George R.R. Martin Reveals the Unexpected Fan Question That Left Him Rattled at WorldCon 2025

If you feel like you’ve aged a decade waiting for George R.R. Martin to finish ‘The Winds of Winter,’ you’re definitely not the only one. And as it turns out, even Martin is getting pretty sick of hearing about it—sometimes in shockingly blunt ways.

The Confrontation Heard ‘Round the (Fan) World

At last year’s WorldCon, a fan went for the jugular in front of a crowd: after pointing out Martin’s age—a real ice dagger to the heart—the fan asked both Martin and Brandon Sanderson (of 'Stormlight Archive' fame) how they’d feel about Sanderson stepping in to finish the Game of Thrones books, should Martin not make it. Subtlety? Not on the menu.

Martin’s take on this? To put it mildly, he didn’t appreciate being reminded of his own mortality, live and in surround sound. He told The Hollywood Reporter:

'They say, "He lied to us, he is going to die soon, look how old he is." I really didn’t need that sh*t. Nobody needs that sh*t.'

And to add insult to injury, he was even more frustrated when other fans said he’d brought this kind of thing on himself. That’s a real warm and fuzzy fandom, folks.

A Schedule Fit for a King (of Procrastination)

For those keeping score, Martin started writing ‘The Winds of Winter’ more than 15 years ago. Since then, he’s managed to keep extremely busy—just not necessarily with finishing the book fans want most. At 77, he’s still making the rounds at conventions and juggling a mountain of TV and film production work (looking at you, HBO spin-offs). Yes, he’s very alive and—by his own admission—still ‘pretty vital,’ but he’s not exactly working at a Ned Stark pace here.

'A lot of people are already writing obituaries for me. [They’re saying] "Oh, he’ll never be finished." Maybe they’re right. I don’t know. I’m alive right now! I seem pretty vital!'

So... How’s That Book Coming?

If you were hoping for good news, brace yourself. Martin’s most recent status update: ‘around 1,100 manuscript pages finished.’ Unfortunately, that’s the same number he cited almost four years ago. According to him, his output is getting derailed by a combo of relentless distractions (see also: HBO development hell), rewriting chapters to death, and the general chaos of wrangling a narrative this complicated.

Here’s What’s Actually Done (Or Not Done)

• 1,100 pages of ‘The Winds of Winter’: completed, but not really closer to ‘done’ than four years ago
• Martin has been deeply involved in at least two big Game of Thrones prequels/spin-offs since 2022
• He’s confirmed HBO is working on even more, so the distractions aren’t going away
• Progress is, by Martin’s own admission, stuck in an endless cycle of rewrites

How Did We Get Here? (A Very Brief Timeline)

Here’s where the main books landed:

A Game of Thrones (1996)
A Clash of Kings (1998)
A Storm of Swords (2000)
A Feast for Crows (2005)
A Dance with Dragons (2011)
The Winds of Winter (TBA, and TBA some more)
A Dream of Spring (don’t hold your breath)

Meanwhile, the Internet keeps speculating, some fans keep heckling, and Martin keeps promising he’s working on it. Look, I get the frustration on both sides—but maybe lay off the ‘you’re gonna die soon’ angle in public Q&As. If anything is going to get this book finished, it’s probably not harassment.