fbpx
Wikipedia

Brandon Sanderson

Brandon Winn Sanderson (born December 19, 1975) is an American author of high fantasy and science fiction. He is best known for the Cosmere fictional universe, in which most of his fantasy novels, most notably the Mistborn series and The Stormlight Archive, are set. Outside of the Cosmere, he has written several young adult and juvenile series including The Reckoners, the Skyward series,[a] and the Alcatraz series. He is also known for finishing Robert Jordan's high fantasy series The Wheel of Time. Sanderson has created several graphic novel fantasy series, including White Sand and Dark One.

Brandon Sanderson
Sanderson at the 2016 Lucca Comics & Games convention
BornBrandon Winn Sanderson
(1975-12-19) December 19, 1975 (age 48)
Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.
EducationBrigham Young University (BA, MA)
Period2005–present
GenreFantasy, science fiction
Notable works
SpouseEmily Bushman
Children3
Website
Official website

He created Sanderson's Laws of Magic and popularized the idea of "hard magic" and "soft magic" systems. In 2008, Sanderson started a podcast with author Dan Wells and cartoonist Howard Tayler called Writing Excuses, involving topics about creating genre writing and webcomics. In 2016, the American media company DMG Entertainment licensed the movie rights to Sanderson's entire Cosmere universe, but the rights have since reverted back to Sanderson. Sanderson's March 2022 Kickstarter campaign became the most successful in history, finishing with 185,341 backers pledging $41,754,153.[2]

Personal life edit

Early life and education edit

Brandon Winn Sanderson[3] was born on December 19, 1975, in Lincoln, Nebraska,[4][5] the eldest of four children. Sanderson was a "reluctant reader" as a child, but became passionate for the medium after being given a copy of Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly when he was 14.[6] He made several early attempts at writing his own stories.[7] After graduating from high school in 1994, he went to Brigham Young University (BYU) as a biochemistry major. He took a two-year leave of absence from 1995 to 1997 to serve as a volunteer missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was assigned to serve in South Korea.[7]

After completing his missionary service, Sanderson returned to BYU and changed his major to English literature. While an undergraduate, Sanderson took a job as a night auditor at a local hotel in Provo, Utah, as it allowed him to write while working.[7] One of Sanderson's roommates at BYU was Ken Jennings, who nearly ten years later became famous during his 74-game win streak on the American game show Jeopardy!.[8] Sanderson graduated from BYU in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts. He continued on as a graduate student, receiving an M.A. in English with an emphasis in creative writing in 2004.[9] While at BYU, Sanderson was on the staff of Leading Edge, a semi-professional speculative fiction magazine published by the university, and served as its editor-in-chief for one year.[10]

In 2006, Sanderson married Emily Bushman, an English, Spanish, and ESL teacher and fellow BYU alumna who later became his business manager.[7][11] They have three sons and reside in American Fork, Utah.[12]

Career edit

Early writing career edit

 
Sanderson in 2007

Sanderson wrote consistently throughout his undergraduate and graduate studies; by 2003, he had written twelve novels, though no publisher had accepted any of them for publication.[13] While in the middle of a graduate program at BYU, he was contacted by Tor Books editor Moshe Feder, who wanted to acquire one of his books. Sanderson had submitted the manuscript of his sixth novel,[14] Elantris, a year and a half earlier.[7] Elantris was published by Tor Books on April 21, 2005, to generally positive reviews.[15][16] This was followed in 2006 by Mistborn: The Final Empire, the first book in his Mistborn fantasy trilogy, in which "allomancers"—people with the ability to 'burn' metals and alloys after ingesting them—gain enhanced senses and control over powerful supernatural forces.[17]

He published the second book of the Mistborn series The Well of Ascension in 2007.[18] Later that year, Sanderson published the children's novel Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians, about a boy named Alcatraz with a talent for breaking things.[19] Alcatraz confronts a group of evil librarians who are bent on taking over the world. The first of his "laws of magic" were first published in 2007, with the second and third published in 2012 and 2013 (respectively).[20][21][22] In 2008, the third and final book in the Mistborn trilogy was published, titled The Hero of Ages, as well as the second book in the Alcatraz series, titled Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener's Bones.[23] That same year, he started the podcast Writing Excuses with Howard Tayler and Dan Wells.[24]

The Wheel of Time edit

Sanderson rose to prominence in late 2007 when Harriet McDougal, the wife and editor of author Robert Jordan, chose Sanderson to complete the final books in Jordan's epic fantasy series The Wheel of Time after Jordan's death. McDougal asked Sanderson to finish the series after being deeply impressed by his first Mistborn novel, The Final Empire.[25] Tor Books made the announcement on December 7, 2007.[26] After reviewing what was necessary to complete the series, Sanderson and Tor announced on March 30, 2009, that a final three books would be published instead of just one.

The first of these, The Gathering Storm, was published on October 27, 2009, and reached the number-one spot on the New York Times bestseller list for hardcover fiction.[27][28] Towers of Midnight, the second-to-last The Wheel of Time book, was published just over a year after The Gathering Storm on November 2, 2010, debuting at number one on the bestseller list.[29] In early 2013, the series was completed with the publication of A Memory of Light.[30]

Career edit

In 2009, Tor Books published Warbreaker, which originally appeared serially on Sanderson's website while he was writing the novel from 2006 to 2009.[31][32] In the same year, the third Alcatraz book was published, titled Alcatraz Versus the Knights of Crystallia.[33] In 2010, Sanderson published The Way of Kings, the first of a planned ten-book series called The Stormlight Archive. It achieved the number seven slot on the New York Times hardcover fiction bestseller list.[34] The fourth Alcatraz novel, Alcatraz Versus the Shattered Lens, followed soon after.[35]

In October 2011, he finished a novella e-book, Infinity Blade: Awakening, based on the action role-playing, iOS video game Infinity Blade, developed by Chair Entertainment and Epic Games.[36] In November 2011, he published a sequel to the Mistborn trilogy, Mistborn: The Alloy of Law.[37] It was originally planned as a standalone novel set about 300 years after the original trilogy, but it was later expanded into a four-book series.[38][39] It debuted at number nine on the combined print and e-book New York Times Best Seller list.[40]

On August 31, 2012, Sanderson published a science fiction novella entitled Legion, followed by another short work titled The Emperor's Soul.[41][42] In 2013, Sanderson published two new young adult series. These series included The Rithmatist and the first of The Reckoners series titled Steelheart.[43][44][45] In March 2014, Words of Radiance, the second book in The Stormlight Archive, was published.[46]

Later that year, Subterranean Press published the second novella in the Legion series, Legion: Skin Deep.[47] It was a preliminary nominee for the 2015 Hugo Awards, but did not make the final ballot.[47] In January 2015, the second book of The Reckoners, titled Firefight, was published.[48] Firefight won the 2015 Whitney Award in the Best Young Adult—Speculative category.[48] It also placed eighth in the Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction category of the Goodreads Choice Awards and was a finalist for the 2015 AML Award in the Young Adult Novel category.[48]

Nine months later, Sanderson published Mistborn: Shadows of Self as a direct sequel to The Alloy of Law.[49] The novel won the 2017 Neffy Award in the Best Novel category, placed third in the 2015 Goodreads Choice Awards in the Fantasy category, was a finalist in the Best Speculative Fiction category of the 2015 Whitney Awards, and was a preliminary nomineed for the 2016 Gemmell Legend Award.[49] On November 16, 2015, Sanderson's agency (JABberwocky Literary Agency) announced that Sanderson officially sold over 7 million copies worldwide.[50]

On January 26, 2016, Mistborn: The Bands of Mourning was published as the sequel to Shadows of Self. On February 16, 2016, the third and final book of the Reckoners trilogy, titled Calamity, was published. In June 2016, Sanderson's first graphic novel White Sand—written with Rik Hoskin—was released. The series is planned as a trilogy.[51] The graphic novels are based on an original manuscript by Sanderson.[52] On September 6, 2016, the fifth Alcatraz book was published, called Alcatraz Versus the Dark Talent.[53]

