The Game of Thrones Season 6 premiered last weekend, but the next book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series is not yet available. Many fans are waiting for it because it might contain vital information about the series. We've collected the latest news on the web on the release of Winds of Winter by George R.R. Martin.

As of now, Game of Thrones is moving beyond the A Song of Ice and Fire book series. In other words, the TV show and the books have diverged, and it will continue to have separate plotlines from this point on.  

Fans who have read the book series already know that they are very different. In fact, the books have a major plot twist that TV viewers won't see because the character it involves already died in the show.

Additionally, George R.R. Martin has said that some of the dead characters in the TV series might live on the books and vice versa. For example, Shireen and Stannis Baratheon are still alive in the books but are dead in the TV show. 

Going back to the rumors on Winds of Winter release, Martin is speculated to make many revisions to the book that could cause a long delay until the actual release date due to the complexities of the plotline. 

Furthermore, Martin said there is "a lot of distractions in the last few years," including the Game of Thrones series itself. He writes some episodes of the TV show while doing Winds of Winter. For those unaware, the author said that he missed the last deadline - 31 December 2015 - that would have given the book a chance to be published before the Season 6 of Game Thrones airs on HBO.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the author said he turns down a lot of interviews and cancels convention appearances to devote more time for the sixth novel in the series.

For now, there's still no official release date for the Winds of Winter, but for fans, the expectation and hope is that it will be published within this year or before the airing of Game of Thrones Season 7.  Although unsubstantiated, some say the book could become available in December to coincide with the Christmas season -- a good strategy for the publisher, economically speaking.