George R.R. Martin has a bunch of busy months ahead. Not long ago, we learned that the fantasy would be appearing at New York Comic Con in October, a major public appearance for a guy who usually shirks major public appearances in favor of working on The Winds of Winter, the long-in-coming sixth book in his Song of Ice and Fire series.
When I heard that, I dared to wonder: does this mean he's done or nearly done with The Winds of Winter? Is his schedule freeing up? Do fans finally, 14 years later, get to find out what happens next in the story? Will it match how things went on Game of Thrones?
Now, fellow fantasy author Brandon Sanderson has revealed that Martin will also appear on a panel at the World Science Fiction Convention, aka Worldcon, in Seattle in August, and I don't know if that makes me more or less hopeful.
Sanderson broke the news in one of his Weekly Update videos. Or rather, he handed things over to the hosts of the SFF Addicts Podcast, who will host the panel in question. The panel will be about epic fantasy. In addition to Martin and Sanderson, it will include several other big names in the genre, namely Ryan Cahill, Rebecca Roanhorse, and Robin Hobb.
The panel itself will take place on August 15 at 3:00 p.m. PST in Ballroom 2. Check out the website if you're interested in tickets, either in-person or virtual. According to Sanderson, it's been over 10 years since he and Martin have been on a panel together, to say nothing of all the other big names involved. I'm sure the panel itself will be fascinating.
But this is a Game of Thrones fansite, and I can't help but look at this news and wonder if there's some greater import. Martin often goes to Worldcon whether or not he's "13 years late" on a book, to use his quip. But Worldcon and NYCC? After all these years it's idiotic for me to get my hopes up, and yet here we are.
Perhaps he's going to Worldcon to spend time with some of his collegues and to NYCC to promote the new Game of Thrones prequel show A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. That would make sense enough. Or perhaps...
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