The Complete Winds of Winter Resource v. 2

[BryndenBFish]

Hi everyone,

The last post on Westeros was approaching 20 pages, and the page was sorely in need of updates. Work and other life events prevented me from posting a new thread, but I had some time today. I've done a big update, and now the post is 9200 words of every last thing that GRRM has said about The Winds of Winter.

So, here it is: The updated Complete Winds of Winter Resource and covers such topics as:

• The writing process of TWOW & everything we know about it.
  
• All the chapters that GRRM has released and where to find them
  
• The chapters that GRRM has read at conventions and other places (This is pretty well documented here, but there are some small tidbits of info I've found elsewhere about these chapters)
  
• Unreleased confirmed to semi-confirmed chapters & POVs & where to find info out on them.
  
• All of the Plot Points from TWOW that GRRM has confirmed.
  
• Miscellaneous info from TWOW that didn't fit in any of the above sections.
  

Any and all comments/updates/info is hugely appreciated. The product wouldn't be anything without all the great comments/posts/etc that you all contribute. I will be happy to credit users here with finds on the blog itself. Thanks so much for reading. Cheers!

[BryndenBFish]

And here are all the updates for ease of viewing. :)

• “Meanwhile, I’m writing ‘The Winds of Winter.’ I’m not done with it yet. I still have a lot of pages to write, but I also have a lot of pages that are already written. So, I don’t know. I try not to worry about things like this. I just, you know, go in every day and write the scene that I’m trying to write that day and try to make it as good as I can.” – Access Hollywood Interview 3/27/2015

• GRRM cancelled appearances at San Diego Comic Con and the World Fantasy Convention to focus on writing The Winds of Winter. He will also not write an episode for Season 6 of Game of Thrones – Notablog, 3/27/2015

• Having The Winds of Winter published before season 6 of Thrones airs next spring “has been important to me all along,” says the best-selling New Mexico author. “I wish it was out now. Maybe I’m being overly optimistic about how quickly I can finish. But I canceled two convention appearances, I’m turning down a lot more interviews—anything I can do to clear my decks and get this done.” – Entertainment Weekly Interview, 4/4/2015

• We’ll see Highgarden and Casterly Rock, but not necessarily in The Winds of Winter.
  

  Okay George, as you will be, by now, no doubt aware, the media is reporting that you mentioned the Winds of Winter will show us both Highgarden and Casterly Rock.

  Is this true? And, if so, have you written these scenes yet?

  GRRM: Both settings will appear in the future, but not necessarily in WINDS. – GRRM, Notablog Comment, 3/26/2015

• Bran in The Winds of Winter
  
  

  Any chance that we will see bran in winds?

  
  

  GRRM: Yes – Notablog Comment, 4/1/2015

• In an interview with a Portuguese Newspaper, GRRM revealed that he was writing about Arya in mid-2013.
  
  

  Many readers are impatient to know the degree of advancement of new work, considering that the fifth volume, published in 2011, took six years to complete. But Martin does not reveal how many pages already written. Asked about which character is writing at the moment, is silent as to evaluate the desirability responding. Until only speak a word, “Arya”, the little daughter of Stark. – English translation from O Globo newspaper

  
  

• Jon Snow’s parentage might come out in The Winds of Winter, but if it doesn’t, it will come out in A Dream of Spring
  

  Martin is currently at work on the sixth book, “Winds of Winter,” in the planned seven-book epic. But obsessive fans can’t wait to learn how the series concludes, and particularly about the details of hero Jon Snow’s mysterious parentage.

  “I’ve not finished ‘The Winds of Winter’ yet, so maybe in that book, but if not then definitely in the next book,” he says of the Snow revelation. – New York Post Interview, 10/20/2014

• An exclusive painting by Magali Villeneuve will be featured in the ASOIAF 2016 Calendar set to be released in July 2015.
  

  It’s always the year of the dragon with this annual calendar featuring highlights from A Game of Thrones and beyond. In the 2016 edition, Magali Villeneuve, whose dazzling artwork appeared in the New York Times bestselling sensation The World of Ice & Fire, puts her spin on George R. R. Martin’s original saga with thrilling ambiance and breathtaking naturalism. And, as a special treat, one of Villeneuve’s twelve gorgeous, dynamic paintings depicts a scene from The Winds of Winter, the long-awaited sixth novel in A Song of Ice and Fire. – Amazon Page

• GRRM asked David J. Peterson for Dothraki translations for The Winds of Winter in 2013. – Link courtesy of /u/AerysIITargaryen
  
  

  Kyle: Now that the Dothraki look like they’re about to take the forefront in the books again, do you have this sense that George is gonna take [the language creator’s book] and he’s gonna make sure that the words he has now in [TWOW] are gonna match up now with what you’ve created?

