George R. R. Martin is the king of the book tease. The Winds of Winter, the long awaited sixth book in his A Song of Ice and Fire series, has been anticipated every year since 2011 when he published A Dance with Dragons, the fifth volume of what was originally a three-volume series but will now conclude — hopefully — with book seven. This week, fans learned it probably won’t be out in 2018, either.
Through interviews, blog posts, and even comments in response to his rabid fans — who can’t wish him a happy anniversary without pining for the new installment — Martin has dangled the possibility of the book’s release for years. To get a handle on just how much Martin has jerked us around, here’s a timeline of his The Winds of Winter false promises.
1996
Martin is quoted by Omni Magazine as saying, “I ought to finish A Song of Ice and Fire by the end of 1998, but don’t hold your breath.”
June 2010
Martin writes on his LiveJournal that he has already written four chapters of Winds of Winter.
April 2011
Martin publishes A Dance with Dragons. He tells the Guardian: “Hopefully, the last two books will go a little quicker than this one has, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to be quick. Realistically, it’s going to take me three years to finish the next one at a good pace.”
July 2011
Entertainment Weekly asks Martin when Winds of Winter is coming out. He refuses to provide a date, though he does say he has made progress on the book and will get back to writing it in January 2012.
December 2011
Martin releases a sample chapter.
January 2012
Martin releases another sample chapter.
March 2012
Martin reads a sample chapter at an appearance.
April 2012
Martin tells SmarterTravel, “It’s going to be awhile.”
June 2012
Martin updates fans on the status of the book via his LiveJournal: “Working on it. Lots to do.”
October 2012
Martin tells a Catalan blog that he has 400 pages written and is hoping to publish the book in 2014, “but I am really bad for predictions.”
April 2013
Martin tells a journalist that “book six is not going to be finished so soon since it’s like 1,400 pages longer… maybe I’m about a quarter of the way done or something like that.”
May 2013
Martin tells Brazilian newspaper paper O Globo that The Winds of Winter will be ready maybe next year.
March 2014
In a comment on his blog Martin reveals that he is not yet done with the book. O Globo again asks him when the book will come out and he again answers maybe next year. He tells the Wall Street Journal, “I hope to finish it as soon as I can.” He releases another sample chapter.
“I think it will be out this year. (But hey, I thought the same thing last year).”
March 2015
Martin tells Access Hollywood, “I’m writing ‘The Winds of Winter.’ I’m not done with it yet. I still have a lot of pages to write, but I also have a lot of pages that are already written. So, I don’t know. I try not to worry about things like this. I just, you know, go in every day and write the scene that I’m trying to write that day and try to make it as good as I can."
April 2015
Martin tells Entertainment Weekly it’s important to him to have the book out by spring 2016, when the sixth season of Game of Thrones was set to air. “I wish it was out now. 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.” In a comment on his blog he writes that the book won’t be eligible for the 2016 Hugo Awards, meaning its publication date is at least a year or more away. He releases another sample chapter.
September 2015
In response to a radio interview in which his Spanish publisher said they expect TWOW in 2016, Martin comments on his blog that the book “will be finished when it’s finished.”
January 2016
Martin announces that TWOW is not finished. “Look, I have always had problems with deadlines.”
April 2016
Game of Thrones’ season six — the first to diverge from Martin’s completed books — airs.
May 2016
Martin releases another sample chapter.
January 2017
In a comment on his blog, Martin writes that he expects the book to come out this year, adding, “But hey, I thought the same thing last year.”
July 2017
Game of Thrones’ season seven airs.
July 2017
Martin updates his blog with progress on the book: “I am still working on it, I am still months away (how many? good question), I still have good days and bad days, and that’s all I care to say. Whether WINDS or the first volume of FIRE AND BLOOD [a planned two-volume history of House Targaryen] will be the first to hit the bookstores is hard to say at this juncture, but I do think you will have a Westeros book from me in 2018... and who knows, maybe two. A boy can dream…”
February 2018
In a comment on his blog, Martin reveals that volume one of Fire and Blood will be released before TWOW is out, meaning TWOW may not come out in 2018 after all.
