George R.R. Martin is fully aware of the anger of fans on the long wait for the next novel and wants it done as much as anyone else. By now, it’s become almost a running joke in the fantasy fandom that George R.R. Martin is taking his sweet time finishing The Winds of Winter, the sixth novel in his A Song of Ice and Fire series, which reshaped the fantasy genre and inspired HBO's Game of Thrones.
The problem is that the entire Game of Thrones television series has come and gone, we're now two seasons into spinoff House of the Dragon, and there's still no Winds. Martin has been hit by writer’s block and various delays, which have fans seriously worried the author may never finish the novel or its follow-up, A Dream of Spring, which is planned to be the conclusion to the saga.
At New York City Comic Con, Martin was part of a panel conversation where fellow author Joe Hill poked fun by asking the “question everyone is wondering: Can the Giants keep winning?”
Martin, a notorious football fan, laughed it off and finally addressed the question on so many fans' minds. "I know there's all this controversy about Winds of Winter and how late it is, but I've always had trouble with deadlines," he said, "and I don't feel happy breaching contracts or missing a deadline or anything like that."
Martin defended it a bit on how his writing process isn’t as detailed as other authors, since he "hate[s] doing outlines.” However, he also brought up another big reason for the delays, which has been caused by his own popularity!
Why George R.R. Martin keeps working on other projects
Martin related that one issue is that the success of his books and the shows has drawn more attention from TV studios to his past works. That includes a planned show on his Wild Cards novels, as well as other projects where he serves as a producer, like AMC's Dark Winds series based on the books by Tony Hillerman. That is a distraction which Martin defends.
"Every time that happens, and I announce it on my website, half the internet goes crazy. 'Why the f--- is George R.R. Martin writing this other thing when he should be writing Winds of Winter? What is he doing?' And I want to say, 'I did it in 1993, guys. Come on! It was lying in my drawer, and they wanted it, so I sold it to them!'"
"Yes, I do love Winds of Winter. I'm still interested in it, I'm still working on it, but honestly, I love these other things, too," he added.
Martin does have his own special style of writing and clearly wants to take his time to ensure that the next book in the saga is as great as it can be. It’s also been speculated that he may want to ensure the ending is far better received than the controversial Game of Thrones ending.
However, for those worried about Martin never completing it, he had a word for them. “People are speculating that I might die before [finishing the books]. I'm not going to die until I see the Jets and the Giants in the Subway Super Bowl. I think that means I live forever," he said.
Let's hope that’s the case and Martin is able to get this book wrapped up sooner rather than later.
Game of Thrones is streaming on HBO MAX. The next spinoff, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, premieres January 18, 2026.