Even when it comes to blogging, George R.R. Martin is not especially prolific. The beloved Game of Thrones creator has posted an increasingly rare update on his Not a Blog blog for the first time since February, and we're still none the wiser about when The Winds of Winter will finally release.
"This year has been… stressful, to say the least," started a sombre Martin, who noted that he has "lost friends" and "battled sadness and depression" during his time away. Back at the beginning of the year, Martin gave an interview to The Hollywood Reporter where he revealed, in frank terms, that his relationship with House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal is "abysmal" and that the show is "not my story any longer," no doubt a contributing factor to that stressful year.
It's not all been doom and gloom for Martin, however. He's still closely involved with A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms as the show's co-creator, and dedicates much of his latest blog post to celebrating that show's nine Emmy nominations, with the caveat that "I was hoping we'd get a few of the acting nominations as well. But there's always next year." A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 2 is close to completing production. In fact, Egg star Dexter Sol Ansell recently revealed he's already wrapped filming.
What Martin, pointedly, doesn't offer is any kind of update on The Winds of Winter. The long (long) awaited next chapter in Martin's mammoth A Song of Ice and Fire saga is set to follow 2011's A Dance With Dragons. But, over 15 years on, we're none the wiser about when the book will actually release. And it's not even the final Game of Thrones book that Martin needs to write, with A Dream of Spring expected to follow.
At 77 years old, you can hardly blame Martin for slowing down somewhat (OK, a lot) when it comes to his writing. However, he has been keeping plenty busy. As well as a hands-on role with A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, that show's co-creator, Ira Parker, has suggested that Martin is currently penning a fourth Dunk and Egg novella. A new Game of Thrones play, The Mad King, is also currently in previews in the UK, and is set in the final years before the events of the novels.
As for The Winds of Winter, Martin previously welcomed imprisonment if he didn't finish the much-anticipated book by a certain deadline. And that deadline passed 6 years ago...
The House of the Dragon season 3 finale releases on HBO Max in the US on August 9, and on Sky and NOW in the UK on August 10. You can keep up to date with our House of the Dragon season 3 release schedule.
For more, check out our guide to all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and shows.
