Mysterious ‘Winds of Winter’ Amazon Alert Sparks Rumors of Imminent Release Date

HBO Fans are wondering if "The Winds of Winter" may be publishing soon. Pictured is a scene from "Game of Thrones."

George R.R. Martin readers were confused and a little excited when a notification about “The Winds of Winter” popped up on some Amazon and Kindle accounts. The alert indicated that the long-awaited book was “recently released” and available. However, readers who tried to follow up on the alert only encountered an error message. “Game of Thrones” readers are now wondering if this means something might finally be happening behind the scenes with the long-awaited sixth novel in the “A Song of Ice and Fire” franchise.

The Notification Appeared for Readers Who Are Following George R.R. Martin on Amazon

Some readers who are following Martin on Amazon reported receiving a notification on their Kindle accounts at the beginning of August, just before the season 2 finale of “House of the Dragon” aired.

On Reddit, one person shared a screenshot of the notification, which read: “A book by an author you follow, ‘The Winds of Winter’ by George R.R. Martin, was recently released.”

User GodotNeverCame posted a screenshot of what they saw on Reddit, which included the book cover, and wrote: “The Winds of Winter just dropped in my Kindle Unlimited – not a joke.” They shared that “The Winds of Winter” was listed as a new book available to people with a Kindle Unlimited membership. But rather than being the long-awaited sixth novel, they instead saw a 154-page compilation of some chapters that Martin has already released online.

“Is this a placeholder for when the actual book drops?” they wondered.

Some people in the thread wondered if this was just a fake book sold by someone unaffiliated with Martin, but the author of the post noted that it came in as an alert for a “new book by an author you follow.” This type of alert indicates that it was an official Martin publication and not a third party.

However, despite the notification, Amazon didn’t release “The Winds of Winter” for purchase. One reader said they got the alert, but when they clicked on it they got an error message that read “Sorry, we can’t find this page.”

Another reader in the Reddit thread said they got the same notification and it looked like the publication date had been updated, but they weren’t sure what that meant.

Some Readers Hope the Alert & the New Box Set Indicate a Surprise Release Will Happen Soon

The strange notification without any official explanation has left readers hoping a surprise release of “The Winds of Winter” might happen soon — especially since a new box set is releasing in October.

On a Reddit thread, one person wrote: “I have a big feeling that if or when he does release it.. he’s going to do it like this. Just a sudden release with no warning. But that’s a big IF he decides to ever drop it 🤬.”

In fact, quite a few fans think something might be in the works. With “House of the Dragon” finishing its second season and other prequel series in the works on HBO, interest is growing again. In addition, a box set with new cover art is releasing soon for the series.

Martin announced the new box set on his blog on July 10. The new covers for the first five books will be available starting in October, he shared. Some fans have noted that the last time the book cover art was changed was in 2011, just a few months before the last book in the franchise was released.

However, on July 9, 2024, Martin wrote that his visit with an editor last year didn’t mean that the book was going to be published soon. He added: “When WINDS OF WINTER is done, the word will not trickle out, there WILL be a big announcement… where and when I cannot say.”

In Martin’s blog post from July 11, 2024, he shared that “The Winds of Winter” and “A Dream of Spring” will both reveal more about why and how dragons bond with men. The topic was a major plot point in the second season of “House of the Dragon,” which just aired.