George RR Martin has hailed “an amazing next step in the world of books” as he announced publication of a new digital edition of A Game of Thrones, featuring “a world of additional content” and an extract from the forthcoming sixth novel in his bestselling Song of Ice and Fire series, The Winds of Winter.

A Game of Thrones: Enhanced Edition was released on Thursday on Apple’s iBooks to mark the 20th anniversary of the epic fantasy novel’s first publication. It offers “a world of additional content”, said its publisher HarperCollins, ranging from interactive character maps to detailed annotations, character journeys and timelines, family trees and and audio clips.

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It includes an extract from The Winds of Winter. HarperCollins said the excerpt had been briefly published on Martin’s website, but was now available only in the new enhanced editions.

“We’re now entering a new period in the history of publishing,” said Martin, announcing the new edition. “The digital book gives readers the ability to experience all this rich secondary material that had not been possible before. These enhanced editions, available only on iBooks, include sigils and family trees and glossaries. Anything that confuses you, anything you want to know more about, it’s right there at your fingertips. It’s an amazing next step in the world of books.”

The enhanced digital edition of the second novel in the series, A Clash of Kings, is scheduled for 27 October, while book three, A Storm of Swords is due on 15 December. The fourth and fifth books, A Feast for Crows and A Dance of Dragons will follow in February and March 2017.

A HarperCollins spokesperson remained tight-lipped about a publication date for The Winds of Winter, saying only: “As yet nothing has been finalised regarding the publication … but when the book is ready, it will be announced through George’s website.”

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In January, Martin revealed that he had not yet finished the novel, and that it would not be released before HBO aired the sixth season of its hit adaptation of his narrative. “Yes, there’s a lot written. Hundreds of pages. Dozens of chapters … But there’s also a lot still left to write. I am months away still … and that’s if the writing goes well,” Martin said at the time.