DMG Entertainment optioned the Cosmere in 2016 for film and television.[54] On November 22, 2016, an anthology of Cosmere short stories and novellas was published, titled Arcanum Unbounded: A Cosmere Collection. The third book in The Stormlight Archive, Oathbringer, was published on November 14, 2017.[55] The first book of the Defiant series, Skyward, was published on November 6, 2018.[56] The second book in the series, Starsight, was released on November 26, 2019. In September 2020, a collaboration project with author Mary Robinette Kowal called The Original, was released. Rhythm of War, the fourth Stormlight novel, was published on November 17, 2020.[57] In 2020, Sanderson's agency updated his number of copies sold to over 18 million worldwide,[58] and in early 2021, to over 21 million.[59]

In March 2021, Brandon Sanderson announced a "Weekly Update" in his YouTube channel which will give updates on his current projects every week. On May 26, Brandon Sanderson revealed the title and cover for "Cytonic", the third book of his Skyward series, which was published on November 23, 2021. Sanderson started a new podcast in June 2021 called 'Intentionally Blank', with friend and fellow science fiction author Dan Wells.[60]

Sanderson announced in March 2022 that, over the previous two pandemic years, he had secretly written five otherwise-unannounced books (four full adult novels and a shorter junior novel). The full novels (three of which are set in the Cosmere) were made available through a Kickstarter subscription that releases them quarterly through 2023.[61] The Kickstarter campaign was highly successful, raising $15 million in its first 24 hours[62] and over $20 million within three days, becoming the all-time most successful campaign.[63] The Kickstarter campaign finished with 185,341 backers pledging $41,754,153.[64][65] Before the conclusion of his Kickstarter campaign, Sanderson also backed every other publishing project on Kickstarter, for a total of 316 projects.[66] One of the secret projects during the pandemic, Tress of the Emerald Sea, was released in book form in April 2023.[67]

Sanderson also collaborated with Unknown Worlds Entertainment to create the lore and setting for the video game Moonbreaker, which was released via early access in September 2022.[68]

Cosmere edit

The Cosmere is the name of the universe in which Elantris, Mistborn, Warbreaker, The Stormlight Archive, White Sand, Tress of the Emerald Sea, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, The Sunlit Man, and stories contained in Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection are all set. This idea came from Sanderson's desire to create an epic-length series without requiring readers to buy a ridiculous number of books. Because of that, he hides connections to his other works within each book, creating a "hidden epic".[69] He has estimated that the Cosmere sequence could conclude with at least 40 books.[70]

The story of the Cosmere is about a mysterious being called Adonalsium, who existed on a world known as Yolen. Adonalsium was killed by a group of at least eighteen conspirators, causing its power to shatter into sixteen different Shards, each of which bears immense power.[71] Sixteen of those people—referred to as Vessels—then took these Shards and traveled to new worlds, populating them with different systems of magic or extending on ones already present. In one case, the Shards Ruin and Preservation worked together to actually create a planet and its people (Scadrial, as featured in Mistborn).[71]

Each Shard has an Intent, such as Ambition or Honor, and a Vessel's personality is changed over time to bring them more in-line with their Intent. One such Shard, Odium, has killed—or "splintered"—several other Shards. On Sel, he splintered Devotion and Dominion, accidentally creating the Dor, from which Seons and Skaze have emerged. On Roshar, Odium splintered Honor and brought about the Everstorm and the True Desolation. He has also splintered Ambition, in the Threnody system. A man known as Hoid is seen or mentioned in most Cosmere books. He travels the so-called Shardworlds, using the people of those worlds to further an unknown agenda.[72]

Sanderson has indicated that an upcoming work in the series will be in the Cyberpunk genre, a marked departure from the setting of the high-fantasy and urban-fantasy settings that have featured in the Cosmere universe to date.[73]

Sanderson's Laws of Magic edit

The idea of hard magic and soft magic was popularized by Sanderson for world building and creating magic systems in fictional settings.[74][75][76] The terminology of hard and soft originate from hard and soft sciences, which lends itself towards hard science fiction and soft science fiction.[citation needed] Both terms are approximate ways of characterizing two ends of a spectrum.[20][77] Hard magic systems follow specific rules, the magic is controlled and explained to the reader in the narrative detailing the mechanics behind the way the magic 'works' and can be used for building settings that revolve around the magic system.[78][79] Soft magic systems may not have clearly defined rules or limitations, or they may provide limited exposition regarding their workings. They are used to create a sense of wonder to the reader.[74][80]

Sanderson's three laws of magic are creative writing guidelines that can be used to create magic systems for fantasy stories:

  1. An author's ability to solve conflict with magic is directly proportional to how well the reader understands said magic.[20]
  2. Weaknesses, limits and costs are more interesting than powers.[21][81]
  3. The author should expand on what is already a part of the magic system before something entirely new is added, as this may otherwise entirely change how the magic system fits into the fictional world.[22]

Additionally, there is a zeroth law:

  1. Always err on the side of what's awesome.[82]

Teaching edit

Sanderson is adjunct faculty at Brigham Young University, teaching a creative writing course once per year.[83][84] Sanderson also participates in the weekly podcast Writing Excuses with authors Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, and web cartoonist Howard Tayler.[24] He began hosting the podcast Intentionally Blank with Dan Wells in June 2021, where they discuss random things they enjoy.[85]

Bibliography edit

Selected awards and honors edit

Sanderson has been nominated for and also won multiple awards for his various works. See Writing Excuses for additional awards and nominations.

Year Organization Award title,
Category
Work Result Refs
2005 Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Best Book Award,
Best Epic Fantasy Novel Award
Elantris Won [86]
2006 World Science Fiction Convention John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer -- Nominated
Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Best Book Award,
Best Epic Fantasy Novel Award
Mistborn Nominated [87]
2007 World Science Fiction Convention John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer -- Nominated
Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Best Book Award,
Best Epic Fantasy Novel Award
The Well of Ascension Nominated [88]
Polytechnic University of Catalonia UPC Science Fiction Award Defending Elysium Won [89]
LDStorymakers Whitney Awards,
Best Speculative Fiction
The Well of Ascension Nominated [90]
Whitney Awards,
Best Youth Fiction
Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians Nominated
2008 Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Best Book Award,
Best Epic Fantasy Novel Award
The Hero of Ages Won [91]
LDStorymakers Whitney Awards,
Best Speculative Fiction Award
The Hero of Ages Won [92]
2009 LDStorymakers Whitney Awards,
Best Speculative Fiction
Warbreaker Nominated [93]
2010 LDStorymakers Whitney Awards,
Best Speculative Fiction Award
The Way of Kings Won [94]
LDStorymakers Whitney Awards,
Best Novel of the Year Award
The Way of Kings Won [94]
Goodreads Goodreads Choice Awards 2010,
Best Fantasy of 2010
Towers of Midnight Won [95]
2011 DGLA David Gemmell Legend Award The Way of Kings Won [96]
LDStorymakers Whitney Awards,
Best Speculative Fiction Award
The Alloy of Law Won [97]
2012 Goodreads Goodreads Choice Awards 2012,
Best Fantasy of 2012
The Emperor's Soul Nominated [98]
2013 World Science Fiction Society Hugo Award,
Best Novella
The Emperor's Soul Won [99]
World Fantasy Convention World Fantasy Award,
Best Novella
The Emperor's Soul Nominated [100]
Goodreads Goodreads Choice Awards 2013,
Best Fantasy of 2013
A Memory of Light Nominated [101]
LDStorymakers Whitney Awards,
Best Young Adult—Speculative
Steelheart Won [102]
Goodreads Goodreads Choice Awards 2013,
Best Young Adult Fantasy of 2013
Steelheart Nominated [103]
2014 World Science Fiction Society Hugo Award,
Best Novel
The Wheel of Time[104] Nominated [105]
DGLA David Gemmell Legend Award,
Best Novel
A Memory of Light Nominated [106]
Goodreads Goodreads Choice Awards 2014,
Best Fantasy of 2014
Words of Radiance Nominated [107]
Whitney Awards 2014 Whitney Finalists,
Speculative
Words of Radiance Won [108]
2015 DGLA David Gemmell Legend Award,
Legend Award
Words of Radiance Won
Goodreads Goodreads Choice Awards 2015,
Best Fantasy of 2015
Shadows of Self Nominated [109]
Goodreads Choice Awards 2015,
Best Young Adult Fantasy of 2015
Firefight Nominated [110]
2016 World Science Fiction Society Hugo Award,
Best Novella
Perfect State Nominated [111]
Dragon Con Dragon Award,
Best Young Adult / Middle Grade Novel
Calamity Nominated [112]
2017 DGLA David Gemmell Legend Award,
Legend Award
The Bands of Mourning Nominated
2018 DGLA David Gemmell Legend Award,
Best Fantasy Novel
Oathbringer Nominated [113]
World Science Fiction Society Hugo Award,
Best Series
The Stormlight Archive Nominated [114]
2021 Dragon Con Dragon Award,
Best Fantasy Novel (Including Paranormal)
Rhythm of War Nominated [115]
2023 Utah Valley University Honorary Doctor of Letters -- Awarded [116]

