragons did, which took six years.
The 77-year-old writer shared he has many ideas for the upcoming novel, as well as for other stories he wants to write. Still, he prioritizes The Winds of Winter.
2. October 2012: GRRM Looked Forward to Delivering It By 2014
On a more positive note, Martin revealed he had written 400 pages of manuscript, but only 200 pages were actually completed because the other half still needed revision. He emphasized that fans won’t have the book by 2012 or 2013.
“I really look forward to publishing it in 2014, but I am really bad for predictions, you may know it
3. April 2015: GRRM Guessed He’ll Finish It By 2016
Failing to deliver the novel in 2014, Martin tried again and hoped to get it out to the public before Game of Thrones Season 6 premieres. In his interview with Entertainment Weekly, he lamented the book’s delay: “I wish it was out now. Maybe I’m being overly optimistic about how quickly I can finish.”
To console fans, he revealed he had already canceled two convention appearances and turned down interviews just to clear his schedule and make time for writing.
4. January 2016: GRRM Revealed He Was Given Two Deadlines In 2015
On a more shocking note, Martin admitted on his LiveJournal page that he was given two deadlines last year and he blew them both. With the show airing in April 2016, he needed to deliver it by March. Seeing this schedule wasn’t possible, his publishers extended the deadline up to Halloween.
Unfortunately, the writing did not go well. He said fans could blame his travels, or his other projects, even his age, but the truth was that he had more bad days than good ones.
He spoke with his publishers again, and they were generous enough to give him until the end of the year. By January 2016, the book remained unfinished.
5. January 2017: GRRM Told a Fan The Book Will Be Released This Year
Fans channeled their frustration over the delay by bombarding Martin with comments and messages. One user demanded an update from the author, and Martin obliged.
On Not A Blog, he replied he’s not done yet, but he had made progress; unfortunately, it wasn’t as much as he hoped for. At the end, he said, “I think it will be out this year,” then later added that he thought the same thing last year.
6. July 2017: GRRM Teased Fans They Might Get 2 Westeros Novels In 2018
Despite fans’ outrage over The Winds of Winter’s delay, Martin announced he’s working on a prequel book called Fire & Blood. This is the fake history of the Targaryen dynasty, the book on which House of the Dragon is based.
In the same LiveJournal post, he said he’s still working on The Winds of Winter, and he’s still months away from finishing it, though he couldn’t tell how many.
He’s not sure which book will be published first, but he teased fans at the end: “I do think you will have a Westeros book from me in 2018… and who knows, maybe two.” Martin ended up only publishing Fire & Blood.
7. May 2019: GRRM Told Fans to Imprison Him If The Book’s Not Done By Summer of 2020
Martin announced on his blog that he got invited to the 2020 World Science Fiction Convention in Wellington, and the beauty of the place might only distract him from writing.
Interestingly, he gave fans permission to imprison him in a small cabin on White Island if he’s not done with the book by the time he arrives in New Zealand.
When the pandemic struck in 2020, Martin was unable to travel, though he told fans a year later that the lockdown gave him time to produce hundreds of pages.
Martin has since refused to make any predictions regarding the book’s release. He shared fewer progress updates as well, which made the whole waiting game even more frustrating for fans.
When do you think The Winds of Winter will come out? Let us know in the comments!
