If you’re a Game of Thrones fan and were online this past weekend, you probably saw a leak making the rounds on social media about The Winds of Winter.
A tweet featuring a screenshot from an anonymous leaker suggested that George R. R. Martin‘s long-awaited sixth entry in the Song of Ice & Fire saga is secretly set for release later this year, with an announcement forthcoming. This alleged intel fueled quite a bit of conversation, especially on X, with many finding it hard to believe. It received additional pickup from select media.
To help clear up the confusion, Bantam Books, the U.S. publisher of Martin’s Westeros-set book series, is debunking the claims.
“The online chatter you are seeing regarding a supposed leak is false,” a representative from Bantam Books tells Entertainment Weekly.
Kit Harington as Jon Snow on ‘Game of Thrones’
Credit: HBO
It’s been 15 years since readers received a new portion of the ongoing story. What began with A Game of Thrones in 1996 continued with A Clash of Kings (1999), A Storm of Swords (2000), A Feast For Crows (2005), and A Dance With Dragons (2011), all released through publishers Bantam Books (in the U.S. and Canada) and Harper Voyager (in the U.K.).
After The Winds of Winter, Martin promised to deliver a seventh book installment, A Dream of Spring.
The most recent update Martin gave on The Winds of Winter came in a January cover story interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “I do think if I can just get some of these other things off my back, I could finish The Winds of Winter pretty soon,” he said. “It’s been made clear to me that Winds is the priority, but… I don’t know. Sometimes I’m not in the mood for that.”
The author made it clear that he wants to finish the books and that he “would hate” it if another writer stepped in to do it for him. He also mused on the ending of A Song of Ice & Fire versus how the show concluded.
“I was going to kill more people,” Martin said. “Not the ones they killed [on the show]. They made it more of a happy ending. I don’t see a happy ending for Tyrion. His whole arc has been tragic from the first. I was going to have Sansa die, but she’s been so appealing in the show, maybe I’ll let her live.”
‘House of the Dragon’
Credit: Courtesy of HBO
Martin has given various updates on The Winds of Winter over the years through his “Not a Blog” website, in addition to various appearances, including more recently at New York Comic Con 2025.
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“I know there’s all this controversy about Winds of Winter and how late it is, but I’ve always had trouble with deadlines, and I don’t feel happy breaching contracts or missing a deadline or anything like that,” he said at that particular panel.
Meanwhile, the Game of Thrones TV universe continues on HBO and HBO Max. House of the Dragon premieres its third season this summer ahead of a fourth and likely final season in 2028, while A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, based on Martin’s Tales of Dunk & Egg novellas, is in production on season 2 for release in 2027.
Martin, which fans consistently point out, is also at work various other projects across books, TV, video games, and now theater.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
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