Game of Thrones author George RR Martin has been writing the next book in his Song of Ice and Fire series for a staggering 16 years – and he won’t be finishing it anytime soon.
Between 1996 and 2011, the author published five books in the fantasy series, which were adapted into the juggernaut HBO drama, and The Winds of Winter’s delay has proved agonising for fans, with many readers questioning whether he will ever finish it.
In a new interview, Martin, 77, has admitted he is “struggling” to complete the book as “the actual writing is getting harder”, adding in a major understatement: “Maybe I’m overoptimistic about how quickly I can write these things.”
He also dropped the bombshell that The Winds of Winter will feature chapters from the point of view of Jon Snow, who was seemingly killed off in his previous release, A Dance with Dragons. In Game of Thrones, Snow (Kit Harington) was resurrected after being murdered, but Martin has claimed the book will stray from events depicted in the show.
He appeared to let Snow’s book fate slip when asked about his writing process, telling The Hollywood Reporter: “I will open the last chapter I was working on and I’ll say, ‘Oh f***, this is not very good.’ And I’ll go in and I’ll rewrite it. Or I’ll decide, ‘This Tyrion chapter is not coming along, let me write a Jon Snow chapter.’”
Readers are taking this to mean that Snow will indeed return from the dead. Elsewhere, Martin said the book ending won’t be as “happy” as the series, stating: “I was going to kill more people – not the ones they killed [in the show].”
For example, he said he doesn’t “see a happy ending for Tyrion”, the character played by Peter Dinklage, as “his whole arc has been tragic from the first”.
He also said he intended to kill Sansa Stark, but is reconsidering after Sophie Turner made the character “appealing” in the series.
The author said the book delay has stemmed from having commitments to numerous other projects, including more novellas for characters Dunk and Egg, who take centre stage in new series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, starting on Monday (19 January) in the UK.
“I do think if I can just get some of these other things off my back, I could finish The Winds of Winter pretty soon,” he said, adding: “It’s been made clear to me that Winds is the priority, but … I don’t know. Sometimes I’m not in the mood for that.”
He previously addressed the “controversy” about how late the book is, stating in October 2025: “I’ve always had trouble with deadlines and I don’t feel happy breaching contracts or missing a deadline or anything like that.”
Martin continued: “Yes, I do love Winds of Winter. I’m still interested in it, I’m still working on it, but honestly, I love these other things, too.”
Discussing the backlash he receives every time he announces a new project that isn’t related to Winds of Winter, Martin added: “Every time that happens, and I announce it on my website, half the internet goes crazy.
“Why the f*** is George RR Martin writing this other thing when he should be writing Winds of Winter? What is he doing?’ And I want to say, ‘I did it in 1993, guys. Come on! It was lying in my drawer, and they wanted it, so I sold it to them!’”
He also previously called The Winds of Winter “the curse of my life”, telling Time: “There’s no doubt Winds of Winter is 13 years late.”
He is currently set to follow The Winds of Winter with a seventh and final book titled A Dream of Spring.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is an odd, gross Game of Thrones spin-off – review
Tomb Raider series adds Hollywood veterans to cast of new TV adaptation
Dilbert creator Scott Adams dies aged 68 after prostate cancer diagnosis
It Ends With Us author Colleen Hoover shares cancer diagnosis
Author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s one-year-old son dies after short illness
Dylan Thomas was ‘serial plagiarist’ as a schoolboy, publisher claims
