'Winds of Winter' release date news: George R.R. Martin remains mum about book release

"A Song of Ice and Fire" Books 1 to 4 box set [Photo credit: George R.R. Martin website]

With all the speculations about Jon Snow's fate, only the release of "The Winds of Winter" will confirm if the Night's Watch Lord Commander is still alive or not.  

Author George R.R. Martin is still working on the next installment in his best-selling "A Song of Ice and Fire" series. Still, fans of the books and its TV adaptation on HBO, "Game of Thrones," are eagerly waiting for it to get published since the answer to the biggest question that was posed at the end of book 5 and the finale of "GoT" season 5 was left unanswered. In both the book and TV versions, Jon Snow was left for dead after being stabbed multiple times by his Night's Watch brothers. 

The best-selling author of the books earlier announced that he cancelled his prior public appearances so he can focus on writing "The Winds of Winter." Early this month, Martin was absent from the San Diego Comic-Con. Instead, he let the cast and producers of the HBO series answer questions regarding the future of the series. Martin also requested his fans to limit sending emails to ask questions since answering them could delay his writing schedule. 

Fairly recently, rumors surfaced that the author has already finished writing the book when a statement from "Game of Thrones" director Jack Bender was said to have been misinterpreted. In a Reddit AMA, the director was asked if he had read an advanced copy of Book 6 to which he answered "yes." However, reports later denied the rumors, stating that the director might have been referring to the season 6 outline of "GoT."

Martin also denied those rumors, saying that there is no truth to them. But the author earlier said that he wants to release "The Winds of Winter" before "Game of Thrones" season 6 begins next year. 

News
Richard Moth appointed as new Archbishop of Westminster
Richard Moth appointed as new Archbishop of Westminster

Bishop Richard Moth has been confirmed as the new Archbishop of Westminster, the most senior post in the Catholic Church in England and Wales. 

The mystery of the Wise Men
The mystery of the Wise Men

The carol assures us that “We three kings of Orient are…” and tells us they were “following yonder star”. Can we be sure there were three of them? Were they kings? Where in the Orient were they from? What was the star they followed? In fact, there is a lot that we just do not know. This is the story …

English Heritage deletes debunked claims about pagan origins of Christmas Day
English Heritage deletes debunked claims about pagan origins of Christmas Day

English Heritage has admitted it got it wrong when it shared false claims that the date of Christmas is derived from a pagan Roman festival in honour of a sun god.

Guinness Book of Records recognises 'the world’s longest serving Sunday School teacher'
Guinness Book of Records recognises 'the world’s longest serving Sunday School teacher'

Pam Knowles started helping out her church Sunday school in 1951 at the age of 13.