Winds of Winter progress latest 8 years on after Game of Thrones wrapped | Books | Entertainment

Last month, George RR Martin hit a devastating milestone. It’s now been over 5,543 days since he published A Dance with Dragons (2011) in his A Song of Ice and Fire series. This means the 77-year-old has spent more time writing The Winds of Winter than he did on all five previously published books in the series, from A Game of Thrones back in 1996. Today also marks 8 years to the day that the Game of Thrones TV show – which was forced to rely on Martin’s planned plot points for the last two unwritten novels – wrapped on principal photography for its eighth and final season. So, what’s the latest on The Winds of Winter?

Back in January, Martin confirmed that he’s written about 1,100 pages of The Winds of Winter so far. Considering 2011’s A Dance with Dragons was around that length, suggesting the next novel will be the longest to date. We can probably assume he’s at least over halfway.

As for why the book is taking so long, the author blamed his increased celebrity and all the other distractions like producing Game of Thrones spin-offs. Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter at the time, the 77-year-old admitted: “I’m rewriting. I’m struggling… if I can just get some of these other things off my back, I could finish The Winds of Winter pretty soon. [It’s been] made clear to me that Winds is the priority.”

Martin has also confirmed that the end of A Song of Ice and Fire will differ from the Game of Thrones TV show. But also said that if he dies before A Dream of Spring is completed, the series will remain incomplete and not be finished by another author like Brandon Sanderson did for Robert Jordan. Instead, it will be like Charles Dickens’ unfinished final novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Then, in April, a false leak claimed a 2026 release date for The Winds of Winter was imminent, but this was soon shot down by Martin’s US publisher, Bantam Books.