George R.R. Martin is known for two things: writing fantasy books that get turned into great TV shows like Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, and taking freaking forever to finish those books, even as Thrones wrapped up by crafting an ending without the benefit of finished source material. Fans have been waiting for The Winds of Winter, the sixth book in Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, for 13 years now, and we have no firm word on when a release announcement might be forthcoming.
We do, however, have a wealth of circumstantial evidence and baseless speculation. To wit: Los Siete Reinos has found out that Martin will be attending a number of public-facing events this summer, his first in Europe since 2019. First, Martin will talk with His Dark Materials author Philip Pullman in an event put on by the Oxford Writers House. The two will discuss "Writing Fantasy" at the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford, England on Friday, August 2.
After that, Martin will attend the Worldcon convention in Glasgow, Scotland, which will be held from August 8 to 12. He admitted as much in a recent blog post. He also said he hopes to visit the set of new Game of Thrones prequel show A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, based on Martin's Dunk and Egg novellas. That show will film primarily in and around Belfast and will start shooting in June. Martin hopes to visit in July, meaning he'll be in Europe for at least a few weeks if he's also going to appear at Worldcon in August.
Martin is known to visit the sets of shows based on his work and occasionally even films a cameo appearance. Here he is with showrunner Ryan Condal on the set of House of the Dragon:
George Martin with Ryan Condal at House of the dragon Harrenhall set pic.twitter.com/gPvJLoVBMd
— rhaemma⁷ (@alghulbird) December 6, 2023
Martin took that picture when he visited the House of the Dragon set in 2023, a trip that also included a stop to talk about The Winds of Winter with his British publisher. But on that trip, Martin didn't attend any events where he would have to face the public. During this upcoming trip, he'll take part in at least two.
This does not necessarily mean anything about The Winds of Winter. When it comes to finishing that book, Martin is infamous for setting deadlines for himself and then blowing them. But hope springs eternal for fans of Martin's work, and we can hope that at one of these events, Martin will give us a crumb, a morsel, or even a whole meal. Is he definitely going to announce the completion of The Winds of Winter at Worldcon? We have no way of knowing. Would everybody in the audience spontaneously combust if he did, and would that be amazing? Almost definitely.
The second season of House of the Dragon will just about be wrapping up when Martin is making his European tour. The first new episodes airs on HBO and Max on Sunday, June 16.
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h/t @zionius