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  == Viewpoint characters ==
  Martin has confirmed that the following characters have point-of-view chapters in ''The Winds of Winter'':
  * Sansa Stark: One chapter was removed from ''A Dance with Dragons'' in June 2010, and one sample chapter titled ''Alayne'' appeared on Martin's website in April 2015.
  * Arya Stark: One chapter was removed from ''A Dance with Dragons'' in June 2010, and one sample chapter titled ''Mercy'' appeared on Martin's website in March 2014.
  * Arianne Martell: Two chapters were removed from ''A Dance with Dragons'' in June 2010. One sample chapter appeared on Martin's website in January 2013, and was read at Harbour Front Literaturfestival in June 2015. Martin read from both chapters at MystiCon in February 2016. In May 2016, Martin replaced the sample Sansa Stark chapter titled ''Alayne'' on his website from 2015 with the first Arianne Martell chapter he has read from at MystiCon.
  * Aeron Greyjoy: One chapter was removed from ''A Dance with Dragons'' in July 2010. A chapter titled ''The Forsaken'' was read in May 2016 at Balticon. It was written in, or before, 2011 but there was no confirmation that this was the chapter removed from ''A Dance with Dragons''.
  * Theon Greyjoy: One sample chapter appeared on Martin's website in December 2011. It also appears as a teaser chapter at the end of the UK paperback edition of ''A Dance with Dragons'' (part two).
  * Victarion Greyjoy: Portions of one chapter were first read at TIFF Bell Lightbox in March 2012.
  * Tyrion Lannister: One chapter was read at Eastercon in April 2012, and another one at Worldcon in August 2013, the second of which was later published in the official iOS app on March 20, 2014.
  * Barristan Selmy: One chapter was released as a teaser at the end of the 2013 U.S. paperback edition of ''A Dance with Dragons''.  In 2013 Martin read from a second chapter at Boskone.
  Martin confirmed that there are no new viewpoint characters intended for ''The Winds of Winter''. Martin confirmed that Areo Hotah and Melisandre will return as viewpoints but did not state which novel their chapters will appear in, and that Bran Stark will appear in the novel, but did not elaborate if as a viewpoint. In addition, he teased at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con that Jeyne Westerling, Robb Stark's widow, will appear in the prologue chapter, but did not reveal who will be the POV character.