There have been Westerosi winters shorter than the wait for Book Six. It has been over eight years since A Dance With Dragons but the chill is drawing very near. George RR Martin has recently had some fantastic news for fans about his work on the penultimate book of A Song of Ice and Fire, although there is still a few months to go, it looks certain the book will hit shelves next July.

The author was responding to a possibly rather cynical offer of free flights from Air New Zealand to help him finish Book Six over there and a new clever analysis of the publishers reveals a startling fact.

Martin revealed he already had plans to revisit the Antipodean country for a major SciFi/Fantasy convention and appears to have accidentally also confirmed when the next book will be available at the end of his post.

He wrote: "As it happens, I already have plans to return. In the summer of 2020, Wellington is hosting the World Science Fiction Convention, the oldest and most important con in the SF/ fantasy calendar, and they’ve asked me to serve as Toastmaster for the Hugo Awards.

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