George R.R. Martin thinks The Winds of Winter “will be out this year”

There’s been a fair amount of buzz over the past week concerning whether author George R.R. Martin would give his fans an update as to his progress on The Winds of Winter, the long-gestating sixth volume in his Song of Ice and Fire series. It doesn’t look like he’s going to write anything formal on the subject, but he did post an illuminating new comment on his Not a Blog.

The set-up: a commenter named J Snow asked Martin for an update on the book, suggesting that giving one might placate fans who would otherwise bombard him with messages. Martin’s response:

"You really think statements like that would make a difference? Ah, you sweet summer child. I have years of experience with this that tells me otherwise.But okay, I will try it your way.Not done yet, but I’ve made progress. But not as much as I hoped a year ago, when I thought to be done by now.I think it will be out this year. (But hey, I thought the same thing last year)."

And that’s that. Will The Winds of Winter be out in 2017? We’ll have to wait and see. As for whether that update will stem the tide of requests for more information, we’re willing to trust in Martin’s opinion and say “no.”