George R.R. Martin Gives Update On Winds Of Winter, And You Can Probably Guess What He Said

Author George R.R. Martin has once again provided an update on the next A Song of Ice and Fire book, The Winds of Winter, and no one should be surprised that the book still is not finished.

Posting on his blog, Martin said that in 2023, when he visited his publishers from Harper Collins Voyager in London, people assumed the book was nearly done and that an announcement about its release was coming. But that's not how this works, Martin said.

He pointed out that when he travels the world for his various speaking engagements and appearances, he schedules time with his publishers, editors, and agents to have face-to-face sitdowns purely to maintain and build these relationships. Communicating over Zoom and email is all well and good, but when Martin travels, he likes to sit down and chat.

"When I travel, if I have a day or two to catch up with one of my editors or agents, I jump on it. Every time I travel to NYC, I get together with my literary agents, and my editors at Bantam and Tor.. along with old friends, family, and the like. That’s true everywhere I go. If I fly to Germany for a con or book fair, I will see my German agents, publishers, and translators," he said. "If it's Italy or Spain or Finland, same thing. If I ever find myself in Brazil or Japan or Egypt, I'd try and connect with my Brazilian or Japanese or Egyptian publishers."

This is the "standard way of doing business," Martin said, adding that it "does not signify that some momentous announcement is at hand."

"It doesn't signify anything, actually… except a desire to touch base, catch up, renew old contacts or make some new ones… and enjoy a nice meal. So calm down, please. When Winds of Winter is done, the word will not trickle out, there WILL be a big announcement… where and when I cannot say," he said.

In 2023, Martin said he still had hundreds of pages to write before he was finished with The Winds of Winter. While fans have to wait a while longer for the next book, the next episode of House of the Dragon is set for release this Sunday, July 14, and a third season is coming later.

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