Notes edit

  1. ^ The Skyward series is published as adult outside of the US.[1]

References edit

  1. ^ Whitney, Deana; Cole, Darci (October 22, 2018). "A Non-Spoiler Review of Skyward, a Young Adult Novel from Brandon Sanderson". Tor.com. from the original on January 27, 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  2. ^ "Fantasy author's record-breaking Kickstarter campaign closes at $41.7 million". CNBC. March 31, 2022.
  3. ^ Yutko, Debbie (August 31, 2012). "The Heir to Tolkien and Jordan: An Interview with Brandon Winn Sanderson". Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  4. ^ "Profile for Brandon Sanderson". Writertopia. from the original on February 6, 2022. Retrieved August 10, 2006.
  5. ^ . Archived from the original on August 15, 2006. Retrieved August 10, 2006.
  6. ^ Flood, Alison (July 23, 2020). "Brandon Sanderson: 'After a dozen rejected novels, you think maybe this isn't for you'". The Guardian.
  7. ^ a b c d e "About Brandon". brandonsanderson.com. November 23, 2009. Archived from the original on July 9, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  8. ^ Jennings, Ken (December 11, 2007). "Ken Jennings - Blog". ken-jennings.com. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  9. ^ "Winter 2006 Alumni Profiles Update". BYU Magazine. from the original on June 23, 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  10. ^ "Title: Leading Edge - 2001". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. from the original on April 6, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  11. ^ . Archived from the original on October 6, 2006. Retrieved August 10, 2006.
  12. ^ . Archived from the original on April 18, 2013. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
  13. ^ Sanderson, Brandon (October 19, 2008). "My History as a Writer". faq.brandonsanderson.com. from the original on January 7, 2022. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  14. ^ Sanderson, Brandon (June 24, 2005). "Annotation Elantris Chapter 7". brandonsanderson.com. from the original on June 23, 2021. Retrieved August 12, 2017.
  15. ^ Card, Orson Scott. "Leaves, Lost, Halloween, Elantris". from the original on February 5, 2022. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
  16. ^ . Archived from the original on October 8, 2007. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
  17. ^ Sklaroff, Sara (July 30, 2006). "Science Fiction & Fantasy". Washingtonpost.com. from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved September 30, 2013.
  18. ^ "Title: The Well of Ascension". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. from the original on March 2, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  19. ^ "Title: Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. from the original on April 6, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  20. ^ a b c Sanderson, Brandon (February 20, 2007). "Sanderson's First Law". from the original on October 17, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  21. ^ a b Sanderson, Brandon (January 16, 2012). "Sanderson's Second Law". from the original on August 31, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  22. ^ a b Sanderson, Brandon (September 25, 2013). "Sanderson's Third Law of Magic". from the original on August 31, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  23. ^ "Title: Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener's Bones". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. from the original on January 21, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  24. ^ a b . Writing Excuses. Archived from the original on October 31, 2019. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  25. ^ . December 8, 2007. Archived from the original on December 11, 2007.
  26. ^ . Tor-Forge.com. December 7, 2007. Archived from the original on December 12, 2007. Retrieved December 10, 2007.
  27. ^ "Best Sellers: Hardcover Fiction". The New York Times. November 5, 2009. Retrieved November 7, 2009.[dead link]
  28. ^ . Archived from the original on December 24, 2010. Retrieved September 8, 2009.
  29. ^ "Best Sellers: Hardcover Fiction". The New York Times. November 21, 2010. from the original on February 22, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  30. ^ "Title: A Memory of Light". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. from the original on January 27, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  31. ^ "Title: Warbreaker". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. from the original on January 21, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  32. ^ Sanderson, Brandon (November 21, 2009). "Standalones: Warbreaker". from the original on March 31, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  33. ^ "Title: Alcatraz Versus the Knights of Crystallia". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. from the original on April 6, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  34. ^ . Archived from the original on January 9, 2011. Retrieved September 8, 2010.
  35. ^ "Title: Alcatraz Versus the Shattered Lens". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. from the original on April 6, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  36. ^ McWhertor, Michael (November 2, 2010). "The First Epic iPhone Game Is Now 'Infinity Blade'". Kotaku. Gawker Media. from the original on August 8, 2020. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  37. ^ "Title: The Alloy of Law". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. from the original on March 2, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  38. ^ Sanderson, Brandon (November 28, 2011). "Brandon Sanderson Newsletter for November 2011". from the original on April 17, 2021. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  39. ^ Sanderson, Brandon (December 20, 2021). "State of the Sanderson 2021". from the original on March 6, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  40. ^ "Combined Print & E-Book Fiction - November 27, 2011". The New York Times. November 27, 2011. from the original on January 27, 2017. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  41. ^ "Title: Legion". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. from the original on April 30, 2021. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  42. ^ "Title: The Emperor's Soul". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. from the original on April 30, 2021. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  43. ^ "Title: The Rithmatist". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. from the original on April 6, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  44. ^ . SFScope.com. June 13, 2012. Archived from the original on June 18, 2012. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
  45. ^ . Gollancz. June 13, 2012. Archived from the original on November 30, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  46. ^ Sanderson, Brandon (March 4, 2014). Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, Book 2) (Stormlight Archive, The). Macmillan. ISBN 978-0765326362.
  47. ^ a b "Title: Legion: Skin Deep". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. from the original on April 6, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  48. ^ a b c "Title: Firefight". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  49. ^ a b "Title: Shadows of Self". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  50. ^ "Brandon Sanderson Sells Over 7 Million Copies!". awfulagent.com. November 16, 2015. from the original on February 6, 2016. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  51. ^ . Newsarama. April 26, 2016. Archived from the original on November 30, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
  52. ^ Sanderson, Brandon (May 30, 2014). "Hugo Voter Packet with The Wheel of Time, Convention Deadlines, White Sand Graphic Novels". Dragonsteel Entertainment. from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  53. ^ "Title: The Dark Talent". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. from the original on April 6, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  54. ^ "DMG Nabs Rights to Brandon Sanderson's 'Cosmere' Book Universe in Massive Deal (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. October 27, 2016. from the original on October 9, 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  55. ^ . Tor.com. December 9, 2016. Archived from the original on December 10, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  56. ^ "Skyward is out today!". brandonsanderson.com/. November 6, 2018. from the original on November 26, 2018. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  57. ^ "Brandon Sanderson's Rhythm of War Launches with a Special Event and Signed Books". Tor.com. September 24, 2020. from the original on May 23, 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  58. ^ "Brandon Sanderson – JABberwocky Literary Agency, Inc". awfulagent.com. from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  59. ^ "Brandon Sanderson – JABberwocky Literary Agency, Inc". awfulagent.com. from the original on August 28, 2021. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
