‘The Winds of Winter’ Release Date, Spoilers: Will Book Launch in the Same Year as ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 8?

Winter has come in Westeros but the official word on the “The Winds of Winter” release date has not still arrived. But what are the odds that the sixth “A Song of Ice and Fire” ("ASoIaF") novel gets launched in the same year as the finale of the TV series “Game of Thrones” is aired? It is likely but fans should not get their hopes up too much.

There are several possible clues suggesting that a 2019 launch of “The Winds of Winter” is possible. For one, author George R.R. Martin briefly mentioned where he’s at in the making of the novel while paying tribute to the late Gardner Dozois in June.

In the said post, Martin recalled that Dozois previously asked if he wants to write a follow-up on their collaborative anthology series that would have led to the making of “Old Luna.” Martin revealed that he had to turn down Dozois’ offer since he wanted to finish writing the “The Winds of Winter” first before taking on other projects.

Though Martin did not specifically say he is already finished with the first draft of “The Winds of Winter,” he did write in the same blog post that he is already editing the book, though there is a catch. “‘WINDS OF WINTER’ was late and getting later, and the editing had taken more of my time and energy than I thought it would,” Martin admitted.

Also last month, a video of Diana Gabaldon — the creator of the “Outlander” world — surfaced on Reddit where she is seen talking about a conversation she had with George R.R. Martin. The latter reportedly implied that he had killed a character presumably in “The Winds of Winter” that he might have regretted while editing the upcoming novel.

According to Gabaldon, Martin said he was “having all kinds of trouble.” When Gabaldon asked further, Martin then wondered whether or not the “Outlander” author “ever killed somebody” in her books that she later realized she needed in the following plots. Unfortunately, “The Winds of Winter” author did not get the tips he needed from Gabaldon as she said, “No, George, that’s never happened to me.”

Lastly, it can be recalled that George R.R. Martin has already ruled out 2018 as the release year for “The Winds of Winter.” Last April, he opened a post about a different book saying, “No, winter is not coming… not in 2018, at least. You’re going to have to keep waiting for ‘THE WINDS OF WINTER.’”

It now seems like the editing of “The Winds of Winter” is in full swing and Martin has not yet officially ruled 2019 for its release. However, without official word from the author, fans might as well review all the first five "ASoIaF" books and maybe a more positive announcement will happen by the time they finish.