--- title: George R.R. Martin on 2018 Winds of Winter Release Date description: In what could be his most diabolical move since the Red Wedding, George R.R. Martin has once again delayed the release of The Winds of Winter. canonical: https://time.com/5254671/george-r-r-martin-winds-of-winter-2018-release/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-04-25T20:07:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T20:05:15.616Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: George R.R. Martin Has Some Bad News for Game of Thrones Fans og:description: "No, winter is not coming" og:url: https://time.com/5254671/george-r-r-martin-winds-of-winter-2018-release/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3626afbd009afd51/69892eb17cdbaccdaad5cb20/george-rr-martin-the-winds-of-winter-2018.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Writer And Screenwriter George R. R. Martin At Press Conference In St. Petersburg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: George R.R. Martin Has Some Bad News for Game of Thrones Fans twitter:description: "No, winter is not coming" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3626afbd009afd51/69892eb17cdbaccdaad5cb20/george-rr-martin-the-winds-of-winter-2018.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # George R.R. Martin Has Some Bad News for _Game of Thrones_ Fans  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Apr 25, 2018 8:07 PM CUT  Writer and screenwriter George R. R. Martin attends a press conference on August 16, 2017 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Writer and screenwriter George R. R. Martin attends a press conference on August 16, 2017 in Saint Petersburg, Russia.Igor Russak/NurPhoto via Getty Images  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Apr 25, 2018 8:07 PM CUT In what could be his most diabolical move since subjecting fans to the [Red Wedding](http://time.com/5108845/game-of-thrones-the-hound-red-wedding-foreshadowing/ "undefined"), [George R.R. Martin](http://time.com/5237850/george-r-r-martin-game-of-thrones-change-lady-stoneheart/ "undefined") has once again delayed the release of [_The Winds of Winter_](http://time.com/4326121/george-r-r-martin-the-winds-of-winter-new-chapter/ "undefined"). In a Wednesday press release announcing the publication date of the first volume of _Fire and Blood_—a new spinoff exploring the history of House Targaryen—the author confirmed that the long-awaited sixth book in his _A Song of Ice and Fire_ series definitely isn’t hitting shelves this year. “No, winter is not coming… not in 2018, at least,” he wrote, according to [_Entertainment Weekly_](http://ew.com/books/2018/04/25/george-r-r-martin-winds-of-winter-2018/ "undefined"). “You’re going to have to keep waiting for _The Winds of Winter_. You will, however, be able to return to Westeros this year. I do want to stress… indeed, I want to _shout_… that _Fire and Blood_ is not a novel. This is not a traditional narrative and was never intended to be… let’s call this one ‘_imaginary history’_ instead….As for me, I’m returning once again to _The Winds of Winter.”_ Readers have been waiting on a new _ASOIAF_ installment since the release of _A Dance with Dragons_ in 2011, the year _Game of Thrones_ made its television debut. But with the HBO drama’s final season set to air in 2019, it’s possible fans will know the end of the story before the _The Winds of Winter_ ever sees the light of day. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5254671/george-r-r-martin-winds-of-winter-2018-release/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5254671/george-r-r-martin-winds-of-winter-2018-release/"},"headline":"George R.R. 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