Game Of Thrones Author George RR Martin Opens Up About Depression Amid Winds Of Winter Delay

American author, screenwriter, and television producer George RR Martin, whose fantasy novels inspired the hit HBO television series Game of Thrones, has opened up about experiencing depression during a “stressful” and “overwhelming” year, in his first personal blog post.

Readers are eagerly waiting for the sixth instalment of his A Song of Ice and Fire series, titled The Winds of Winter. It follows the fifth book, A Dance with Dragons, which was released in 2011.

George RR Martin on depression

“This year has been … stressful, to say the least,” the 77-year-old author wrote in his blog post titled Better Late Than Never. “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 also revealed that the posts published on his website since February had been written by his assistants because he had a fall.

Martin also opened up about ageing, writing “getting old is no fun”, but said that he had “amazing times” this year alongside its difficulties.

“I suppose that’s just life. Of course, I knew that. If you’ve read my stories, you know that,” he added.

He turns 78 on September 20.

Winds of Winter update

The book has been in works since the publication of fifth instalment. There is no update on the publication date yet.

Some readers have even criticised Martin over the delay.

In a blog post in May 2025, Martin opened up about the criticism he faced for allegedly abandoning the Game of Thrones series. “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,” he had said.

On the charges, he wrote: “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.”

But Martin said he was invested in Westeros and its characters. “I care about them all,” he wrote. “More than you can ever imagine.”

In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter in January, Martin, sharing update on Winds of Winter, said he completed about 1,100 manuscript pages of the upcoming book.

He also said that leaving the series unfinished would feel like “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 added.