George RR Martin
George RR Martin, author of the "Song of Ice and Fire" fantasy series that is the basis of the television series "Game of Thrones," gestures during his masterclass at the Neuchatel International Fantastic Film Festival (NIFFF) in Neuchatel, July 10, 2014. Reuters/Denis Balibouse

A bookstore in New York City may have inadvertently leaked the release date of “Winds of Winter.” This is not the first time that fans are getting a date, and this one states that the book will be out by September this year.

In a blog post on Medium, the Strand Book Store has compiled a list of the most popular books that fans can look forward to this year. Among the honourable mentions is the next book in “A Song of Ice and Fire” series.

The blog post has since been altered, but not before a fan took note of the date. According to a Reddit thread, the report originally stated the release date of the book as Sept. 6. The fan suggests that the bookstore may have removed the date after getting into trouble for leaking the information.

There have been dates that have surfaced online before, but the Strand is a reputed retailer since 1927, so fans believe that there may something to the info. Readers should, however, note that bookstores, including online sites, generally have a place holder date for popular upcoming books, and this need not be the actual release date.

Author George RR Martin is yet to announce the completion of his book, which he has promised to announce first on his blog. The author constantly keeps in touch with his publishers, so they may have a good idea when to expect the finished manuscript.

The publishers have to plan in advance for “Winds of Winter,” because this is expected to be one of the biggest events in publishing history. The book is one of the most highly anticipated works by Martin, and the demand this time around is expected to be huge due to the popularity of the fantasy series “Game of Thrones,” which is based on “A Song of Ice and fire.”