Famed Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin has disclosed that he has battled bouts of sadness and depression this past year.
Martin, 77, who wrote the best-selling fantasy novel that the smash hit HBO Max series is based on, opened up about his mental health challenges to fans in a new blog post, published Monday.
“This year has been… stressful, to say the least,” Martin admitted. “So much has been happening, it’s been overwhelming. Some great things, exciting things.”
He wrote that while some of his dreams have come true, “there have been nightmares too.”
“I have lost friends. Battled sadness and depression. The worst may be yet to come,” Martin continued. “I turned seventy-seven last September, and I tell you, getting old is no fun. But there have been amazing times as well.”
He added, “I suppose that’s just life. Of course, I knew that. If you’ve read my stories, you know that.”
Highlighting the nine Emmy nominations that HBO’s Game of Thrones spin-off prequel series, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, secured last month, Martin said: “I am proud of our team.”
The critically acclaimed drama is adapted from The Hedge Knight, the first novella in Martin’s Dunk and Egg series, later collected in the 2015 anthology A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
Set roughly 100 years before the events in Game of Thrones, the series stars Starring Peter Claffey as a young and naive knight and follows his dangerous exploits with his diminituive squire, Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell). It earned nine Emmy nods, including Outstanding Drama Series.
Of the 2026 Emmy ceremony, taking place September 14 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, Martin said, “I hope to attend… but that depends on… well, on a lot of things.”
Sharing his hope that the show takes home a few wins, he confessed, “I was hoping we’d get a few of the acting nominations as well. But there’s always next year.”
Martin is currently in the process of writing The Winds of Winter, the long-awaited sixth title in his A Song of Ice and Fire series, which includes Game of Thrones.
He revealed in January that he was “struggling” to complete the book. “Maybe I’m overoptimistic about how quickly I can write these things,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “I will open the last chapter I was working on and I’ll say, ‘Oh f***, this is not very good.’ And I’ll go in and I’ll rewrite it. Or I’ll decide, ‘This Tyrion chapter is not coming along, let me write a Jon Snow chapter.’”
If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI) or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.
If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.