'The Winds of Winter' release date news: George R.R. Martin to complete novel in early 2017?

To say that author George R.R. Martin has been under a lot of pressure is an understatement. Martin received considerable backlash after failing to deliver "The Winds of Winter" before the season 6 premiere of "Game of Thrones." The recently concluded installment of the HBO series was supposed to be based on the said novel but instead, it had to surpass its source material. Now, after almost six years of waiting, it is possible that the highly anticipated the sixth installment in the "A Song of Ice and Fire" fantasy series is finally arriving in early 2017.

Martin is currently in Mexico for the ongoing Guadalajara International Book Fair. In a blog post published earlier this week, the author announced that after this event, he will be making very minimal appearances in order to focus on completing the much-anticipated novel.

"This is my last scheduled event for 2016. My appearances for 2017 is very limited, and will remain so until WINDS is completed. So if you want to meet me or get a book signed, this will be the last chance for a good few months," he said.

Indeed, if one is to look at Martin's current schedule for 2017, there are only two confirmed appearances. Martin will be attending the 28th annual StokerCon in Long Beach, California on April 27–30, 2017, and the 75th WorldCon World Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention in Helsinki, Finland on Aug. 9–13 of the same year.

While Martin has not said anything about the progress for "The Winds of Winter," many predict that it will arrive in early 2017. With this in mind, fans are hoping that the novel will be released before the season 7 premiere of "Game of Thrones," which is scheduled to air in summer 2017.

At this point in time, nobody other that Martin truly knows when the book will be finished. The author previously stated that once "The Winds of Winter" is completed, he will be the one to announce it.