It is already 2020, and fans are still waiting for the release of “The Winds of Winter,” which has been delayed since 2014. In 2015, it was said that George RR Martin is almost done as most of the chapters were completed already, and he is just a few months away from finishing the book, but still, he missed his 2016 deadline.
Book delay affected “Game of Thrones” ending
Martin continued to miss the publication due dates for at least two more times, and at this point, fans were already upset. The 71-year-old author admitted that he himself is also frustrated because he could have released “The Winds of Winter” a long time ago, but he did not.
“You're disappointed, and you're not alone. My editors and publishers are disappointed, HBO is disappointed, my agents and foreign publishers and translators are disappointed but no one could possibly be more disappointed than me,” Martin wrote on his blog in January 2016. “For months now I have wanted nothing so much as to be able to say, ‘I have completed and delivered THE WINDS OF WINTER" on or before the last day of 2015,’ but the book's not done.”
With the delay, “Game of Thrones” which was based on George RR Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” book series, did not end according to how the author intended it to be. This is because HBO has ended the run of the drama adaptation in 2019 even if the last two books that include “The Winds of Winter” and “A Day of Spring” are not yet complete.
Upcoming publication date - When is it?
Since he missed many publication dates, for “TWOW,” Martin once said that he will not mention a date or time-frame anymore because he does not want his fans to be disappointed again. But in May 2019, he posted a new statement and made a promise to launch the book in time for the 2020 WorldCon in New Zealand.
The dates for this event have been set for July 29 to Aug. 2 so these were the assumed dates for the release of “The Winds of Winter.” However, this was already canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic and it is yet to be seen if George RR Martin can still publish the book around this time.
Finally, the WorldCon may not happen this year but fans are hoping the author would still honor his promise to get “The Winds of Winter” out before this year ends.