  David J. Peterson: He’s actually asked me for a series of translations for The Winds of Winter, which I gave him. But that was a while ago

• In an interview with a French magazine Le Nouvel Observateur, GRRM said that The Winds of Winter would start with 13 POV perspectives but that number would decrease by the end.
  
  

  What about the sixth book ? I am juggling. In the first book we have seven POV caracters. In the sixth, there are 13 I think. But near the end, I have less POVs. – English Translation from Le Nouvel Observateur, 08/08/2014

[Emanresu]

Thank you very sincerely for all the work you've put into this

[rondo has three heads]

Maybe I missed it but I'm surprised these forums didn't go nuts when George said he really wants the book out before S6. I mean, it's not an official release date by any means, but it's fairly close!

And while one more year would not be a bad wait at all, it'd be pretty disheartening if he was being "overly optimistic" with that goal and to have TWOW come out ahead of S7 instead. Most major plot points from that book would already have been revealed, with the show ending anywhere from 3 to 6+ years before the books.

In either event it's sure an interesting time to be a fan. Also this thread is my jam.

[Gaston de Foix]

Maybe I missed it but I'm surprised these forums didn't go nuts when George said he really wants the book out before S6. I mean, it's not an official release date by any means, but it's fairly close!

And while one more year would not be a bad wait at all, it'd be pretty disheartening if he was being "overly optimistic" with that goal and to have TWOW come out ahead of S7 instead. Most major plot points from that book would already have been revealed, with the show ending anywhere from 3 to 6+ years before the books.

This forum is so used to small and cryptic news, it has no idea what to do with big and direct information.

To your other point: it doesn't matter too much whether book 6 and season 6 coincide or the book precedes the season because there's no way that Book 7 is coming out before season 7 unless the show takes a hiatus. Benioff and Weiss recently affirmed (I forget where but either the Oxford Union or one of their many EW interviews that the show would in fact be seven seasons) so the show will definitively supply an ending. All the star actors from Thrones want to move on, they have it on their resumes and they won't be young and good looking forever. I have no idea whether there are other factors, including the showrunners wanting to pursue other projects and/or step back for a while, but these reasons should suffice to limit the show for seven seasons, maybe eight at most.

Similarly the prospects of a movie seem dim unless HBO decides to risk their business model and get into the movie producing business. Even then, the salaries for the actors would have to be astronomical. Now there's a huge amount of money on the table if they make a movie so it might happen...but it doesn't seem on the cards for now. Finally even if Book 6 comes out in time (a big if) and a movie is on the cards, there's no obvious reason why the movie should wait for GRRM to finish Book 7 first (assuming he is able to finish in 7 books). Long story short the show will give us an ending.

[Endymion I Targaryen]

Less than 13 POVs in the end of Winds?It's really gonna be a bloodbath!

[zaafsta]

Im posting on here so that this thread will show under "my content", I dont know how else to do it, because following this topic didnt do the trick so...

Edit: I just realised how silly I look, there's a section called "content i follow" *massive face palm*

[BryndenBFish]

GRRM does not believe that The Winds of Winter will be eligible for a Hugo Nomination/Award next year. Likely, this means that GRRM does not believe that Winds will be published in 2015 as Hugo nominations are only made for the previous year.

[Annarkie]

That sounds about right. 2015 was a slim chance anyway.

[rondo has three heads]

GRRM does not believe that The Winds of Winter will be eligible for a Hugo Nomination/Award next year. Likely, this means that GRRM does not believe that Winds will be published in 2015 as Hugo nominations are only made for the previous year.

That, +his previous statements, means January-March 2016 is the earliest we should expect it.

~Christmas 2016 if he's being "overly optimistic," and 2024 if George comes down with Greyscale.

[Daemon I Blackfyre]

That, +his previous statements, means January-March 2016 is the earliest we should expect it.

~Christmas 2016 if he's being "overly optimistic," and 2024 if George comes down with Greyscale.

I think it's fair to say that Winds will be published at least before season 6.

