It has been over 5,543 days since George RR Martin published A Dance with Dragons in 2011, the fifth book in his A Song of Ice and Fire series. This milestone, reached last month, means the 77-year-old author has now spent more time writing The Winds of Winter than he did on all five previous novels combined, from A Game of Thrones in 1996. Today also marks eight years to the day that the Game of Thrones television show wrapped principal photography on its eighth and final season, a season that relied on Martin's planned plot points for the two unwritten novels.
Progress on The Winds of Winter
In January 2026, Martin confirmed he had written approximately 1,100 pages of The Winds of Winter. Given that A Dance with Dragons was around that length, the next novel is expected to be the longest in the series, suggesting he is at least over halfway. The author has blamed his increased celebrity and distractions from producing Game of Thrones spin-offs for the prolonged delay.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Martin admitted: “I’m rewriting. I’m struggling... if I can just get some of these other things off my back, I could finish The Winds of Winter pretty soon. [It’s been] made clear to me that Winds is the priority.”
Differences from the TV Show and Future Plans
Martin has confirmed that the ending of A Song of Ice and Fire will differ from the Game of Thrones television series. He has also stated that if he dies before completing A Dream of Spring, the series will remain unfinished, unlike Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time, which was completed by Brandon Sanderson. Instead, he likened it to Charles Dickens' unfinished final novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood.
False Leak in April
In April 2026, a false leak claimed that a 2026 release date for The Winds of Winter was imminent, but this was quickly denied by Martin's US publisher, Bantam Books. The author turns 78 this year, and fans remain hopeful for a release, though no official date has been announced.
