George R.R. Martin has said that the sixth book in his A Song Of Ice & Fire series, which serves as the basis for the popular show Game of Thrones, will hopefully be released sometime next year, before the release of the sixth season of the hit show. The new book, which is titled The Winds of Winter, will be George R.R. Martin’s first novel since 2011’s A Dance with Dragons.
Martin has said that setting an official release date next year for The Winds of Winter might be somewhat optimistic, although he is currently doing everything he can to ensure that the book is finished as soon as possible. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Martin said:
“Maybe I’m being overly optimistic about how quickly I can finish. But I canceled two convention appearances, I’m turning down a lot more interviews—anything I can do to clear my decks and get this done.”
It has been reported before that he turned down a chance to write an episode for this season of Game of Thrones, and he has already turned down the chance to pen an episode for Game of Thrones season six, due to the fact that he wants to be able to finish the book as soon as possible.
Due to the fact that Martin is notorious for taking his time writing the A Song Of Ice & Fire series, as he wants to ensure that the books are written properly, the Game of Thrones T.V show has departed greatly from the source material, especially in Season 5 Episode 8 – titled Hardhome. Because of this, the show is expected to run far beyond the lastest book, A Dance With Dragons, although George R.R. Martin has reportedly told Game of Thrones‘ showrunners roughly how he plans on finishing the last book in the A Song Of Ice & Fire series, so both the show and books are supposedly working toward the same ending.
Martin has said that he plans to notify his fans of when The Winds of Winter is done through his not-a-blog.