If he really does finish the book in 2015, editors will see it in their best interests and they'll try their hardest to publish the book around those months. That would be just good marketing.

Then, we will all be able to worry about A Dream of Spring, coming out in 2020/2023.

God, here's a depressing thought...

[TheHeirToDorne]

This forum is so used to small and cryptic news, it has no idea what to do with big and direct information.

To your other point: it doesn't matter too much whether book 6 and season 6 coincide or the book precedes the season because there's no way that Book 7 is coming out before season 7 unless the show takes a hiatus. Benioff and Weiss recently affirmed (I forget where but either the Oxford Union or one of their many EW interviews that the show would in fact be seven seasons) so the show will definitively supply an ending. All the star actors from Thrones want to move on, they have it on their resumes and they won't be young and good looking forever. I have no idea whether there are other factors, including the showrunners wanting to pursue other projects and/or step back for a while, but these reasons should suffice to limit the show for seven seasons, maybe eight at most.

Similarly the prospects of a movie seem dim unless HBO decides to risk their business model and get into the movie producing business. Even then, the salaries for the actors would have to be astronomical. Now there's a huge amount of money on the table if they make a movie so it might happen...but it doesn't seem on the cards for now. Finally even if Book 6 comes out in time (a big if) and a movie is on the cards, there's no obvious reason why the movie should wait for GRRM to finish Book 7 first (assuming he is able to finish in 7 books). Long story short the show will give us an ending.

I think it matters greatly! Preempting S6 with the book means delaying the date at which the show over takes the books. I am going to try my best not to let the show spoil me. Having to avoid only S7 will be much easier than having to avoid both. Also I think it still remains to be see just how detailed GRRM has been with D&D. If they write S6 without reading TWOW, we'll be able to judge book vs. show to see how divergent they actually get. If they completely go down the garden path, maybe I'll watch S7 just knowing how far off it is from canon. ALSO, it matters because it means a new book sooner!!

To your other point: HBO already is in the movie business. They have a history of following up concluded series with theatrical releases (Sex and the City, Entourage). They also have a history of following up cancelled series with "movie" specials to close out story lines that are first-run broadcast on the HBO channel (Hello Ladies, Looking). They could utilize either of these scenarios to finish out the show. They have the production framework through their HBO Films moniker. Until very recently it seemed like all parties were resolutely set on 7 seasons and done. But recently HBO said they would want more but respected D&D's vision. Soon after D&D wavered, saying maybe it would take 75 or 80 hours, rather than 70. As for reasons against expansion: sure, cast contracts would cost more. But this show MINTS money for HBO - increased production costs would hardly disrupt that. And as for HBO saying that they wouldn't want to ask people to pay more money to buy a ticket to finish out their journey? Yeah right. How noble of them. The show has a dedicated, rabid fan base that would assuredly turn out for a movie release. You're gonna tell me HBO would turn down that possibility? For what, chivalry's sake? I'm just saying at this point, especially with the increasing interest in the show, everything is still on the table.

[zaafsta]

This thread isn't as active as the previous one. Is it because everyone is experiencing site errors like I am?

[Grrrod]

This thread isn't as active as the previous one. Is it because everyone is experiencing site errors like I am?

The show might be hogging all the attention.

[zaafsta]

The show might be hogging all the attention.

But are you getting the error? I keep getting "Search is not enabled on the community at this time."

[Annarkie]

I had errors all last night and this morning. I was hoping it was because some big news broke the forum... but that doesn't seem to be the case

[HexMachina]

But are you getting the error? I keep getting "Search is not enabled on the community at this time."

The search function is currently disabled yes. Which unfortunately means pages like "My Content" don't work either, nor does the forum remember your last post in the thread. It's while there is heavier traffic for S5, I think

[Liaraeyne]

Yes guys there are a lot of errors, but we're getting REALLY off topic. Let's not discuss it here anymore.

BryndenBFish: Again, thank you so much for your compilation, I've enjoyed reading it. :) Question: how far do you believe GRRM is with TWOW? How many pages do you think he has approximately finished, and why?

[raj34]

I think it's fair to say that Winds will be published at least before season 6.

Why is it "fair" to say that? I think you meant, "most wildly optimistic scenario."

[Daemon I Blackfyre]

Why is it "fair" to say that? I think you meant, "most wildly optimistic scenario."

No, I really think that at this point George has a good chance of finishing the book before 2016 and getting it published before season 6. So if "fair" is not the word, I'd say "highly probable".