Brandon Sanderson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Brandon Sanderson
Sanderson at the 2016 Lucca Comics & Games convention
Born	Brandon Winn Sanderson (1975-12-19) December 19, 1975 (age 49) Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.
Education	Brigham Young University (BA, MA)
Period	2005–present
Genre	Fantasy science fiction
Notable works	Mistborn The Stormlight Archive Final three books of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time The Reckoners Rithmatist White Sand
Spouse	Emily Bushman ​ (m. 2006)​
Children	3

Brandon Winn Sanderson (born December 19, 1975) is an American author. He writes exciting fantasy and science fiction books, especially for young adults. He is famous for his Mistborn series and The Stormlight Archive. These books are part of a big, connected story world he created called the Cosmere.

Outside of the Cosmere, Brandon Sanderson has written other popular series. These include The Reckoners, the Skyward series, and the Alcatraz series. He also finished the well-known fantasy series The Wheel of Time after its original author, Robert Jordan, passed away. Brandon Sanderson has also created two graphic novels, White Sand and Dark One.

Brandon Sanderson came up with "Sanderson's Laws of Magic." These are ideas about how magic systems work in stories. He also helped make "hard magic" and "soft magic" systems popular terms. In 2008, he started a podcast called Writing Excuses with other writers, Dan Wells and Howard Tayler. They talk about how to write different kinds of stories. In 2022, Brandon Sanderson had a huge Kickstarter campaign. It became the most successful crowdfunding project ever, raising over $41 million from more than 185,000 supporters! He also started another podcast with Dan Wells in 2022 called Intentionally Blank, where they discuss writing and pop culture.

About Brandon Sanderson's Life

His Early Years

Brandon Sanderson was born on December 19, 1975, in Lincoln, Nebraska. He was the oldest of four children. When he was young, he didn't really like reading. But in his teenage years, a teacher gave him a book called Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly. After reading it, he became a huge fan of fantasy books. He even tried writing his own stories early on.

After high school in 1994, he went to Brigham Young University (BYU) to study biochemistry. From 1995 to 1997, he took a break from college. He volunteered as a missionary for his church in South Korea.

His College Days

When Brandon Sanderson returned to BYU, he changed his main subject to English literature. While he was a student, he worked at a hotel in Provo, Utah, as a night auditor. This job was great because it allowed him to write while he worked! One of his roommates at BYU was Ken Jennings, who later became very famous on the game show Jeopardy!.

Brandon Sanderson earned his first degree from BYU in 2000. He then continued his studies and received a master's degree in English in 2004. During his time at BYU, he also worked for Leading Edge, a magazine that published fantasy and science fiction stories. He was even the editor-in-chief for a year.

His Adult Life

In 2006, Brandon Sanderson married Emily Bushman. She was also a BYU graduate and taught English and Spanish. Emily later became his business manager. They have three sons and live in American Fork, Utah.

Brandon Sanderson's Writing Journey

Starting His Writing Career

Brandon Sanderson in 2007

Brandon Sanderson wrote a lot during his college years. By 2003, he had written twelve novels! But no publisher had agreed to print any of them yet. Then, while he was still in graduate school, an editor from Tor Books contacted him. The editor wanted to publish one of his books. Brandon had sent the story for his sixth novel, Elantris, a year and a half earlier.

Elantris was published on April 21, 2005. People generally liked the book. In 2006, he published Mistborn: The Final Empire. This was the first book in his Mistborn fantasy series. In these books, some people called "allomancers" can gain special powers by "burning" metals they eat.

He published the second Mistborn book, The Well of Ascension, in 2007. That same year, he released a children's book called Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians. It's about a boy named Alcatraz who is good at breaking things. He fights against evil librarians who want to take over the world. Brandon Sanderson also published his first "laws of magic" in 2007. The third and final Mistborn book, The Hero of Ages, came out in 2008. The second Alcatraz book, Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener's Bones, was also published that year. He also started the Writing Excuses podcast in 2008.

Finishing The Wheel of Time Series

Brandon Sanderson became very well-known in late 2007. This happened when Harriet McDougal, the wife and editor of author Robert Jordan, chose him. She wanted him to finish the last books in Jordan's huge fantasy series, The Wheel of Time. Robert Jordan had passed away, and Harriet McDougal was very impressed by Brandon Sanderson's first Mistborn novel.

On December 7, 2007, Tor Books announced that Brandon Sanderson would finish the series. After looking at how much work was needed, Brandon and Tor decided to publish three final books instead of just one.

