George RR Martin's the Winds of Winter Already Broke a Disappointing Release Record After 15 Years

George R.R. Martin, author of A Song of Ice and Fire, whose long-awaited sixth novel, The Winds of Winter, remains unpublished more than 15 years after the release of A Dance with Dragons in 2011 (Credit: Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons)

George R.R. Martin's The Winds of Winter has passed an unwelcome milestone in 2026. Readers have now waited longer for the sixth A Song of Ice and Fire novel than Martin took to publish the first five books.

The comparison follows more than 15 years without another instalment. A Game of Thrones appeared on 1 August 1996, and A Dance with Dragons was published on 12 July 2011. The sixth novel remains unpublished as of 11 October 2026, with no confirmed release date.