‘The Winds Of Winter’ Set For Late 2017 Release Date, George R.R. Martin Confirms HBO Exclusivity

The release date of The Winds of Winter could be happening before the end of the year, thanks to George R.R. Martin’s invigorated desire to complete the novel sooner. In addition to that, the author of A Song of Ice and Fire may have confirmed that there are only a few distractions surrounding him now that he is “exclusive to HBO” and Game of Thrones.

Fans have been waiting for several years for the completion of The Winds of Winter. After all, George R.R. Martin’s previous novel A Dance With Dragons concluded with numerous cliffhangers, including the fate of Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen. Although these have already been answered in Game of Thrones, people are still holding on to hope that the highly-anticipated novel will be released in 2017. Fortunately, Martin appears to be doing whatever it takes to make sure the book will be published by the end of the year.

George R.R. Martin has recently celebrated about his other project Nightflyers being greenlit by Syfy. The author wrote that the proposed series based on his 1980 novella will be aired on the channel but also revealed that he will not take part in its development. This is due to Martin being “exclusive to HBO,” a statement that immediately had fans wondering if the writer is choosing to work on The Winds of Winter instead. Martin later clarified his claim in the comments section, explaining that he is not allowed to write for anybody other than the Game of Thrones network.

“I am exclusive only in television; I can still write all the books, short fiction, and feature screenplays I want, for anyone. And even in television, under the terms of the new deal, I have three ‘cut-outs’ — specific named projects that I can provide services on even if they appear on other networks — but only PRODUCING services, not writing services.”

George R.R. Martin concluded the response by saying that his exclusivity with HBO could mean “good things,” leading to speculations that the author meant he would have more time churning out new pages for The Winds of Winter. Fans are certainly hopeful that Martin’s writing speed has improved now that he got some advice from fellow novelist Stephen King.

Last year, George R.R. Martin sat down with Stephen King to discuss King’s book End of Watch. During the conversation, Martin asked his fellow author how he manages to write so fast. The IT writer revealed that he works around four hours per day and makes sure to end up with around six clean pages. However, King also pointed out that producing books is not easy, saying that these novels are “like babies.” In the meantime, The Winds of Winter is expected to be ready for editing and publication by late 2017.

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