  60. ^ "Intentionally Blank Podcast - Brandon Sanderson on Youtube". YouTube.
  61. ^ Sanderson, Brandon. "It's Time to Come Clean". YouTube. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  62. ^ "Fantasy King Brandon Sanderson Just Raised $15 Million on Kickstarter in a Single Day". Paste Magazine. March 2, 2022. from the original on March 17, 2022. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  63. ^ Gartenberg, Chaim (March 4, 2022). "Brandon Sanderson's surprise novels overtake Pebble watch as most successful Kickstarter ever". The Verge. from the original on March 24, 2022. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  64. ^ Holt, K. (April 1, 2022). "Brandon Sanderson's record-breaking Kickstarter campaign ends with $41.7 million". Engadget.com. from the original on April 1, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  65. ^ Knight, Shawn (April 1, 2022). "Surprise book series smashes previous Kickstarter record by more than double". TechSpot.com. Archived from the original on April 1, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  66. ^ Daniel Roman (April 2022). "Author Brandon Sanderson backs every single publishing project on Kickstarter". Winter Is Coming. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  67. ^ Tor.com (February 1, 2023). "Brandon Sanderson's Tress of the Emerald Sea Will Release in Bookstores on April 4th". Tor.com. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  68. ^ Marks, Tom (September 29, 2022). "Brandon Sanderson Says Moonbreaker Collab Isn't Like George R. R. Martin and Elden Ring". IGN. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  69. ^ Sanderson, Brandon (October 20, 2018). "How/When Did You Come Up With The Idea Of The Cosmere?". brandonsanderson.com. from the original on January 7, 2022. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  70. ^ Sanderson, Brandon (December 21, 2016). "[No spoilers]State of the Sanderson 2016". Reddit. from the original on October 5, 2017. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
  71. ^ a b Sanderson, Brandon (January 26, 2016). "Part Three, Chapter 2". Mistborn: Secret History. Mistborn series. Dragonsteel Entertainment. ISBN 978-1-938570-12-4. Anyway, there was a God. Adonalsium. I don't know if it was a force or a being, though I suspect the latter. Sixteen people, together, killed Adonalsium, ripping it apart and dividing its essence between them, becoming the first who Ascended.
  72. ^ Whitehead, Adam. . Wertzone. Archived from the original on August 8, 2019. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
  73. ^ Tabler, Elizabeth. "An Interview with Brandon Sanderson". Before We Go Blog.
  74. ^ a b Johnson, Levi (February 3, 2020). "How to Choose Between a Hard or Soft Magic System". Campfire Technology. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  75. ^ Alexander, Alison (March 7, 2019). "How to Build Your Novel's Magic System". Mythos Ink. from the original on May 8, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  76. ^ Howard, Jeff (April 22, 2014). Game Magic: A Designer's Guide to Magic Systems in Theory and Practice. CRC Press. pp. 262–264. ISBN 9781466567870. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  77. ^ Rowenson, Clark R. (December 11, 2016). "Types of Magic Part 1: Hard Magic, Soft Magic, and In-Between". crrowenson.com. from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  78. ^ Strand, Emily (October 2019). "Dobby the Robot: the Science Fiction in Harry Potter". Mythlore. 38 (1). ISSN 0146-9339. from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  79. ^ Nair, Aditya (November 7, 2019). "How To Build Magic Systems Using Sanderson's Laws Of Magic". The Curious Reader. from the original on September 22, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  80. ^ Raizman, Alex (May 26, 2019). "Hard Vs Soft Magic – Strengths, Weaknesses, and Which to Use". alexraizman.com. from the original on May 9, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  81. ^ Lecture #5: Worldbuilding Part One — Brandon Sanderson on Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy (YouTube). Brandon Sanderson. March 5, 2020. Event occurs at 39:39. Archived from the original on October 31, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2021. Sanderson's second law is that flaws or limitations are more interesting than powers.
  82. ^ Sanderson, Brandon (September 3, 2016). "Sanderson's Zeroth Law of Magic". from the original on February 21, 2022. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
  83. ^ "Faculty & Staff Directory". Department of Humanities, Brigham Young University. from the original on October 31, 2019. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  84. ^ Sanderson, Brandon (December 20, 2013). "Application deadline for my BYU creative writing class is Monday". Dragonsteel Entertainment. from the original on June 15, 2021. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  85. ^ "Intentionally Blank Episode 1 — Popcornture vs Stubad". BrandonSanderson.com. June 9, 2021. from the original on October 26, 2021. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  86. ^ . rtbookreviews.com. Archived from the original on October 21, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  87. ^ . rtbookreviews.com. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
  88. ^ . rtbookreviews.com. Archived from the original on January 23, 2012. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  89. ^ . www.upc.edu. Archived from the original on July 2, 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
  90. ^ . whitneyawards.com. Archived from the original on August 3, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  91. ^ . rtbookreviews.com. Archived from the original on October 21, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  92. ^ . whitneyawards.com. Archived from the original on August 3, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  93. ^ "Whitney Awards 2009 Finalists". whitneyawards.com. Retrieved April 16, 2013.[dead link]
  94. ^ a b . whitneyawards.com. Archived from the original on September 14, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  95. ^ . Goodreads.com. 2011. Archived from the original on October 21, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  96. ^ . gemmellaward.com. Archived from the original on February 26, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  97. ^ . whitneyawards.com. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  98. ^ "Best Fantasy of 2012". Goodreads.com. 2012. from the original on November 9, 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  99. ^ "The Hugo Award 2013 Hugo Awards". thehugoawards.org. from the original on March 10, 2022. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  100. ^ . worldfantasy.org. Archived from the original on October 27, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
  101. ^ "Best Fantasy of 2013". Goodreads.com. 2013. from the original on November 30, 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  102. ^ . whitneyawards.com. 2014. Archived from the original on August 17, 2021.
  103. ^ "Best Young Adult Fantasy Books of 2013". Goodreads.com. 2013. from the original on November 30, 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  104. ^ The Wheel of Time series was nominated as and ruled to be a multi-part serialized single work, as defined in Section 3.2.4 of the WSFS constitution
  105. ^ "2014 Hugo Award Winners". thehugoawards.org. August 17, 2014. from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
  106. ^ . Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
  107. ^ "Best Fantasy of 2014". Goodreads.com. 2014. from the original on October 8, 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  108. ^ . 2014 Whitney Awards Committee. 2015. Archived from the original on October 25, 2021.
  109. ^ "Best Fantasy Books of 2015". Goodreads.com. 2015. from the original on August 7, 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  110. ^ "Best Young Adult Fantasy Book of 2015". Goodreads.com. 2015. from the original on October 7, 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  111. ^ "2016 Hugo Awards". thehugoawards.org. August 20, 2016. from the original on February 28, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  112. ^ "2016 Dragon Award". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. from the original on August 14, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
  113. ^ "David Gemmel Legend Awards 2018". sfadb.com. from the original on January 28, 2022. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  114. ^ "Hugo Awards 2018". sfadb.com. from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  115. ^ "2021 Dragon Award Ballot – The Dragon Award". Dragon Con. Archived from the original on August 15, 2021. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  116. ^ Wixom, Cassidy (May 4, 2023). "Author Brandon Sanderson tells UVU graduates to focus on joy as they tackle life's challenges". www.ksl.com. Retrieved May 24, 2023.

