Summary

• The Winds of Winter delay is due to George R.R. Martin's various projects, including writing for Game of Thrones & other books.
• Martin has itted to struggling with writing the long-awaited book, which is expected to be the longest in the series.
• The book is at least 75% done, with Martin having written around 1,100 pages so far.

The Winds of Winter has been delayed several times, but there are some clear reasons as to why George R.R. Martin's sixth A Song of Ice and Fire book is taking so long. Martin released the first books in the series that led to Game of Thrones in relatively swift fashion: A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, and A Storm of Swords released between 1996-2000. As the story expanded, however, things slowed down: A Feast for Crows released in 2005, A Dance with Dragons in 2011, and the wait for The Winds of Winter has been ongoing since then.

The year the fifth book released is also the same one that Game of Thrones debuted on HBO. Over the rest of the decade, it became one of the biggest shows in the world, and Game of Thrones' ending — while controversial — was able to conclude the story before Martin. The author had hoped to finish before the show, but for various reasons, that didn't happen and, at this point, it'll be done when it's done. Martin has earned the right to patience and good art cannot be rushed, but it is interesting to look at just why it's taken so long.

George R.R. Martin Has Had A Lot Of Other Projects Besides The Winds Of Winter

Martin Has Worked On Books, TV shows, A Video Game, And More.

Although The Winds of Winter has taken a long time, no one could accuse Martin of not being busy — it's quite the opposite. Since the beginning of Game of Thrones and release of the last A Song of Ice and Fire book, the author's work, schedule, and life as a whole has irrevocably changed. He's risen to a level of fame he didn't previously have, and with that come many greater demands on his time that didn't exist before, whether that's writing for the show itself, increased convention appearances, or being more sought after for other works.

Martin wrote four episodes of Game of Thrones, as well as receiving an executive producer credit, which explains an initial slowdown in his work on The Winds of Winter. He also wrote several other books set in Westeros, including the Targaryen history book Fire & Blood, while working as an editor on other, non-Westeros books.

Martin's episodes of Game of Thrones are: season 1, episode 8, "The Pointy End;" season 2, episode 9, "Blackwater;" season 3, episode 7, The Bear and the Maiden Fair;" season 4, episode 2, "The Lion and the Rose."

He's contributed to the adaptation of Nightflyers, wrote for the video game Elden Ring, and, of course, helped create House of the Dragon as well as work on developing other Game of Thrones spinoffs at HBO. Quite simply, Martin has had a lot going on, and it's entirely fair for him to choose what projects he focuses on and how he prioritizes them, despite the ever-increasing demand for The Winds of Winter.

Fire & Blood includes some previously published works, including from the three novellas above (some of which were originally written for The World of Ice and Fire). The above table does not include multiple anthology books he has edited or co-edited, including the ongoing Wild Cards series.

GRRM Has itted To Struggling With Writing The Winds Of Winter

Martin Has Written Over 1,000 Pages So Far.

Martin has struggled with writing The Winds of Winter.

Aside from his many projects, there's another reason for the delays to continuing A Song of Ice and Fire: Martin has struggled with writing The Winds of Winter. That, however, is not surprising, nor is it necessarily a cause for concern. Firstly, it's worth considering just how much bigger this story has become:

• A Dance With Dragons is over 350 pages longer than A Game of Thrones, and that's with multiple major characters missing due to the events happening concurrently with A Feast for Crows.
• The first book had eight POV characters; The Winds of Winter could have double that.
• , Martin originally conceived A Song of Ice and Fire as a trilogy; it's now planned as seven books.

The Winds of Winter will be the longest A Song of Ice and Fire book yet, so it makes sense it's going to take longer. If you look at the length of time Martin was already taking (over half a decade between books four and five), the massive increase in other commitments, and the almost mind-boggling number of characters and storylines to try and wrangle together, it's really no surprise the book has taken so long and that Martin is struggling to finish it. Speaking on the Bangcast podcast, he said:

"I have like 1,100 pages written, but I still have hundreds more pages to go. It’s a big mother of a book for whatever reason. Maybe I should’ve started writing smaller books when I began this, but it’s tough.”

