Game of Thrones: George R.R. Martin's Self-Imposed Deadline for Winds of Winter Has Expired

For Game of Thrones fans, perhaps the only thing as frustrating as the ending of the TV series is the fact that author George R.R. Martin still has yet to release the sixth book in the series, The Winds of Winter. Martin has been teasing the completion of the book for years but nothing has come of it. Writing a book is tough, there's no denying that, especially when it carries the heavy weight of expectations that Winds of Winter does. But the issue with this book is that Martin has often told fans that he'll have it finished. In one case last year, Martin set a hard deadline, and that deadline has now expired.

Last May, Martin wrote on his blog that he would have The Winds of Winter in his hands when the 2020 World Science Fiction Convention kicked off in New Zealand. Well, that convention begins today, on July 29, 2020. It may be virtual this year, but the convention is still happening, and The Winds of Winter is nowhere to be found.

The most comical part of this whole thing is that Martin made such an emphatic guarantee about having the book done by now. He quite literally gave fans permission to imprison him if it wasn't finished by now.

"If I don't have The Winds of Winter in hand when I arrive in New Zealand for Worldcon, you have here my formal written permission to imprison me in a small cabin on White Island, overlooking that lake of sulfuric acid, until I'm done," Martin wrote. "Just so long as the acid fumes do not screw up my old DOS word processor, I'll be fine."

Maybe Martin will surprise everyone and reveal a completed version of The Winds of Winter at some point during the convention this week. Then again, given that no one has heard anything about the book yet, it seems unlikely.

The actual release date of The Winds of Winter remains a mystery, and will likely remain that way until Martin completes his works. It's safe to say, given the franchise's immense popularity and the collective disappointment regarding the show's ending, The Winds of Winter is shaping up to be one of the most highly-anticipated books in some time.

When do you think The Winds of Winter will actually be released? Let us know in the comments!

Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images.