The Winds of Winter will not be arriving this autumn, publisher Bantam Books has confirmed, after anonymous online claims over the weekend alleged that George R.R. Martin had quietly delivered the long-awaited manuscript and was poised to announce a release at San Diego Comic-Con.
The latest frenzy began when a now viral anonymous post circulated among Game of Thrones and A Song of Ice and Fire readers, setting out a highly specific scenario. It claimed that Martin had handed in The Winds of Winter in January, that the book was 'long long,' and that HBO was preparing to front a glossy marketing campaign ahead of an autumn launch. For a fandom that has been living on scraps and missed estimates for more than a decade, the detail was just convincing enough to sting.
