Brandon Sanderson's Blog, page 35

Arcanum Unbounded Tour Starts Today + Updates

Adam here. Brandon is currently heading out to the airport to start his “short” tour for Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection. If you’re not familiar with what Arcanum Unbounded is, check out Brandon’s introduction to it here. I have listed his tour stops below, but if you want to see details, please visit the Upcoming Events page.

11/29 – Fort Collins, CO – Old Firehouse Books
11/3 – San Fransisco, CA – Borderlands
12/1 – Seattle, WA – University Bookstore
12/3 – New York City (Hoboken, NJ) – Little City Books
12/6 – Chicago, IL – Volumes Book Cafe

If you would like to listen to an excerpt from Arcanum Unbounded, here is a sample of the Emperor’s Soul prologue for your listening pleasure.

For all of Brandon’s Spanish readers: Brandon was interviewed by a local news station during his visit to Spain last month. You can give it a watch here!

In this week’s new Writing Excuses episode, Fantasy Food, with Elizabeth Bear and Scott Lynch, Howard and Dan met up with Elizabeth Bear and Scott Lynch met up at GenCon Indy to talk about fantasy food, and how to engage your readers’ appetites with uour fiction. They talk economics, logistics, sensory engagement, and goof off quite a bit in the process. They might have been hungry at the time. There is good fun to be had here, and plenty of (pun intended) food for thought.

Last week, in chapters four and five in the reread for Warbreaker, Siri arrived in T’Telir, observed by Vasher and Lightsong This week, in chapter six, This week, she enters the God King’s palace and is readied for her husband.

Alcatraz vs. The Evil Librarians Black Friday Sale

Adam here. Awesome news everyone! The Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians ebook is on sale (at least in the U.S.) TODAY ONLY at $2.99 for Kindle users. It may be discounted in a few other regions as well (check your local region for pricing using the links to the right). For those of you who have enjoyed my other books, but have been on the fence about trying out this one, it’s a great opportunity to check this book out.

Enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend!

Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection is out today!

My new book is out today! Supposedly, it’s a short story collection, but I’m not known for the “short” part so much as the “story” part. So, really, it’s a collection of long stories, with some shorter pieces gluing them together.

Almost a decade ago, I decided I wanted to be better at short fiction. Until that point, I’d written almost exclusively novels in my attempts to learn to be a writer. But there’s something magical about short(er) fiction. I love it when I’m able to sit down, pick up a book, and read a complete story in one sitting. Some of the most powerful works of literature, including A Christmas Carol, and Animal Farm, are actually short fiction, a form we call the novella.

Over the last ten years, I’ve fallen in love with writing novellas. While I have written a few true short stories (you’ll find a couple in the collection) my true talent is in my ability to set a world, populate it, and drag a character through it to see how it leaves them changed. Novellas are, essentially, short novels–and boy, they are fun to write.

The cornerstones of this collection, then, are its novellas: one set on the world of Elantris (The Emperor’s Soul), another on the world of Mistborn (Secrect History), and the third on the world of The Stormlight Archive (Edgedancer). Two other worlds (Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell and Sixth of the Dusk) will give many of you something new to taste, so the collection doesn’t just revisit what has come before.

One of the fun things about this collection is the chance you have to watch my progress as a writer. you can read some of my earlier short stories (Hope of Elantris and the Eleventh Metal) to give you something to compare to things like my most recent work (Edgedancer), written exclusively for this collection.

Even if you’re so-so on story collections, please give this book a try. I think it will change your mind. If you hate them with the white hot burning passion of the sun…um…Oathbringer is almost done. You can read that next year.

Before I leave you, let me mention the coolest part about the collection: in-world star charts and essays about the planets by Khriss, one of the great scholars in the cosmere, and the one who has been writing the Ars Arcanum section in many of my books (hence the title Arcanum Unbounded). I’m very happy with the illustration of her on the cover. All the new art in this collection is great, including star charts and full-color end pages in the American edition. You’ll find it to be a handsome book, well deserving of a place on your shelf.

Many people have asked me where they can read more about the cosmere–the connectivity between the planets of my epic fantasy works. Well, you’ll find that here – secrets, hints, and even some outright explanations.

This contains every scrap of cosmere short fiction I’ve done so far, so if you’ve been a little overwhelmed trying to collect it all, you can find it here. We stuck it all in, including things like Hope of Elantris and Allomancer Jak, which were never intended to stand alone, just so you’d have it, if you wanted it. Now you don’t have to worry about being confused or left out when other fans discuss them.

The collection is in ebook, audiobook, and gorgeous hardcover. Enjoy, and thanks for giving it a chance!

Also, don’t forget my release party tonight, and my short tour starting next week.

If you’re hungry for Oathbringer updates, check out this reddit thread from last week.

What to read while you wait for Arcanum Unbounded!

Hey, all! I’ve been working very hard on Stormlight Three, trying to get it done before I go on tour for Arcanum Unbounded (which comes out next week, hint hint). The tour actually happens a few weeks later. See the (unfortunately short) list of cities here.

