George R.R. Martin addresses 'controversy' over 'Winds of Winter' delay

NEW YORK − George R.R. Martin's struggle with deadlines is nothing new.

The bestselling author of the book series "A Song of Ice and Fire," which was adapted into HBO's "Game of Thrones," joined in a wide-ranging discussion about his career at New York Comic Con on Oct. 11. During the panel, Martin, 77, repeatedly referenced his difficulty meeting deadlines and acknowledged that fans have been waiting for "The Winds of Winter," the planned next book in his series, for nearly 15 years.

"I know there's all this controversy about 'Winds of Winter' and how late it is, but I've always had trouble with deadlines," he said. "I don't feel happy breaching contracts or missing a deadline or anything like that."

Fellow author Joe Hill interviewed Martin for more than an hour and opened their conversation by alluding to the elephant in the room: that fans were surely waiting with bated breath for a "Winds of Winter" update.

"It's best to begin with the question I'm sure most of the people in this room want answered," Hill said. "I know everyone is hoping you can tell us: Can the Giants keep winning?"

As he discussed his well-known fandom for the New York Giants, Martin joked, "People are speculating, am I going to die soon before (I finish the books)? I'm not going to die until I see the Jets and the Giants in the Subway Super Bowl. I think that means I live forever!"

Martin last released a mainline entry in his "A Song of Ice and Fire" series in 2011 with "A Dance With Dragons." His intention was to complete two more books, starting with "The Winds of Winter," in time to release them before HBO caught up in the "Game of Thrones" television adaptation. But Martin was unable to do so, requiring the show to jump ahead and cover events that have not yet happened in his novels.

In the years since TV's "Game of Thrones" concluded in 2019, Martin has frequently said he is still working on "The Winds of Winter" but has provided no firm prediction on when the book may come out. In 2016, he said he had tried to get the book finished the previous year but missed his deadlines. "I am months away still … and that's if the writing goes well," he wrote in a January 2016 blog post.

Martin regularly receives backlash from fans when he announces anything on his website that is not a "Winds of Winter" release date, including when he has shared news about new adaptations of his writing. He made light of this backlash during the conversation, suggesting fans overestimate his level of involvement.

"People are buying all those old things that I wrote in the '90s and making movies and TV shows about them," he said. "Every time that happens and I announce it on my website, half the internet goes crazy. Why the (expletive) is George R.R. Martin writing this other thing when he should be writing "Winds of Winter"? What is he doing?' And I want to say, 'I did it in 1993, guys! Come on! It was lying in my drawer, and they wanted it, so I sold it to them!' "

Martin also discussed how difficulty meeting deadlines has been a recurring problem for him. While recalling working on "A Clash of Kings," his second "Song of Ice and Fire" book, he quipped, "Of course, I'm running late on it, as I had a wont to do."

He went on to tell a story about another time he was having trouble getting his writing done: When he was working on "The Hedge Knight," a novella eventually published in the anthology "Legends" in 1998, editor Robert Silverberg threatened to kick him off the project because he was running behind.

"I'm writing this story, and as I always do, I'm struggling with it, and I'm late, and Silverberg has a deadline at the end of the year," Martin recounted. "We're in September or something, and he sends me an email saying, 'I hear that you're way behind on your book. ... The publisher is very serious about wanting it in by the last day of the year. I cannot be late, because then they'll take some money away, so I'm going to have to drop you from the series.' "

Martin remembered this being "very traumatic" but said he fought back by pointing out he still had until the end of the year to get his story done. He ultimately did get it finished − on Dec. 31.

"I finished it barely in time," he said. "That week between Christmas and New Year's, I was going ... crazy."