George R.R. Martin Pulls Out of World Fantasy Convention, Working on 'Winds of Winter'
Fans of George R.R. Martin's books have complained about the long wait between the famous author's books, with the previous installment, "A Dance with Dragons," being released in 2010. As of the moment, there is no official word yet when "Winds of Winter" will be published, but though it looks like we won't be getting Martin's latest novel soon, the author announced that he needs to get going on the next installment in "The Song of Fire and Ice" series, and therefore, he'll be cutting back on appearances this year.
In a blog post on Monday, March 16, Martin apologized to fans who planned to see him at November's World Fantasy Convention in Saratoga.
"I have too much to do," he wrote. "Too many things on my plate. Son of Kong foremost amongst them."
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Son of Kong is an inside joke Martin uses to refer to "Winds of Winter" on his blog.
The author also said that he will not be attending this year's San Diego Comic-Con. Martin has been a mainstay of HBO's "Game of Thrones" panel since 2010.
"Also, I have decided against attending San Diego Comicon. Same reason. But since Comicon was never listed on my Appearances page, scratching it is not a big deal," he continued.
Though Martin will be hard at work on "Winds of Winter," fans should not expect for the book to be published this year, as his U.K. publisher HarperCollins told The Hollywood Reporter that while the author is indeed cutting back on public appearances, the book won't likely make a 2015 debut.
"George is indeed focusing on his writing, and will therefore not be attending SDCC this year. Since he never confirmed that he would attend in 2015, this really doesn't affect any plans," said a spokesperson for Penguin Random House, Martin's U.S. publisher, to THR.
However, Martin added in his blog post that if he does finish "Winds of Winter," he might put in an appearance at the aforementioned conventions after all.
"Should I complete and deliver WINDS OF WINTER before these cons roll round, I reserve the right to change my mind," he adds.