External links edit

brandon, sanderson, brandon, winn, sanderson, born, december, 1975, american, author, high, fantasy, science, fiction, best, known, cosmere, fictional, universe, which, most, fantasy, novels, most, notably, mistborn, series, stormlight, archive, outside, cosme. Brandon Winn Sanderson born December 19 1975 is an American author of high fantasy and science fiction He is best known for the Cosmere fictional universe in which most of his fantasy novels most notably the Mistborn series and The Stormlight Archive are set Outside of the Cosmere he has written several young adult and juvenile series including The Reckoners the Skyward series a and the Alcatraz series He is also known for finishing Robert Jordan s high fantasy series The Wheel of Time Sanderson has created several graphic novel fantasy series including White Sand and Dark One Brandon SandersonSanderson at the 2016 Lucca Comics amp Games conventionBornBrandon Winn Sanderson 1975 12 19 December 19 1975 age 48 Lincoln Nebraska U S EducationBrigham Young University BA MA Period2005 presentGenreFantasy science fictionNotable worksMistborn The Stormlight Archive Final three books of Robert Jordan s The Wheel of Time The Reckoners Rithmatist White SandSpouseEmily BushmanChildren3WebsiteOfficial websiteHe created Sanderson s Laws of Magic and popularized the idea of hard magic and soft magic systems In 2008 Sanderson started a podcast with author Dan Wells and cartoonist Howard Tayler called Writing Excuses involving topics about creating genre writing and webcomics In 2016 the American media company DMG Entertainment licensed the movie rights to Sanderson s entire Cosmere universe but the rights have since reverted back to Sanderson Sanderson s March 2022 Kickstarter campaign became the most successful in history finishing with 185 341 backers pledging 41 754 153 2 Contents 1 Personal life 1 1 Early life and education 2 Career 2 1 Early writing career 2 2 The Wheel of Time 2 3 Career 3 Cosmere 4 Sanderson s Laws of Magic 5 Teaching 6 Bibliography 7 Selected awards and honors 8 Notes 9 References 10 External linksPersonal life editEarly life and education edit Brandon Winn Sanderson 3 was born on December 19 1975 in Lincoln Nebraska 4 5 the eldest of four children Sanderson was a reluctant reader as a child but became passionate for the medium after being given a copy of Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly when he was 14 6 He made several early attempts at writing his own stories 7 After graduating from high school in 1994 he went to Brigham Young University BYU as a biochemistry major He took a two year leave of absence from 1995 to 1997 to serve as a volunteer missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints and was assigned to serve in South Korea 7 After completing his missionary service Sanderson returned to BYU and changed his major to English literature While an undergraduate Sanderson took a job as a night auditor at a local hotel in Provo Utah as it allowed him to write while working 7 One of Sanderson s roommates at BYU was Ken Jennings who nearly ten years later became famous during his 74 game win streak on the American game show Jeopardy 8 Sanderson graduated from BYU in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts He continued on as a graduate student receiving an M A in English with an emphasis in creative writing in 2004 9 While at BYU Sanderson was on the staff of Leading Edge a semi professional speculative fiction magazine published by the university and served as its editor in chief for one year 10 In 2006 Sanderson married Emily Bushman an English Spanish and ESL teacher and fellow BYU alumna who later became his business manager 7 11 They have three sons and reside in American Fork Utah 12 Career editEarly writing career edit nbsp Sanderson in 2007Sanderson wrote consistently throughout his undergraduate and graduate studies by 2003 he had written twelve novels though no publisher had accepted any of them for publication 13 While in the middle of a graduate program at BYU he was contacted by Tor Books editor Moshe Feder who wanted to acquire one of his books Sanderson had submitted the manuscript of his sixth novel 14 Elantris a year and a half earlier 7 Elantris was published by Tor Books on April 21 2005 to generally positive reviews 15 16 This was followed in 2006 by Mistborn The Final Empire the first book in his Mistborn fantasy trilogy in which allomancers people with the ability to burn metals and alloys after ingesting them gain enhanced senses and control over powerful supernatural forces 17 He published the second book of the Mistborn series The Well of Ascension in 2007 18 Later that year Sanderson published the children s novel Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians about a boy named Alcatraz with a talent for breaking things 19 Alcatraz confronts a group of evil librarians who are bent on taking over the world The first of his laws of magic were first published in 2007 with the second and third published in 2012 and 2013 respectively 20 21 22 In 2008 the third and final book in the Mistborn trilogy was published titled The Hero of Ages as well as the second book in the Alcatraz series titled Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener s Bones 23 That same year he started the podcast Writing Excuses with Howard Tayler and Dan Wells 24 The Wheel of Time edit Sanderson rose to prominence in late 2007 when Harriet McDougal the wife and editor of author Robert Jordan chose Sanderson to complete the final books in Jordan s epic fantasy series The Wheel of Time after Jordan s death McDougal asked Sanderson to finish the series after being deeply impressed by his first Mistborn novel The Final Empire 25 Tor Books made the announcement on December 7 2007 26 After reviewing what was necessary to complete the series Sanderson and Tor announced on March 30 2009 that a final three books would be published instead of just one The first of these The Gathering Storm was published on October 27 2009 and reached the number one spot on the New York Times bestseller list for hardcover fiction 27 28 Towers of Midnight the second to last The Wheel of Time book was published just over a year after The Gathering Storm on November 2 2010 debuting at number one on the bestseller list 29 In early 2013 the series was completed with the publication of A Memory of Light 30 Career edit In 2009 Tor Books published Warbreaker which originally appeared serially on Sanderson s website while he was writing the novel from 2006 to 2009 31 32 In the same year the third Alcatraz book was published titled Alcatraz Versus the Knights of Crystallia 33 In 2010 Sanderson published The Way of Kings the first of a planned ten book series called The Stormlight Archive It achieved the number seven slot on the New York Times hardcover fiction bestseller list 34 The fourth Alcatraz novel Alcatraz Versus the Shattered Lens followed soon after 35 In October 2011 he finished a novella e book Infinity Blade Awakening based on the action role playing iOS video game Infinity Blade developed by Chair Entertainment and Epic Games 36 In November 2011 he published a sequel to the Mistborn trilogy Mistborn The Alloy of Law 37 It was originally planned as a standalone novel set about 300 years after the original trilogy but it was later expanded into a four book series 38 39 It debuted at number nine on the combined print and e book New York Times Best Seller list 40 On August 31 2012 Sanderson published a science fiction novella entitled Legion followed by another short work titled The Emperor s Soul 41 42 In 2013 Sanderson published two new young adult series These series included The Rithmatist and the first of The Reckoners series titled Steelheart 43 44 45 In March 2014 Words of Radiance the second book in The Stormlight Archive was published 46 Later that year Subterranean Press published the second novella in the Legion series Legion Skin Deep 47 It was a preliminary nominee for the 2015 Hugo Awards but did not make the final ballot 47 In January 2015 the second book of The Reckoners titled Firefight was published 48 Firefight won the 2015 Whitney Award in the Best Young Adult Speculative category 48 It also placed eighth in the Young Adult Fantasy amp Science Fiction category of the Goodreads Choice Awards and was a finalist for the 2015 AML Award in the Young Adult Novel category 48 Nine months later Sanderson published Mistborn Shadows of Self as a direct sequel to The Alloy of Law 49 The novel won the 2017 Neffy Award in the Best Novel category placed third in the 2015 Goodreads Choice Awards in the Fantasy category was a finalist in the Best Speculative Fiction category of the 2015 Whitney Awards and was a preliminary nomineed for the 2016 Gemmell Legend Award 49 On November 16 2015 Sanderson s agency JABberwocky Literary Agency announced that Sanderson