However, if you’re looking for something to read now, rather than waiting all the way until next week, might I give you a suggestion? Dan, my podcasting buddy and longtime friend, has just released what might just be the best book of his career.

He’d probably be the first to admit that Extreme Makeover is a very strange book. On one hand, it’s a satire of the corporate world. On the other hand, it’s a doomsday party which counts down to the very end of the world. It’s funny, but not in a stand-up comedy way. More in a “I can’t believe he’s going there” kind of way.

Like most of Dan’s books, it has sf elements, but plays to a wide audience–as long as they’re willing to accept a strange premise (in this case, a health and beauty company that develops cloning technology). Reviewers are comparing it to Vonnegut, and I’d agree with that assessment.

Before becoming a full-time novelist, Dan worked for a health and beauty company in their writing department. He was exposed to a lot of the insanity that happens in such places, and is fully capable of skewering it–but the book is far deeper than that. It’s the most fun you can probably have reading about the end of the world.

So if you’re looking for something strange, thoughtful, and mixed with a shade of gallows humor, give the book a try.

Brandon

The Brandonsanderson.com FAQ is now live!

Karen here, one of Brandon’s assistants. I’m usually in charge of continuity: making sure that little details, like the color of a minor character’s eyes or the shape of each kind of spren, are consistant from one book to the next. I also keep a master timeline so that each viewpoint character lives the same number of days between joint scenes.

I occasionally get assigned other tasks that require attention to detail and the ability to organize large amounts of information so that the important bits are easily accessible. Think Himalaya from Alcatraz vs the Knights of Crystalia.

Brandon has wanted a FAQ on his website for years, but it has always been a lower priority than say, getting books edited and published. When the subject came up again, I volunteered and we all agreed that it was a job perfectly suited to my skill set. The last person who worked on the task gave me hundreds of pages of interviews, responses to fan mail, transcripts of Q&A sessions at signings, and lists of the sort of questions that should be covered.

My task was to:

1. Edit the questions. Most fan mail is a bit down from rambling, with paragraphs about why they want to know the answer, and details and examples that clarify what they’re asking about. The FAQ needs a single sentence of about five to seven words.

2. Edit the answers. These questions are, by definition frequently asked, and Brandon answers them slightly differently each time. I combined the answers so that they included all the juicy details without a ton of repetition.

3. Weed out the irrelevant. It’s fun to know that someone named their baby Kaladin, or what Brandon’s favorite pizza topping is, but those don’t really belong in the FAQ.

4. Organize the questions. A FAQ is no good to people if they can’t quickly find the answer they’re looking for. Brandon specifically asked for a nested structure to group similar questions together and make it less intimidating than one giant list.

I do want to warn that when you get into questions about specific books, there are major spoilers. Even reading the questions, without looking at the answers can be dangerous. I recommend reading an entire book or series before digging into its section in the FAQ.

I know that the FAQ is not complete. There are many more old interviews archived in the database at Theoryland.com that I’m slowly getting to while also working on continuity for Oathbringer. You can always send questions and comments through the fan mail form , but if you think your question will have general appeal and ought to be addressed in the FAQ, you can send them directly to me at karen@brandonsanderson.com and I’ll try to get an answer for you. Brandon and I reserve the right to RAFO any question that deserves it.

I hope this resource that will be interesting and useful to you, the fans. I hope it will answer questions that you’ve always kind of wondered about, but never asked. So dig in, binge read if you want, and enjoy yourselves. I present to you, the FAQ!

Karen

Tips on getting accepted into my Creative Writing class at BYU

I teach a Creative Writing class at my Alma Mater, Brigham Young University each year. It’s always winter semester, one evening per week. It should generally be Thursday at 5:10pm but not necessarily. The class name is English 318R/321R

My class is split into two sections

1. Workshop class: ENGL 318R Sec 002 (15 seats, by application only)

In this class, in addition to the lectures, you will be split into writing groups and will critique writing samples from the students in the class. I will also read and critique your writing. Because of the time commitment for me, I have to limit this group to 15 people. You must complete the application to have a chance at getting into this section.

2. Lecture class: ENGL 321R Sec 002 (65 seats)

In order to allow more students to take the class, there is a section for students who will only attend the lectures. Many students in this section form their own writing groups to critique each other’s writing, but I will not be able to read and critique for these students.

Students who want to attend the lectures only should sign up for 321R Sec 002 when registration opens. That is also the class for students who want to audit.

Students who want to attend the lectures and complete the full workshop class should see the information on how to apply here.

Applications are due by mid-December, so you will be notified whether you were accepted after that date. If you need an ENGL 318 credit this semester you should, in addition to applying, sign up for English 321R and be prepared to drop that class if your application is accepted.

Many people ask me if there’s a trick to getting accepted into this class. I’ve asked my assistant Karen to judge the applications, so she’s going to answer that question.

Karen here. There are a few tricks to getting accepted, but mostly they’re just common sense. Because I have deadlines to meet in December (working on Oathbringer), I am going to be especially strict about the following requirements:

1. Fill out the application and follow the directions EXACTLY. That means that you should submit it before the cutoff date, and name your files exactly as requested in the application. If you don’t, I will reject your application without looking at it.