Of those above, the only one that truly poses a problem is not how long Martin is taking or him agreeing to other projects, but just how well he can continue the story and start bringing all the disparate plot threads together ahead of the planned seventh and final book, A Dream of Spring. That's even more pertinent after the backlash to Game of Thrones season 8 put more pressure on the author to get things right. Martin himself is clearly determined to make the book the best it can possibly be, which has also led to changing things previously written. He said in a Penguin Random House Q&A:

"[I found myself] re-reading some chapters that I'd written earlier, and I didn't like them well enough, so I kind of ripped them apart and rewrote them."

Are A Song Of Ice & Fire's Villains A Problem For The Winds Of Winter?

Game Of Thrones Struggled With The White Walkers.

Martin's story has increasingly expanded, introducing multiple new characters and storylines. Some of these may be little more than distractions or narrative cul-de-sacs, others could be key to the whole thing. These range from going in-depth into the politics of Dorne, to fleshing out the Ironborn, to major plot twists like revealing that Aegon Targaryen, firstborn son of Rhaegar, is apparently still alive and heading to Westeros to claim the Iron Throne. Amidst it all, though, one thing has been there from the very first pages: the Others.

Written as a response to post-Tolkien high fantasy tropes that simply tried to repeat The Lord of the Rings, A Song of Ice and Fire is all about the morally gray, not plain old good vs. evil (his guiding principle is "the human heart in conflict with itself.").

Much like in Game of Thrones, the White Walkers are still on course to be the biggest threat humanity faces in A Song of Ice and Fire. That makes sense: they are, essentially, death. But as it stands, the Others are an unknowable evil for Westeros to band together and defeat. There's something powerful in that, especially looking at them as a commentary on climate change, but it also shifts what Martin's story is.

The Night King was invented for Game of Thrones, and does not exist in the books.

Written as a response to post-Tolkien high fantasy tropes that simply tried to repeat The Lord of the Rings, A Song of Ice and Fire is all about the morally gray, not plain old good vs. evil (his guiding principle is "the human heart in conflict with itself."). Managing to tell what is, on its surface, a somewhat typical fantasy story — the heroes defeating the all-powerful, mythical villain is very Tolkien, after all — while still subverting classic fantasy tropes isn't an impossible balancing act, but it is a difficult one, especially when combined with so many other elements that need to come together.

George R.R. Martin's Latest Updates On The Winds Of Winter's Release

The Book Is At Least 75% Done.

George R.R. Martin's updates on The Winds of Winter have varied over the years, moving from predictions of release dates to more openly itting his difficulties with finishing the story. As mentioned above, Martin said in late 2023 that he had written 1,100 pages; earlier in the year, he'd said he was making "steady progress" on the book (via his The Winds of Winter was 75% finished, which seems to be roughly where things still stand.

It may not be this year but hopefully, eventually, The Winds of Winter is coming.

The author has a lot of irons in the fire still, from more Dunk and Egg books to the second volume of Fire & Blood and consulting on multiple Game of Thrones spinoffs, so the book will almost inevitably still be some way off. Nonetheless, the author remains optimistic that it will be done, as will A Dream of Spring. It may not be this year but hopefully, eventually, The Winds of Winter is coming.

Some Fans Have Lost Faith In Ever Getting Winds Of Winter

The Long Wait Is Killing Interest In The Winds Of Winter

The Winds of Winter was first announced in 2011, with George R.R. Martin revealing the first key details of the book as far back as 2012. This was over a decade ago, and in the time since, the entirety of the Game of Thrones TV show has come and gone, along with the first (and likely second) season of prequel spinoff House of the Dragon.

There are many Game of Thrones fans who are — perhaps justifiably — questioning why Martin is sinking his energies into new projects when the penultimate A Song of Fire and Ice book is still so overdue.

The wait has been considerable to say the least. As one fan on Reddit pointed out, if the book doesn't arrive by 2026 then the gap between The Winds of Winter and the previous novel, A Dance with Dragons, will be longer than the time between the release of the most recent installment in 2011 and A Game of Thrones in 1996. It's no surprise that many fans are beginning to lose their patience, with some giving up hope that The Winds of Winter will ever arrive.

While George R.R. Martin has certainly been active, many of his readership are beginning to get frustrated with the author for taking on multiple new projects while The Winds of Winter is still incomplete. For example, in 2024 he released the first stills from an anthology series he's working on with HBO titled The Summer Machine. While it looks like an intriguing project, it's still not The Winds of Winter, and there are many Game of Thrones fans who are — perhaps justifiably — questioning why Martin is sinking his energies into new projects when the penultimate A Song of Fire and Ice book is still so overdue.