officially sold over 7 million copies worldwide 50 On January 26 2016 Mistborn The Bands of Mourning was published as the sequel to Shadows of Self On February 16 2016 the third and final book of the Reckoners trilogy titled Calamity was published In June 2016 Sanderson s first graphic novel White Sand written with Rik Hoskin was released The series is planned as a trilogy 51 The graphic novels are based on an original manuscript by Sanderson 52 On September 6 2016 the fifth Alcatraz book was published called Alcatraz Versus the Dark Talent 53 DMG Entertainment optioned the Cosmere in 2016 for film and television 54 On November 22 2016 an anthology of Cosmere short stories and novellas was published titled Arcanum Unbounded A Cosmere Collection The third book in The Stormlight Archive Oathbringer was published on November 14 2017 55 The first book of the Defiant series Skyward was published on November 6 2018 56 The second book in the series Starsight was released on November 26 2019 In September 2020 a collaboration project with author Mary Robinette Kowal called The Original was released Rhythm of War the fourth Stormlight novel was published on November 17 2020 57 In 2020 Sanderson s agency updated his number of copies sold to over 18 million worldwide 58 and in early 2021 to over 21 million 59 In March 2021 Brandon Sanderson announced a Weekly Update in his YouTube channel which will give updates on his current projects every week On May 26 Brandon Sanderson revealed the title and cover for Cytonic the third book of his Skyward series which was published on November 23 2021 Sanderson started a new podcast in June 2021 called Intentionally Blank with friend and fellow science fiction author Dan Wells 60 Sanderson announced in March 2022 that over the previous two pandemic years he had secretly written five otherwise unannounced books four full adult novels and a shorter junior novel The full novels three of which are set in the Cosmere were made available through a Kickstarter subscription that releases them quarterly through 2023 61 The Kickstarter campaign was highly successful raising 15 million in its first 24 hours 62 and over 20 million within three days becoming the all time most successful campaign 63 The Kickstarter campaign finished with 185 341 backers pledging 41 754 153 64 65 Before the conclusion of his Kickstarter campaign Sanderson also backed every other publishing project on Kickstarter for a total of 316 projects 66 One of the secret projects during the pandemic Tress of the Emerald Sea was released in book form in April 2023 67 Sanderson also collaborated with Unknown Worlds Entertainment to create the lore and setting for the video game Moonbreaker which was released via early access in September 2022 68 Cosmere editThe Cosmere is the name of the universe in which Elantris Mistborn Warbreaker The Stormlight Archive White Sand Tress of the Emerald Sea Yumi and the Nightmare Painter The Sunlit Man and stories contained in Arcanum Unbounded The Cosmere Collection are all set This idea came from Sanderson s desire to create an epic length series without requiring readers to buy a ridiculous number of books Because of that he hides connections to his other works within each book creating a hidden epic 69 He has estimated that the Cosmere sequence could conclude with at least 40 books 70 The story of the Cosmere is about a mysterious being called Adonalsium who existed on a world known as Yolen Adonalsium was killed by a group of at least eighteen conspirators causing its power to shatter into sixteen different Shards each of which bears immense power 71 Sixteen of those people referred to as Vessels then took these Shards and traveled to new worlds populating them with different systems of magic or extending on ones already present In one case the Shards Ruin and Preservation worked together to actually create a planet and its people Scadrial as featured in Mistborn 71 Each Shard has an Intent such as Ambition or Honor and a Vessel s personality is changed over time to bring them more in line with their Intent One such Shard Odium has killed or splintered several other Shards On Sel he splintered Devotion and Dominion accidentally creating the Dor from which Seons and Skaze have emerged On Roshar Odium splintered Honor and brought about the Everstorm and the True Desolation He has also splintered Ambition in the Threnody system A man known as Hoid is seen or mentioned in most Cosmere books He travels the so called Shardworlds using the people of those worlds to further an unknown agenda 72 Sanderson has indicated that an upcoming work in the series will be in the Cyberpunk genre a marked departure from the setting of the high fantasy and urban fantasy settings that have featured in the Cosmere universe to date 73 Sanderson s Laws of Magic editThe idea of hard magic and soft magic was popularized by Sanderson for world building and creating magic systems in fictional settings 74 75 76 The terminology of hard and soft originate from hard and soft sciences which lends itself towards hard science fiction and soft science fiction citation needed Both terms are approximate ways of characterizing two ends of a spectrum 20 77 Hard magic systems follow specific rules the magic is controlled and explained to the reader in the narrative detailing the mechanics behind the way the magic works and can be used for building settings that revolve around the magic system 78 79 Soft magic systems may not have clearly defined rules or limitations or they may provide limited exposition regarding their workings They are used to create a sense of wonder to the reader 74 80 Sanderson s three laws of magic are creative writing guidelines that can be used to create magic systems for fantasy stories An author s ability to solve conflict with magic is directly proportional to how well the reader understands said magic 20 Weaknesses limits and costs are more interesting than powers 21 81 The author should expand on what is already a part of the magic system before something entirely new is added as this may otherwise entirely change how the magic system fits into the fictional world 22 Additionally there is a zeroth law Always err on the side of what s awesome 82 Teaching editSanderson is adjunct faculty at Brigham Young University teaching a creative writing course once per year 83 84 Sanderson also participates in the weekly podcast Writing Excuses with authors Dan Wells Mary Robinette Kowal and web cartoonist Howard Tayler 24 He began hosting the podcast Intentionally Blank with Dan Wells in June 2021 where they discuss random things they enjoy 85 Bibliography editMain article Brandon Sanderson bibliographySelected awards and honors editSanderson has been nominated for and also won multiple awards for his various works See Writing Excuses for additional awards and nominations Year Organization Award title Category Work Result Refs2005 Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Best Book Award Best Epic Fantasy Novel Award Elantris Won 86 2006 World Science Fiction Convention John W Campbell Award for Best New Writer NominatedRomantic Times Reviewers Choice Best Book Award Best Epic Fantasy Novel Award Mistborn Nominated 87 2007 World Science Fiction Convention John W Campbell Award for Best New Writer NominatedRomantic Times Reviewers Choice Best Book Award Best Epic Fantasy Novel Award The Well of Ascension Nominated 88 Polytechnic University of Catalonia UPC Science Fiction Award Defending Elysium Won 89 LDStorymakers Whitney Awards Best Speculative Fiction The Well of Ascension Nominated 90 Whitney Awards Best Youth Fiction Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians Nominated2008 Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Best Book Award Best Epic Fantasy Novel Award The Hero of Ages Won 91 LDStorymakers Whitney Awards Best Speculative Fiction Award The Hero of Ages Won 92 2009 LDStorymakers Whitney Awards Best Speculative Fiction Warbreaker Nominated 93 2010 LDStorymakers Whitney Awards Best Speculative Fiction Award The Way of Kings Won 94 LDStorymakers Whitney Awards Best Novel of the Year Award The Way of Kings Won 94 Goodreads Goodreads Choice Awards 2010 Best Fantasy of 2010 Towers of Midnight Won 95 2011 DGLA David Gemmell Legend Award The Way of Kings Won 96 LDStorymakers Whitney Awards Best Speculative Fiction Award The Alloy of Law Won 97 2012 Goodreads Goodreads Choice Awards 2012 Best Fantasy of 2012 The Emperor s Soul Nominated 98 2013 World Science Fiction Society Hugo Award Best Novella The Emperor s Soul Won 99 World Fantasy Convention World Fantasy Award Best Novella The Emperor s Soul Nominated 100 Goodreads Goodreads Choice Awards 2013 Best Fantasy of 2013 A Memory of Light Nominated 101 LDStorymakers Whitney Awards Best Young Adult Speculative Steelheart Won 102 Goodreads Goodreads Choice Awards 2013 Best Young Adult Fantasy of 