The first of these, The Gathering Storm, was published on October 27, 2009. It quickly became the number-one bestseller on the New York Times list. Towers of Midnight, the second-to-last The Wheel of Time book, came out on November 2, 2010. It also debuted at number one on the bestseller list. The series was finally completed in early 2013 with the publication of A Memory of Light.

More Books and Success

In 2009, Tor Books published Warbreaker. This book was first shared online in parts while Brandon Sanderson was writing it. The third Alcatraz book, Alcatraz Versus the Knights of Crystallia, also came out that year. In 2010, Brandon Sanderson published The Way of Kings. This was the first book in his big The Stormlight Archive series, which is planned to have ten books. It reached number seven on the New York Times bestseller list. The fourth Alcatraz novel, Alcatraz Versus the Shattered Lens, followed soon after.

In October 2011, he finished a short e-book called Infinity Blade: Awakening. This story was based on the Infinity Blade video game. In November 2011, he published Mistborn: The Alloy of Law. This book was a sequel to the original Mistborn trilogy, set about 300 years later. It was originally meant to be a single book but grew into a four-book series. It was also a New York Times bestseller.

In 2012, Brandon Sanderson published two shorter science fiction stories: Legion and The Emperor's Soul. In 2013, he started two new young adult series. These were The Rithmatist and the first book of The Reckoners series, called Steelheart. In March 2014, Words of Radiance, the second book in The Stormlight Archive, was published.

Later in 2014, the second Legion story, Legion: Skin Deep, was published. In January 2015, the second book of The Reckoners, titled Firefight, came out. Firefight won an award called the Whitney Award. Nine months later, Brandon Sanderson published Mistborn: Shadows of Self, which continued the story from The Alloy of Law. This novel also won an award and was popular with readers. By November 2015, Brandon Sanderson's books had sold over 7 million copies around the world.

On January 26, 2016, Mistborn: The Bands of Mourning was published as the next book after Shadows of Self. On February 16, 2016, the third and final book of The Reckoners series, Calamity, was released. In June 2016, Brandon Sanderson's first graphic novel, White Sand, was released. This graphic novel series is based on an older story he wrote. On September 6, 2016, the fifth Alcatraz book, Alcatraz Versus the Dark Talent, was published.

In November 2016, a collection of short stories and novellas from the Cosmere universe was published. It was called Arcanum Unbounded: A Cosmere Collection. The third book in The Stormlight Archive, Oathbringer, was published on November 14, 2017. The first book of the Defiant series, Skyward, came out on November 6, 2018. The second book in that series, Starsight, was released on November 26, 2019. In September 2020, a book he worked on with author Mary Robinette Kowal, called The Original, was released. Rhythm of War, the fourth Stormlight novel, was published on November 17, 2020. By early 2021, Brandon Sanderson's books had sold over 21 million copies worldwide.

In March 2021, Brandon Sanderson started a "Weekly Update" on his YouTube channel. He shares news about his current writing projects every week. On May 26, he showed the title and cover for Cytonic, the third book of his Skyward series. It was published on November 23, 2021.

In March 2022, Brandon Sanderson announced something amazing. He had secretly written five new books during the two years of the pandemic! Four were full adult novels, and one was a shorter book for younger readers. These books were offered through a Kickstarter subscription. The Kickstarter campaign was incredibly successful, raising $15 million in its first 24 hours. It became the most successful crowdfunding campaign ever, raising over $41 million from 185,341 supporters. One of these secret books, Tress of the Emerald Sea, was released in April 2023.

Brandon Sanderson also worked with Unknown Worlds Entertainment to create the story and world for the video game Moonbreaker. This game was released in September 2022. In March 2024, he announced another 'secret project' novel that will be released in 2025. In December 2024, Wind and Truth was released. This is the fifth and final book in the first part of The Stormlight Archive. Brandon Sanderson plans to write at least five more books in this series, but they are not expected until 2031.

Dragonsteel Entertainment, LLC

Dragonsteel Entertainment, LLC is a company that helps publish, sell, and produce different products and projects related to Brandon Sanderson's work. It is also known as Dragonsteel Books. The company owns the rights to many of his novels. It has also self-published some of his stories in both digital and print forms.

In 2024, Brandon Sanderson spoke to 5,000 fans at FanX in Salt Lake City, Utah. During his talk, he announced that Dragonsteel Entertainment had bought land. They plan to build a place called Dragonsteel Plaza. This plaza will have a bookstore, an outdoor market, and the main offices for Dragonsteel Entertainment, LLC.

