George R.R. Martin Team Bans AI as The Winds of Winter Collects Dust
As readers await The Winds of Winter, Penguin Random House’s illustrated 20th anniversary edition of A Feast for Crows is under fire for using AI-generated art, turning a celebration into a controversy.
George R.R. Martin fandom update, and it is a two-parter: people are mad about possible AI art in the new A Feast for Crows anniversary edition, and yes, there is a fresh reminder that The Winds of Winter is still not done.
The A Feast for Crows art controversy, explained
Penguin Random House put out a 20th anniversary illustrated edition of A Feast for Crows. Almost immediately, fans started flagging a bunch of images that looked AI-generated: odd, mushy backgrounds, repeating textures, and those telltale weird hands and feet. One viral post on November 6, 2025, flat-out called it 'AI garbage' and wondered why a series with so many great artists in its orbit would settle for that.
The backlash got loud enough that Martin's team stepped in. On Martin's blog, Raya Golden, who handles art direction and licensing for Fevre River and personally approves the licensed art for the Song of Ice and Fire book projects, said the artwork in question was not made with AI, based on what the hired artist told them. She stressed that he works digitally, but not with AI tools, and that they trust his word.
To our knowledge, and as presented by the artist, there was no AI used. He works in digital media, but not with AI. And for the record, we have never, and will never, willingly work with AI generative artists in any way, shape, or form.
Why this hits a nerve with Martin fans
Martin has been very public about his issues with generative AI. He is one of 17 authors suing OpenAI, in a case organized by the Authors Guild and filed in 2023 in federal court in New York. The lawsuit accuses OpenAI of mass-scale copyright infringement and points to specific tests where ChatGPT spit out an unauthorized, detailed outline for a supposed Game of Thrones prequel called 'A Dawn of Direwolves' that used his characters.
The roster on that suit is packed: alongside Martin are John Grisham, Jodi Picoult, Sylvia Day, Jonathan Franzen, and others. The Authors Guild's CEO did not mince words about the stakes:
It is imperative that we stop this theft in its tracks or we will destroy our incredible literary culture. To preserve our literature, authors must have the ability to control if and how their works are used by generative AI.
OpenAI tried to get the authors' claims tossed early. A New York federal judge, U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein, declined, saying the authors could plausibly prove that ChatGPT outputs are similar to their works. So that fight is very much ongoing.
About The Winds of Winter, since you are going to ask
While the art debate rages, most readers just want one thing: the sixth Song of Ice and Fire book. Here is where it has stood over the years, without the noise:
- 2010: Martin said he had four chapters done from the perspectives of Sansa Stark, Arya Stark, and Arianne Martell. He also moved two chapters from A Dance with Dragons into The Winds of Winter, pitching that shift as good news for the new book. By July, he said he was about 100 pages in, with an ultimate target expected to clear 1,500 pages.
- 2022: He said he had written roughly 1,100 to 1,200 pages, with another 400 to 500 still to go.
- On delays: He has admitted he keeps rewriting. He went back through earlier chapters, did not like what he saw, and tore them apart to rebuild.
- July 2024: Fans noticed he met with one of his editors in London and started reading tea leaves. He shot that down, saying it did not signal a big announcement. When the book is actually done, there will be a real, unmistakable announcement, not a rumor trail.
- October 2025: He made it crystal clear the book is still unfinished, while talking about AI and tech generally.
You can't outlaw new technology... it's here to stay. No computer will ever write 'The Winds of Winter'.
So yes, still a wait. If the book really does land north of 1,500 pages and he keeps tearing up chapters until he likes them, we are going to be here a while. At least the stance on AI is unambiguous, whether you are talking about the lawsuit or the art on anniversary editions.