In other words, while fans of Martin’s most well-known fictional world can look forward to shows like House of the Dragon inviting them back in the forthcoming months and years, it doesn’t sound like The Winds of Winter will be released anytime soon.

Based on Martin’s most recent comments, as well as the pace of the publishing industry, it doesn’t sound like The Winds of Winter will be released at any point this year, either. That means fans have been waiting 11 years for Martin to finish the series’ sixth installment. That said, Martin has not released a new installment in the Song of Ice and Fire series since A Dance with Dragons. In 2018, Martin even released Fire & Blood, a fictional history of the Targaryen family, which now serves as the primary source material for House of the Dragon. The Long Wait - Martin has, of course, kept busy over the past 11 years by not only spending time promoting Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, but also by writing supplemental materials for his Song of Ice and Fire book series. Peter Dinklage, Emilia Clarke, and Nathalie Emmanuel in the Game of Thrones Season 6 finale. However, while Martin still seems optimistic about the progress he’s making on The Winds of Winter, this update is undoubtedly not the one that fans hoped to hear this week. “The two years of enforced isolation enabled me to get a lot more writing done, because I was doing a lot less traveling and public appearances and speeches and all of that stuff,” the author said. The author did note in the same interview that he has made considerable progress on The Winds of Winter over the past two years, largely due to the isolation the past few years have forced on him and the rest of the world. “Every time I do, I don’t make it and everybody gets mad at me, and there’s no sense. “I’m making progress, but I’ve given up on any hope of predicting the end,” Martin said.

Martin admitted that he is no longer interested in predicting when The Winds of Winter will be completed. The Update - In a recent interview with Vanity Fair for House of the Dragon, George R. Kit Harington as Jon Snow in Game of Thrones Season 6.

A song of ice and fire books