George R.R. Martin has acknowledged that The Winds of Winter, the long-awaited sixth novel in his A Song of Ice and Fire series, remains unfinished after more than a decade. In a recent interview with Time, the author called the project the “curse” of his life and addressed ongoing fan frustration over the delay.

“There’s no doubt Winds of Winter is 13 years late,” Martin said. “I’m still working on it. I have periods where I make progress and then other things divert my attention, and suddenly I have a deadline for one of the HBO shows. I have something else to do.”

Martin’s comments follow a renewed round of online jokes after he posed with real-life direwolves brought back through biotechnology. Posts began circulating suggesting that “we got real dire wolves before Winds of Winter.” When asked about the reaction, Martin expressed fatigue. “That’s the curse of my life,...