George R.R. Martin’s Boldest Winds of Winter Deadline Just Collapsed — And There’s Still No Date
Another winter passes without Winds: after years of shifting timelines and a ballooning narrative, George R.R. Martin still can’t pin down The Winds of Winter.
If you are still waiting on 'The Winds of Winter,' you are in very familiar company. George R.R. Martin has tossed out a few timelines over the years, but every single one has slipped away. Here is how we got here, why he is done making predictions, and why his publisher is still quietly riding this out.
The 2017 guess that went nowhere
Back in 2017, in an interview surfaced via The Last Hearth, Martin tried to thread the needle between optimism and reality. He described himself as a perfectionist who would rather take the time to wrap up the storylines the right way than rush under pressure. He even floated a hopeful target: maybe September 2018 for 'The Winds of Winter' — but he emphasized nothing was locked.
What showed up in 2018 instead was 'Fire & Blood,' his Targaryen history book. He has said that one was easier to wrangle because it is told in a straight line, which is, frankly, the polar opposite of the labyrinth he is building in the main series.
The deadline graveyard
Martin has also been open about the hard misses. On his LiveJournal, he laid out how 'The Winds of Winter' was supposed to beat the sixth season of 'Game of Thrones' to the punch. To make that happen, he aimed to deliver the manuscript by Halloween 2015. He missed it. His publisher granted a little more runway through the end of that year. By January 2016, still no book. Then came that 2017 interview with the 2018 hope — another one that came and went.
He has never pretended the process is simple, and at this point, the book has more plot threads than a castle loom. But the dates? They did not stick.
The vow: no more dates
By 2021, on his Not A Blog, Martin basically called time on the prediction game. He wrote:
"I will make no predictions on when I will finish. Every time I do, a**holes on the internet take that as a 'promise,' and then wait eagerly to crucify me when I miss the deadline."
He has largely stuck to that — which also means updates have been scarce. In the meantime, he has kept busy with other projects and a steady run of convention and event appearances.
Why the publisher has not lost patience
In publishing, blowing deadlines can get ugly. Books can get yanked off schedules; relationships can fray. That has not happened here. The simple math: 'The Winds of Winter' will be a monster the second it hits shelves, so the publisher keeps the door wide open. Based on the number of extensions he has received, it is not hard to imagine he has walked them through how hard the book has been to land.
Also, there is no legal lever that forces an author to finish a novel faster. Martin has said many times that pressure and the clock do not help him; they hurt. So instead of penalties, we are all just... waiting.
Where the series stands
- 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
- A Dream of Spring — TBA
Bottom line
Martin has stopped calling his shots, the publisher is content to wait, and 'The Winds of Winter' remains the most anticipated book that does not have a date. When it finally lands, it will be chaos at the bookstore. Until then, the only safe prediction is: no predictions.