2013 Steelheart Nominated 103 2014 World Science Fiction Society Hugo Award Best Novel The Wheel of Time 104 Nominated 105 DGLA David Gemmell Legend Award Best Novel A Memory of Light Nominated 106 Goodreads Goodreads Choice Awards 2014 Best Fantasy of 2014 Words of Radiance Nominated 107 Whitney Awards 2014 Whitney Finalists Speculative Words of Radiance Won 108 2015 DGLA David Gemmell Legend Award Legend Award Words of Radiance WonGoodreads Goodreads Choice Awards 2015 Best Fantasy of 2015 Shadows of Self Nominated 109 Goodreads Choice Awards 2015 Best Young Adult Fantasy of 2015 Firefight Nominated 110 2016 World Science Fiction Society Hugo Award Best Novella Perfect State Nominated 111 Dragon Con Dragon Award Best Young Adult Middle Grade Novel Calamity Nominated 112 2017 DGLA David Gemmell Legend Award Legend Award The Bands of Mourning Nominated2018 DGLA David Gemmell Legend Award Best Fantasy Novel Oathbringer Nominated 113 World Science Fiction Society Hugo Award Best Series The Stormlight Archive Nominated 114 2021 Dragon Con Dragon Award Best Fantasy Novel Including Paranormal Rhythm of War Nominated 115 2023 Utah Valley University Honorary Doctor of Letters Awarded 116 Notes edit The Skyward series is published as adult outside of the US 1 References edit Whitney Deana Cole Darci October 22 2018 A Non Spoiler Review of Skyward a Young Adult Novel from Brandon Sanderson Tor com Archived from the original on January 27 2021 Retrieved April 1 2022 Fantasy author s record breaking Kickstarter campaign closes at 41 7 million CNBC March 31 2022 Yutko Debbie August 31 2012 The Heir to Tolkien and Jordan An Interview with Brandon Winn Sanderson Retrieved November 1 2022 Profile for Brandon Sanderson Writertopia Archived from the original on February 6 2022 Retrieved August 10 2006 Famous Mormon Writers and Authors Archived from the original on August 15 2006 Retrieved August 10 2006 Flood Alison July 23 2020 Brandon Sanderson After a dozen rejected novels you think maybe this isn t for you The Guardian a b c d e About Brandon brandonsanderson com November 23 2009 Archived from the original on July 9 2020 Retrieved October 19 2017 Jennings Ken December 11 2007 Ken Jennings Blog ken jennings com Retrieved August 31 2018 Winter 2006 Alumni Profiles Update BYU Magazine Archived from the original on June 23 2021 Retrieved December 9 2019 Title Leading Edge 2001 Internet Speculative Fiction Database Archived from the original on April 6 2022 Retrieved April 6 2022 Newsletter July 2006 Archived from the original on October 6 2006 Retrieved August 10 2006 Newsletter February 2010 Archived from the original on April 18 2013 Retrieved January 6 2013 Sanderson Brandon October 19 2008 My History as a Writer faq brandonsanderson com Archived from the original on January 7 2022 Retrieved March 1 2021 Sanderson Brandon June 24 2005 Annotation Elantris Chapter 7 brandonsanderson com Archived from the original on June 23 2021 Retrieved August 12 2017 Card Orson Scott Leaves Lost Halloween Elantris Archived from the original on February 5 2022 Retrieved December 18 2010 Review blurbs on Sanderson s site Archived from the original on October 8 2007 Retrieved December 18 2010 Sklaroff Sara July 30 2006 Science Fiction amp Fantasy Washingtonpost com Archived from the original on December 8 2015 Retrieved September 30 2013 Title The Well of Ascension Internet Speculative Fiction Database Archived from the original on March 2 2022 Retrieved April 6 2022 Title Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians Internet Speculative Fiction Database Archived from the original on April 6 2022 Retrieved April 6 2022 a b c Sanderson Brandon February 20 2007 Sanderson s First Law Archived from the original on October 17 2019 Retrieved October 30 2019 a b Sanderson Brandon January 16 2012 Sanderson s Second Law Archived from the original on August 31 2019 Retrieved October 30 2019 a b Sanderson Brandon September 25 2013 Sanderson s Third Law of Magic Archived from the original on August 31 2019 Retrieved October 30 2019 Title Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener s Bones Internet Speculative Fiction Database Archived from the original on January 21 2022 Retrieved April 6 2022 a b What is Writing Excuses Writing Excuses Archived from the original on October 31 2019 Retrieved October 31 2019 An interview with Brandon Sanderson December 8 2007 Archived from the original on December 11 2007 Tor announces that the final novel in bestselling Robert Jordan s legendary Wheel of Time fantasy series will be completed by author Brandon Sanderson Tor Forge com December 7 2007 Archived from the original on December 12 2007 Retrieved December 10 2007 Best Sellers Hardcover Fiction The New York Times November 5 2009 Retrieved November 7 2009 dead link The Gathering Storm coming sooner than expected Archived from the original on December 24 2010 Retrieved September 8 2009 Best Sellers Hardcover Fiction The New York Times November 21 2010 Archived from the original on February 22 2022 Retrieved April 1 2022 Title A Memory of Light Internet Speculative Fiction Database Archived from the original on January 27 2022 Retrieved April 6 2022 Title Warbreaker Internet Speculative Fiction Database Archived from the original on January 21 2022 Retrieved April 6 2022 Sanderson Brandon November 21 2009 Standalones Warbreaker Archived from the original on March 31 2022 Retrieved April 6 2022 Title Alcatraz Versus the Knights of Crystallia Internet Speculative Fiction Database Archived from the original on April 6 2022 Retrieved April 6 2022 The Way of Kings is a New York Times Bestseller Archived from the original on January 9 2011 Retrieved September 8 2010 Title Alcatraz Versus the Shattered Lens Internet Speculative Fiction Database Archived from the original on April 6 2022 Retrieved April 6 2022 McWhertor Michael November 2 2010 The First Epic iPhone Game Is Now Infinity Blade Kotaku Gawker Media Archived from the original on August 8 2020 Retrieved April 1 2021 Title The Alloy of Law Internet Speculative Fiction Database Archived from the original on March 2 2022 Retrieved April 6 2022 Sanderson Brandon November 28 2011 Brandon Sanderson Newsletter for November 2011 Archived from the original on April 17 2021 Retrieved April 6 2022 Sanderson Brandon December 20 2021 State of the Sanderson 2021 Archived from the original on March 6 2022 Retrieved April 6 2022 Combined Print amp E Book Fiction November 27 2011 The New York Times November 27 2011 Archived from the original on January 27 2017 Retrieved August 3 2017 Title Legion Internet Speculative Fiction Database Archived from the original on April 30 2021 Retrieved April 6 2022 Title The Emperor s Soul Internet Speculative Fiction Database Archived from the original on April 30 2021 Retrieved April 6 2022 Title The Rithmatist Internet Speculative Fiction Database Archived from the original on April 6 2022 Retrieved April 6 2022 Delacorte Press Acquires Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson SFScope com June 13 2012 Archived from the original on June 18 2012 Retrieved June 14 2012 Gollancz acquires new Brandon Sanderson series STEELHEART is coming Gollancz June 13 2012 Archived from the original on November 30 2012 Retrieved July 9 2012 Sanderson Brandon March 4 2014 Words of Radiance The Stormlight Archive Book 2 Stormlight Archive The Macmillan ISBN 978 0765326362 a b Title Legion Skin Deep Internet Speculative Fiction Database Archived from the original on April 6 2022 Retrieved April 6 2022 a b c Title Firefight Internet Speculative Fiction Database Archived from the original on October 19 2021 Retrieved April 6 2022 a b Title Shadows of Self Internet Speculative Fiction Database Archived from the original on October 20 2021 Retrieved April 6 2022 Brandon Sanderson Sells Over 7 Million Copies awfulagent com November 16 2015 Archived from the original on February 6 2016 Retrieved August 14 2017 Brandon Sanderson s Fantasy Epic Comes To Comic Books With WHITE SAND Preview Newsarama April 26 2016 Archived from the original on November 30 2019 Retrieved June 2 2014 Sanderson Brandon May 30 2014 Hugo Voter Packet with The Wheel of Time Convention Deadlines White Sand Graphic Novels Dragonsteel Entertainment Archived from the original on April 13 2021 Retrieved December 19 2014 Title The Dark Talent Internet Speculative Fiction Database Archived from the original on April 6 2022 Retrieved April 6 2022 DMG Nabs Rights to Brandon Sanderson s Cosmere Book Universe in Massive Deal EXCLUSIVE Variety October 27 2016 Archived from the original on October 9 2021 Retrieved April 1 2022 Brandon Sanderson Has Completed the First Draft of Oathbringer Book 3 of The Stormlight Archive Tor com December 9 2016 Archived from the original on December 10 2016 Retrieved January 9 2017 Skyward is out today brandonsanderson com November 6 2018 Archived from