George R.R. Martin Aims to Release ‘Winds of Winter’ in 2021

During this time of uncertainty, George R.R. Martin has reassured fans winter is coming. Eventually.

On Tuesday, the novelist/screenwriter shared a blog post that included an update on The Winds of Winter, the long-awaited sixth installment of his A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series. Martin began by telling readers he has shown early signs of cabin fever as remains under COVID-19 lockdown; but he admits that the period of self-isolation has led to increased productivity.

"If nothing else, the enforced isolation has helped me write. I am spending long hours every day on THE WINDS OF WINTER, and making steady progress," he wrote. "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."

Martin goes on to say he was "heartbroken" after the health crisis forced him to cancel his trip to Wellington, New Zealand, for the annual World Science Fiction Convention. But he says he has a found "a silver lining in that cloud."

"The last thing I need right now is a long interruption that might cost me all the momentum I have built up," he wrote. "I can always visit Wellington next year, when I hope that both Covid-19 and THE WINDS OF WINTER will be done."

Yes, you read that correctly. Martin is looking to complete The Winds of Winter sometime next year—a decade after he released the series' fifth installment, A Dance with Dragons. Martin, of course, kept details to a minimum, but said his most recent writing has revolved around Cersei, Asha, Tyrion, Ser Barristan, and Areo Hotah.

"I will be dropping back into Braavos next week. I have bad days, which get me down, and good days, which lift me up, but all in all I am pleased with the way things are doing," he continued. "I do wish they would go faster, of course. Way way back in 1999, when I was deep in the writing of A STORM OF SWORDS, I was averaging about 150 pages of manuscript a month. I fear I shall never recapture that pace again. Looking back, I am not sure how I did it then. A fever indeed."

Martin also shared a little update on the Game of Thrones prequel, The House of the Dragon, telling fans the much anticipated series was "still flying along wonderfully."

June 24, 2020