‘The Winds Of Winter’ Release Date Delayed: George RR Martin Not Publishing Book In 2017?

Despite high public demands for the release of "The Winds Of Winter", the next installment of "Game Of Thrones", George RR Martin, the author, is taking his own sweet time finishing it. Even though he had hinted on January 2017 that he would be releasing the book within this year, the chances of that happening is getting slimmer by the day.

Six years have passed since George RR Martin came out with the last installment of "Game Of Thrones" series, known as "A Dance With Dragons". After the 69-year-old author missed an array of deadlines, fans of both the book series as well as popular TV production are now getting beyond restless, urging the Martin to release the much-anticipated "The Winds Of Winter" as soon as possible.

Aware of the fact that he is not good with meeting deadlines, George RR Martin has made sure that he did not make promises that he could not keep. "Not done yet, but I've made progress," "The Winds of Winter" author stated as reported by NME. "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)."

Even though Martin's vague estimate of the book's release date was not brimming with much confidence, the fans were optimistic enough. However, all evidences are pointing to the release date of "The Winds Of Winter" being postponed once again.

For starters, George RR Martin has already admitted to the fact that he finds it hard to concentrate while on tour or when he has other distractions surrounding him. And "The Winds of Winter" author has had many side projects taking place simultaneously to act as distractions. One of them is writing short stories for the fantastical anthology called "The Book Of Swords", edited by his friend, Gardner Dozois, which comes out on October 10, 2017, according to Live Journal.

Another reason for the delay could be the possibility that "The Winds Of Winter" might be split into 2 volumes. He is known to do this with some of his previously published books in the series like "A Storm of Swords" and "A Dance With Dragons". Fans are hoping that the apparent delay might be because Martin is planning to surprise them by releasing "The Winds Of Winter" along with the last installment, "A Dream Of Spring", but that would be a tall ask.

It seems like the book might get released in 2018 instead of this year. With any luck, "Game Of Thrones" fans would be able to celebrate Martin's 70^th birthday, which falls on September 20, 2018, with the release of the "The Winds of Winter".