the original on November 26 2018 Retrieved November 26 2018 Brandon Sanderson s Rhythm of War Launches with a Special Event and Signed Books Tor com September 24 2020 Archived from the original on May 23 2021 Retrieved April 1 2022 Brandon Sanderson JABberwocky Literary Agency Inc awfulagent com Archived from the original on September 30 2020 Retrieved December 4 2020 Brandon Sanderson JABberwocky Literary Agency Inc awfulagent com Archived from the original on August 28 2021 Retrieved February 14 2020 Intentionally Blank Podcast Brandon Sanderson on Youtube YouTube Sanderson Brandon It s Time to Come Clean YouTube Retrieved March 1 2022 Fantasy King Brandon Sanderson Just Raised 15 Million on Kickstarter in a Single Day Paste Magazine March 2 2022 Archived from the original on March 17 2022 Retrieved March 2 2022 Gartenberg Chaim March 4 2022 Brandon Sanderson s surprise novels overtake Pebble watch as most successful Kickstarter ever The Verge Archived from the original on March 24 2022 Retrieved March 4 2022 Holt K April 1 2022 Brandon Sanderson s record breaking Kickstarter campaign ends with 41 7 million Engadget com Archived from the original on April 1 2022 Retrieved April 1 2022 Knight Shawn April 1 2022 Surprise book series smashes previous Kickstarter record by more than double TechSpot com Archived from the original on April 1 2022 Retrieved April 1 2022 Daniel Roman April 2022 Author Brandon Sanderson backs every single publishing project on Kickstarter Winter Is Coming Retrieved April 26 2022 Tor com February 1 2023 Brandon Sanderson s Tress of the Emerald Sea Will Release in Bookstores on April 4th Tor com Retrieved February 23 2023 Marks Tom September 29 2022 Brandon Sanderson Says Moonbreaker Collab Isn t Like George R R Martin and Elden Ring IGN Retrieved October 4 2022 Sanderson Brandon October 20 2018 How When Did You Come Up With The Idea Of The Cosmere brandonsanderson com Archived from the original on January 7 2022 Retrieved September 23 2020 Sanderson Brandon December 21 2016 No spoilers State of the Sanderson 2016 Reddit Archived from the original on October 5 2017 Retrieved October 5 2017 a b Sanderson Brandon January 26 2016 Part Three Chapter 2 Mistborn Secret History Mistborn series Dragonsteel Entertainment ISBN 978 1 938570 12 4 Anyway there was a God Adonalsium I don t know if it was a force or a being though I suspect the latter Sixteen people together killed Adonalsium ripping it apart and dividing its essence between them becoming the first who Ascended Whitehead Adam Brandon Sanderson plans 36 volume fantasy series Wertzone Archived from the original on August 8 2019 Retrieved September 21 2013 Tabler Elizabeth An Interview with Brandon Sanderson Before We Go Blog a b Johnson Levi February 3 2020 How to Choose Between a Hard or Soft Magic System Campfire Technology Retrieved June 10 2020 Alexander Alison March 7 2019 How to Build Your Novel s Magic System Mythos Ink Archived from the original on May 8 2021 Retrieved June 10 2020 Howard Jeff April 22 2014 Game Magic A Designer s Guide to Magic Systems in Theory and Practice CRC Press pp 262 264 ISBN 9781466567870 Retrieved June 10 2020 Rowenson Clark R December 11 2016 Types of Magic Part 1 Hard Magic Soft Magic and In Between crrowenson com Archived from the original on February 27 2021 Retrieved June 10 2020 Strand Emily October 2019 Dobby the Robot the Science Fiction in Harry Potter Mythlore 38 1 ISSN 0146 9339 Archived from the original on September 19 2020 Retrieved June 12 2020 Nair Aditya November 7 2019 How To Build Magic Systems Using Sanderson s Laws Of Magic The Curious Reader Archived from the original on September 22 2020 Retrieved June 12 2020 Raizman Alex May 26 2019 Hard Vs Soft Magic Strengths Weaknesses and Which to Use alexraizman com Archived from the original on May 9 2021 Retrieved June 10 2020 Lecture 5 Worldbuilding Part One Brandon Sanderson on Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy YouTube Brandon Sanderson March 5 2020 Event occurs at 39 39 Archived from the original on October 31 2021 Retrieved May 25 2021 Sanderson s second law is that flaws or limitations are more interesting than powers Sanderson Brandon September 3 2016 Sanderson s Zeroth Law of Magic Archived from the original on February 21 2022 Retrieved February 13 2020 Faculty amp Staff Directory Department of Humanities Brigham Young University Archived from the original on October 31 2019 Retrieved December 19 2014 Sanderson Brandon December 20 2013 Application deadline for my BYU creative writing class is Monday Dragonsteel Entertainment Archived from the original on June 15 2021 Retrieved December 19 2014 Intentionally Blank Episode 1 Popcornture vs Stubad BrandonSanderson com June 9 2021 Archived from the original on October 26 2021 Retrieved April 13 2022 2005 RT Award Nominees amp Winners rtbookreviews com Archived from the original on October 21 2013 Retrieved April 16 2013 2006 RT Award Nominees amp Winners rtbookreviews com Archived from the original on September 23 2015 Retrieved July 13 2013 2007 RT Award Nominees amp Winners rtbookreviews com Archived from the original on January 23 2012 Retrieved April 16 2013 Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya www upc edu Archived from the original on July 2 2017 Retrieved August 28 2013 Whitney Awards 2007 Finalists whitneyawards com Archived from the original on August 3 2021 Retrieved April 16 2013 2008 RT Award Nominees amp Winners rtbookreviews com Archived from the original on October 21 2013 Retrieved April 16 2013 Whitney Awards 2008 Winners whitneyawards com Archived from the original on August 3 2021 Retrieved April 16 2013 Whitney Awards 2009 Finalists whitneyawards com Retrieved April 16 2013 dead link a b Whitney Awards 2010 Winners whitneyawards com Archived from the original on September 14 2021 Retrieved April 16 2013 Best Fantasy of 2010 Goodreads com 2011 Archived from the original on October 21 2016 Retrieved April 1 2022 The David Gemmell Legend Award for Fantasy Previous Winners gemmellaward com Archived from the original on February 26 2013 Retrieved April 16 2013 Whitney Awards 2011 Winners whitneyawards com Archived from the original on January 2 2014 Retrieved April 16 2013 Best Fantasy of 2012 Goodreads com 2012 Archived from the original on November 9 2021 Retrieved April 1 2022 The Hugo Award 2013 Hugo Awards thehugoawards org Archived from the original on March 10 2022 Retrieved April 16 2013 The World Fantasy Awards 2013 worldfantasy org Archived from the original on October 27 2012 Retrieved August 15 2013 Best Fantasy of 2013 Goodreads com 2013 Archived from the original on November 30 2021 Retrieved April 1 2022 2013 Winners whitneyawards com 2014 Archived from the original on August 17 2021 Best Young Adult Fantasy Books of 2013 Goodreads com 2013 Archived from the original on November 30 2021 Retrieved April 1 2022 The Wheel of Time series was nominated as and ruled to be a multi part serialized single work as defined in Section 3 2 4 of the WSFS constitution 2014 Hugo Award Winners thehugoawards org August 17 2014 Archived from the original on August 19 2014 Retrieved March 13 2015 The Gemmell Awards Archived from the original on December 8 2015 Retrieved March 13 2015 Best Fantasy of 2014 Goodreads com 2014 Archived from the original on October 8 2021 Retrieved April 1 2022 2014 Whitney Finalists 2014 Whitney Awards Committee 2015 Archived from the original on October 25 2021 Best Fantasy Books of 2015 Goodreads com 2015 Archived from the original on August 7 2021 Retrieved April 1 2022 Best Young Adult Fantasy Book of 2015 Goodreads com 2015 Archived from the original on October 7 2021 Retrieved April 1 2022 2016 Hugo Awards thehugoawards org August 20 2016 Archived from the original on February 28 2022 Retrieved April 1 2022 2016 Dragon Award Internet Speculative Fiction Database Archived from the original on August 14 2020 Retrieved September 7 2016 David Gemmel Legend Awards 2018 sfadb com Archived from the original on January 28 2022 Retrieved October 28 2019 Hugo Awards 2018 sfadb com Archived from the original on December 13 2021 Retrieved October 28 2019 2021 Dragon Award Ballot The Dragon Award Dragon Con Archived from the original on August 15 2021 Retrieved October 11 2021 Wixom Cassidy May 4 2023 Author Brandon Sanderson tells UVU graduates to focus on joy as they tackle life s challenges www ksl com Retrieved May 24 2023 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Brandon Sanderson nbsp Wikiquote has quotations related to Brandon Sanderson Official website nbsp Brandon Sanderson at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database Brandon Sanderson at the MLCA Database 2020 Creative Writing Lectures at BYU Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Brandon Sanderson amp oldid 1207315115 Cosmere, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.