George RR Martin has opened up about experiencing depression during a “stressful” and “overwhelming” year, as readers continue to await the long-delayed sixth instalment of his A Song of Ice and Fire series. The 77-year-old American author, whose fantasy novels shaped and inspired the hit HBO television series, wrote candidly about his recent difficulties in his first personal blog post for almost six months.
What did Martin say about his year?
Martin said this year has been difficult, while also acknowledging some positive developments. He described it as a period marked by both “great things” and “nightmares”, saying he had lost friends and battled sadness and depression.
“This year has been … stressful, to say the least,”
“So much has been happening, it’s been overwhelming. Some great things, exciting things. Dreams coming true. But there have been nightmares too. I have lost friends. Battled sadness and depression. The worst may be yet to come.”
He said posts published on his website since February had been written by his assistants because he had continued to fall behind despite their help. Martin, who turns 78 in September, also reflected on ageing and said “getting old is no fun”, though he added that the year had also included “amazing times”.
“getting old is no fun”
“I suppose that’s just life. Of course, I knew that. If you’ve read my stories, you know that.”
What recent successes did he mention?
Among the year’s highlights, Martin said HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel based on his Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas received nine Emmy nominations, including for outstanding drama series. He pointed to that as one of the “amazing times” in a year he otherwise described as stressful and overwhelming.
Why are readers still waiting on The Winds of Winter?
Martin’s comments came amid continued anticipation for The Winds of Winter, the planned sixth and penultimate novel in A Song of Ice and Fire. The book has been in progress since the publication of the fifth instalment, A Dance with Dragons, in 2011, and has become one of the most eagerly awaited novels in modern publishing. No publication date has been announced.
He has faced sustained criticism from some readers over the delay and has previously referred to the book as “the curse of my life”. The Game of Thrones TV show eventually overtook its source material, with its later seasons following a separate narrative that received especially after its final season in 2019.
How has Martin responded to criticism?
In a previous post, Martin directly addressed those who believed he had abandoned the series, sarcastically listing the accusations levelled against him.
“I will never finish Winds. If I do, I will never finish A Dream of Spring. If I do, it won’t be any good.”
“I am going to die soon anyway, because I am so old. I lost all interest in A Song of Ice and Fire decades ago. I don’t give a shit about writing any longer, I just sit around and spend my money.”
Martin insisted that he remained invested in Westeros and its characters.
“I care about them all,”
“More than you can ever imagine.”
What did he say about finishing the book?
In an interview with, Martin said he had completed about 1,100 manuscript pages of The Winds of Winter. He said leaving the series unfinished would feel like “a total failure”, adding that if he could clear some of his other commitments he might be able to finish the novel “pretty soon”.
“a total failure”
“I do think if I can just get some of these other things off my back, I could finish The Winds of Winter pretty soon … It’s been made clear to me that Winds is the priority, but … I don’t know. Sometimes I’m not in the mood for that.”
He said it had been made clear to him that Winds is the priority, but added that he does not always feel like working on it.
