--- title: George R.R. Martin: Winds of Winter Release Date 2017 description: Game of Thrones fans may soon be able to get their hands on the sixth installment of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. canonical: https://time.com/4631350/george-r-r-martin-the-winds-of-winter-release/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-11T16:53:11.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:47:36.437Z og:title: George R.R. Martin: The Winds of Winter Will Maybe Be Out This Year og:description: "Not done yet, but I’ve made progress" og:url: https://time.com/4631350/george-r-r-martin-the-winds-of-winter-release/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfe7df794ef4916db/6988b51da988ca3f466ba9b5/george-rr-martin-winds-of-winter-release-date.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: HBO's "Game Of Thrones" Season 5 - San Francisco Premiere og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: George R.R. Martin: The Winds of Winter Will Maybe Be Out This Year twitter:description: "Not done yet, but I’ve made progress" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfe7df794ef4916db/6988b51da988ca3f466ba9b5/george-rr-martin-winds-of-winter-release-date.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # George R.R. Martin Says _The Winds of Winter_ Will Probably, Maybe Be Out This Year > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=457f152f-8207-4155-9e02-1a1e6d405f0b&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: A History of Dragons [Watch (HLS stream): A History of Dragons](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/aX3EGE0r.m3u8) (2:51)  _Published 2016-04-22. Professor Christopher Fee discusses the history of dragons in our culture and their relevance today._  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Jan 11, 2017 4:53 PM UTC  George R.R. Martin Writer/Co-Executive Producer attends HBO's 'Game Of Thrones' Season 5 San Francisco Premiere at San Francisco Opera House on March 23, 2015 in San Francisco, California. George R.R. Martin Writer/Co-Executive Producer attends HBO's 'Game Of Thrones' Season 5 San Francisco Premiere at San Francisco Opera House on March 23, 2015 in San Francisco, California. Steve Jennings/WireImage  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Jan 11, 2017 4:53 PM UTC After nearly six years of waiting, [_Game of Thrones_](http://time.com/4429346/game-of-thrones-season-7-cast-news/)fans may soon be able to get their hands on the sixth installment of [George R.R. Martin’s](http://time.com/4618915/george-r-r-martin-celebrity-deaths-2016/) _A Song of Ice and Fire_ series, [_The Winds of Winter_](http://time.com/4591934/george-rr-martin-winds-of-winter/). Responding to a complaint on his most recent [Live Journal post](http://grrm.livejournal.com/515302.html) about the lengthy time gap between novels, the author explained that he is hoping to release the next installment this year. “Not done yet, but I’ve made progress,” he wrote. “But not as much as I hoped a year ago, when I thought to be done by now. I think it will be out this year. (But hey, I thought the same thing last year).” Luckily, at the very least, fans of Martin’s medieval fantasy world have the _Game of Thrones_ TV show too keep them entertained — the seventh season of which is set to premiere this summer. \[h/t [_The Huffington Post_](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/george-rr-martin-says-winds-of-winter-is-finally-coming-this-year%5Fus%5F58762c05e4b05b7a465c9ac0)\] ## Transcript Well, dragons never seem to go away do they? They occur in culture after culture. They occur in story after story. The idea of. Of being able to live in world full of magical creatures well that offers a certain excitement and joy and curiosity. Dragons are like a canvas upon which we paint our fears and desires as a culture and I think they remain relevant because they change with us. [ MUSIC ] Well in today's world we often define a dragon as a giant, scaly, winged reptilian beast, often can breathe fire. In the ancient world this wasn't always the case. They were very often giant serpents of various kinds. And they could be also multivalent. In the Asian world for example, dragons are often Symbols of good luck, good fortune. While in the biblical tradition, on the other hand, dragons are clearly evil. In the middle ages, dragons were indeed emblems of greed, avarice. Most people in America today would know that through the Hobbit and Smaug the dragon who was clearly developed on that exact theme and that In the Arthurian tradition, dragons are associated with the rise of a mighty, powerful, royal house, as well with omens and portents having to do with their demise. It seems to me that in Game of Thrones, this association with royalty and portents comes most clearly from the Arthurian tradition which Dragons might represents [ UNKNOWN ] [ MUSIC ] One of the ways that dragons myth spread was through travellers coming back with stories of dragons. So imagine if you will that, you travelled to North Africa from England When the 12th to 13th century and you saw a crocodile wouldn't that appear to you to be a monstrous, demonic beast? In our culture, dragons tell us about that which we fear not just out on the world like a crocodile but within ourselves like greed. Game of Thrones Plays with our sense of light and darkness, the best of humanity and the worst of humanity. And this tension is developed fully in the symbol of the dragon. Because the dragon, Dragon represents great power, but it also represents greed and destruction. And this bring together of these ideas tell us something about ourselves. Both what we fear, what we want, and what we would like to be. 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