‘Winds Of Winter’ Release Date: George R.R. Martin Doesn’t Want To Be Rushed, But Promises Fans A ‘Bittersweet Ending’

While reports that the Winds of Winter release date is in early 2016, author George R.R. Martin still chooses to be cagey about his highly-anticipated Game of Thrones book. The 67-year-old writer recently had a discussion at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, his alma mater. GRRM said that there’s no way he could write faster.

“I’ve been hearing them come up behind me for years, and the question is, How can I make myself write faster? I think, by now, the answer is, I can’t. I write at the pace I write, and what the show is doing is not going to change what the books are.”

Expectations for Winds of Winter are sky high, that’s why George claims to be taking his time in penning the novel. He also revealed that a pivotal part of his writing process is learning how to shut all those voices pressuring him to write faster.

Nonetheless, even if there’s no confirmed Winds of Winter release date yet, fans can still hope for a crowd-pleasing ending that will bring honor to the fallen heroes of Westeros. According to Vulture, GRRM promised during the discussion that the books would have a bittersweet ending.

“People ask me how Game of Thrones is gonna end, and I’m not gonna tell them. But I always say to expect something bittersweet in the end. I think you need to have some hope. We all yearn for happy endings in a sense. Myself, I’m attracted to the bittersweet ending.”

He likewise added that the ending of the Game of Thrones novels would be reminiscent of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Return of the King. Tolkien’s highly-acclaimed trilogy ended with Frodo Baggins successfully destroying the ring that symbolizes evil, but upon coming home to the Shire, he discovers that the place is already in chaos.

Meanwhile, GRRM recently announced the release of the official Game of Thrones coloring book.

Download an image from the new A Game of Thrones coloring book and share! Post on social with #gameofcolors https://t.co/jqKHVbaIPG

— George RR Martin (@GRRMspeaking) October 29, 2015

Although fans were given access to a free illustration from the coloring book, many made quips that George should work on Winds of Winter instead.

George RR Martin just sent me an email about a Game of Thrones coloring book. That's nice. BUT SEVEN HELLS, WHAT ABOUT WINDS OF WINTER?!

— Robert R. Suro (@rrsuro) October 27, 2015

Speculations are rife that Winds of Winter will come out next year because HBO made the decision to delay the premiere of Game of Thrones Season 6. Winter is coming late because the network will premiere Martin Scorsese’s Vinyl in February.

However, many believe that the creative forces behind Game of Thrones delayed the show’s premiere to give way for the Winds of Winter release date. Vanity Fair reports that there’s a possibility that the book will come out three months before the show’s sixth season.

As a way to repay GRRM’s astronomical contribution to the series, showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff might reportedly give him one last go to give the show personal touches. This is because there’s no way that the final book in the series, A Dream of Spring, will come out before the show’s final season.

Another angle is that the showrunners might want to make it up to GRRM. Uproxx previously reported that the writer’s in a “passive-aggressive” war with Weiss and Benioff because of veering away from the books’ storylines.

Last May, GRRM explained that television shows are typically not faithful to their source materials. Despite this fact, the author is still yearning for the show’s ending to reflect his work.

“And over here I am trying to write the best novels that I can. And yes, more and more, they differ. Two roads diverging in the dark of the woods, I suppose… but all of us are still intending that at the end we will arrive at the same place.”

[Photo by Taylor Hill/Getty Images for Miller Lite]