The Winds of Winter Update: GRRM Plans 'Dunk and Egg' in 'Copious Spare Time' as TWOW Stalls

For fans of the A Song of Ice and Fire book series, the wait has become a vigil. It has been fourteen long years since the last novel, A Dance with Dragons, was released on 12 July 2011—a period that has seen the entire A Game of Thrones television saga begin, conquer the world, and end. Yet, its source material, The Winds of Winter, remains unfinished.

This epic delay, however, has not stopped the series' author, George R.R. Martin, from planning an entire slate of future projects. While fans continue to draught, Martin is looking beyond. He still aims to finish the main franchise with a seventh and final title, A Dream of Spring.

He also plans to write a second volume of his Targaryen history, Fire & Blood. As if that were not enough, he has also detailed plans to continue his popular Tales of Dunk and Egg prequel novellas, a task he described in a December 2022 blog post with what fans felt was a staggering level of irony.

On his 'Not A Blog' website, Martin wrote: 'I just need to finish THE WINDS OF WINTER, and then do either A DREAM OF SPRING or volume two of FIRE & BLOOD, and slip in a new Dunk & Egg between each of those in my copious spare time.'

The 'Copious Spare Time' of George R.R. Martin

The phrase 'copious spare time' has become a sore point for a fanbase that has been waiting for The Winds of Winter since 2011. The Tales of Dunk and Egg series, which follows the adventures of Ser Duncan the Tall and a young Aegon V Targaryen, already consists of three published novellas: The Hedge Knight (1998), The Sworn Sword (2003), and The Mystery Knight (2010).

Martin's casual mention of 'slipping in a new one' is particularly notable given that he has six more Dunk and Egg stories planned.

Martin is certainly aware of the criticism and fan outrage. In past years, he was often open and vulnerable in his updates, admitting his failure to meet deadlines and his own frustration with the process, once famously calling the book the 'curse of his life.'

His last major progress update came in late 2022, when he stated he had written approximately 1,100 to 1,200 pages and still had 400 to 500 to go.

While the lengthy wait is excruciating, fans are more furious at the fact that Martin has managed to publish other major works in the interim. The 2018 release of the first 700-page volume of Fire & Blood was a major point of contention, proving he was capable of writing, just not the book everyone was waiting for.

Hollywood vs. Westeros: Where George R.R. Martin's Focus Lies

In more recent years, official updates on The Winds of Winter have dwindled, becoming vague footnotes in blog posts celebrating his other successes. This has only strengthened the belief that his focus has permanently shifted from Westeros to Hollywood.

Martin has stated in the past that The Winds of Winter remains his top priority, but the facts on the ground tell a different story. The Game of Thrones television universe is expanding at a rapid pace, with Martin serving as an executive producer on its various projects.

Two full seasons of the hit prequel House of the Dragon have already aired. Coming in 2026 is A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, an adaptation of the very Dunk and Egg novellas he plans to continue writing.

And in July 2025, writer Mattson Tomlin—known for his work on The Batman Part II and Terminator Zero—confirmed that a new prequel series, Aegon's Conquest, is in the early stages of production, suggesting another major project is about to consume a chunk of the author's time.

Meanwhile, other potential spinoffs, such as the Jon Snow sequel (code-named Snow) and the Nymeria prequel (Ten Thousand Ships), have reportedly been shelved, indicating his development time is being focused on these new prequels.

The 'Priority' Paradox for George R.R. Martin

For fans, the maths simply does not add up. The tangible progress of the live-action shows stands in stark contrast to the seemingly phantom progress of The Winds of Winter. While the book has been 'three-quarters of the way done' for years, the spinoffs are moving forward with clear production schedules and release dates.

With House of the Dragon season three in the works, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms arriving soon, and Aegon's Conquest now officially in development, fans are finding it harder than ever to believe that The Winds of Winter is truly the top priority.

The 'curse' of The Winds of Winter may be that its author's creative focus has simply moved on, even if he has not admitted it to himself, or his readers. With a slate of new television projects moving forward at full speed, fans who have waited fourteen years are left to wonder if the book is still a priority at all.

Winter is coming to the small screen, but it may never arrive on the page.