The Winds of Winter is not releasing this fall as George R.R. Martin's publisher issues statement on leak and "fake" release date

Sorry, folks. The wait for The Winds of Winter goes on as George R.R. Martin's US publisher has addressed recent rumors.

"The online chatter you are seeing regarding a supposed leak is false," Bantam Books told Entertainment Weekly.

The leak in question, from a supposed 'production assistant', said that the full manuscript for the sixth book in the Song of Ice and Fire was completed and delivered by Martin in January – with a San Diego Comic-Con announcement and fall release window planned.

As we mentioned earlier this week, we're just months away from crossing into remarkable territory: the wait for The Winds of Winter, as of July 2026, will surpass the total time (14 years, 11 months) it took for Martin to publish the first five novels in the series. But who's counting?

As of January, Martin had provided an update-of-sorts on The Winds of Winter, which is fast becoming pop culture shorthand for a project that will never be completed.

"It would feel like a total failure to me. I want to finish," Martin told The Hollywood Reporter.

Perhaps the biggest indicator of the chokehold the project has over Martin arrived a year ago in a candid admission during an interview with Time.

There, he said: "That's the curse of my life here. There's no doubt Winds of Winter is 13 years late. I'm still working on it. I have periods where I make progress and then other things divert my attention."

Those other things include A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which is returning for a second season and House of the Dragon – despite a public falling out with showrunner Ryan Condal.

For more, read our guides on A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 2 and new TV shows.