Kickstarter Successes

Brandon Sanderson first used Kickstarter in 2020. He raised $6.7 million from almost 30,000 supporters. This money was used to create a special leather-bound 10th-anniversary edition of The Way of Kings, a Stormlight Archive novel.

In 2022, his second Kickstarter project, run through Dragonsteel Entertainment, raised over $41.7 million. This was for the four secret books he had written. This crowdfunding campaign became the largest in Kickstarter history. It broke records for the most money raised in the first 24 hours ($15.4 million) and the highest number of supporters.

In August 2024, Brandon Sanderson worked with Brotherwise Games. They created a tabletop role-playing game (RPG) based on his Cosmere universe. This Kickstarter campaign raised over $14.6 million. It broke the record for the most money pledged for a tabletop RPG.

Helping the Community

In 2015, Brandon Sanderson and his wife Emily started a charity called The Lightweaver Foundation. Their goal is to "Feed bodies. Fill minds. Fuel hope." Jane Horne is the director of this organization.

The Lightweaver Foundation's first project helped students at Utah Valley University (UVU) and Brigham Young University (BYU). It helped them publish their fantasy and science fiction stories in school journals. The foundation set up a special fund to support these university journals. This helps make sure future stories can continue to be published.

The Lightweaver Foundation also raises money to help people and programs in their local community. One of the main places they help is the Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital. The foundation also promotes reading and writing. They support a writing conference for teens called StoryCon. They also support Book Drop, which brings popular authors to speak at schools and give away free books.

The Cosmere Universe

The Cosmere is the name of the big universe where many of Brandon Sanderson's books take place. These include Elantris, Mistborn, Warbreaker, The Stormlight Archive, White Sand, Tress of the Emerald Sea, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, The Sunlit Man, and stories in Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection.

Brandon Sanderson wanted to create a huge series without making readers buy too many books. So, he hides connections to his other works in each book. This creates a "hidden epic" story. He was inspired by how Isaac Asimov connected his separate Robot and Foundation series later on. The Cosmere is Brandon Sanderson's way of having a big, connected story from the very beginning. He thinks the Cosmere story could have at least 40 books!

The Cosmere story is about a mysterious being named Adonalsium. This being lived on a world called Yolen. Adonalsium was killed by a group of at least seventeen people. This caused its power to break into sixteen different pieces, called Shards. Each Shard has amazing power. Sixteen of these people, called Vessels, then took these Shards. They traveled to new worlds and created different magic systems there. For example, two Shards, Ruin and Preservation, worked together to create the planet Scadrial. This is where the Mistborn series takes place.

Each Shard has a purpose, like Ambition or Honor. The personality of the person holding the Shard changes over time to match its purpose. One Shard, Odium, has destroyed several other Shards. On Sel, he destroyed Devotion and Dominion. He also destroyed Ambition in another star system. A man named Hoid appears or is mentioned in most Cosmere books. He is from Yolen and travels between the Shardworlds. He uses the people on these worlds to help with a secret plan.

Brandon Sanderson has said that a future book in the series will be in the cyberpunk style. This will be a big change from the fantasy settings seen in the Cosmere so far.

Sanderson's Laws of Magic

Brandon Sanderson talks about "soft" and "hard" magic systems. These are ways to describe how magic works in stories.

• Hard magic systems have clear rules. The magic is explained to the reader, showing how it works and what its limits are. This type of magic can be a big part of the story's world.
• Soft magic systems might not have clear rules or limits. They might not explain how they work very much. These systems are used to make readers feel a sense of wonder.

Brandon Sanderson's three laws of magic are guidelines for writers to create magic systems:

• Sanderson's First Law: The more readers understand how magic works, the more an author can use magic to solve problems in the story.
• Sanderson's Second Law: What magic can't do, its limits, and what it costs are often more interesting than its powers.
• Sanderson's Third Law: Before adding something completely new to a magic system, authors should try to expand on what's already there. Adding something totally new might change how the magic fits into the story's world.

There is also a "zeroth law":

• Sanderson's Zeroth Law: Always choose what sounds the most awesome!

Teaching and Podcasts

Brandon Sanderson is a part-time teacher at Brigham Young University. He teaches a creative writing class once a year. His writing courses are also available on his YouTube channel, "Brandon Sanderson."

He also takes part in the weekly podcast Writing Excuses. He hosts it with authors Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, and cartoonist Howard Tayler. In June 2021, he started another podcast called Intentionally Blank with Dan Wells. They talk about various things they enjoy.

Awards and Honors

Brandon Sanderson has won and been nominated for many awards for his books.

See also

In Spanish: Brandon Sanderson para niños