2. The writing sample should be the first chapter of your novel, and fit the wordcounts listed (2,000 words minimum, 10,000 words maximum). If it’s two short, I won’t be able to get a good sense of your writing skill. If it’s too long, I will just stop in the middle and reject your application for not following the rules. It’s best if you find a good stopping point within the wordcount limits.

Your first chapter is the hook of your novel. It may be the only thing that an editor or reader looks at. Make it something that will make me want more at the end of it.

After reading each writing sample, I’ll write myself a one sentence summary and give it a Good, Maybe, or No score.

3. I won’t look at the short answer questions before judging the writing samples. I generally end up with more than 15 ‘Good’ stories, and that’s when I take the short answers into account. A senior who has taken the lecture class before, has written three complete novels and listens to Writing Excuses is more likely to get accepted than a freshman who has not completed any novels or attended the lecture.

4. The essay will either confirm my previous impressions, or turn me off entirely. It’s all well and good to say that you feel your calling in life is to be an author, and that you’re committed to making a career of it, but if you haven’t put in the work of actually sitting down and completing a novel or two, then you’re not ready to get the full benefit of the workshop portion of this class.

5. Remember that if you are not accepted into the class, it does not mean that I’m rejecting you as a person or as an author. I only have 15 slots. There have been authors who applied one year, got rejected, but took the lecture class anyway, then applied the next year and were accepted because they had a few more pluses on their application, and more experience writing. I hope that you will take the lecture class no matter what your application status is, and that if your schedule permits, you apply again another year.

Good luck and good writing!

Calamity & The Bands of Mourning in Semi-final + New Writing Excuses Episode

Adam here.

Brandon is not human. I haven’t ascertained exactly what he is. He could be a robot, which is a common theory posed by many of his readers due to his prodigious production rate. Maybe he’s an alien or some other unknown quantity, but he is most assuredly not of the human variety. This couldn’t have been made any plainer to me than it has over these last several weeks while following him around Europe. 

Brandon had some type of interaction or event with his readers almost every day, many of which were signings that lasted several hours. He had meetings with publishers, and he somehow managed to continue his work on the book he’s writing. (Oh, and did I mention that there was an eight-hour time difference?) I felt constantly worn out and am still trying to recover. (I woke up at 3:00 am this morning, so that’s not going very well.) Brandon mentioned in passing a few times that he may have been fatigued. I am fairly certain that he just needed to go plug himself in to recharge his internal battery. I felt exhausted after three weeks and he spends almost half of his year traveling! 

All teasing aside, this trip gave me a greater understanding of the strain Brandon puts himself under. I know why he does it. He loves and appreciates every single one of his readers and would feel negligent if he missed out on an opportunity to show that to you. I know he was grateful for your patience as you waited in line, often for many hours, to get your books signed or snag a photo with him. I will be posting pictures of some of the people Brandon met, some exceptional fan art, and maybe some cosplayers on Brandon’s social media over the next several weeks. I hope you all enjoy them as much as I did!

Calamity and The Bands of Mourning have both been voted into the Semi-Final round in the 2016 Goodreads Choice Awards, so thank you for your voting thus far! If you’d like to vote again, you can find Calamity in Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction, and The Bands of Mourning in Fantasy.

The Humble Bundle fantasy/sf RPG ebook bundle, that features three of Crafty Games’ Mistborn Adventure Game books, expires in just over five days. So if you’ve been curious to give them a try, now is a fantastic time.

Brandon has done quite a few interviews of late, two of which are now live. The first was with Hank Garner on the Author Stories Podcast, where they discussedBrandon’s first introduction into fantasy by his eighth grade teacher, how his two year missionary journey to Korea informed his later writing, and why fantasy resonates with people in emotionally powerful ways. The second was recorded a few weeks ago in Paris by Le Point Pop (you can see a small snippet below) and also translated to French for any of Brandon’s readers who can read French –or who are as clever as I am and can push the translate button at the top of the page.

Brandon Sanderson, l'auteur fantastique bientôt… by le-point-pop

In this week’s new Writing Excuses episode, Elemental Issue, with Desiree Burch, we focus on November’s elemental genre: Issue. We were joined by actor, writer, and comedian Desiree Burch. The Elemental Issue is similar to the Elemental Idea, but explores a point of social conflict, like racism, teen pregnancy, or corporate greed. Authors writing Elemental Issue stories raise questions for the readers. We talk about how to go about writing these without sounding preachy, and without writing polemics.

Last week, in chapter three reread for Warbreaker, we leave the Idrians in their respective muddles, and go to meet Lightsong in the Court of Gods. This week, in chapters four and five, Siri arrives in Hallandren, evoking consternation, frustration, and interest on the part of our POV characters.

I will be updating the twitter feed for November on Monday, but if you aren’t caught up with October’s feed, you can see it here.

Arcanum Unbounded BYU Release Party

On Tuesday, November 22nd at 7:00 p.m., I will be doing the world’s first signing for Arcanum Unbounded. Please note that this is not a midnight release, as we’ve done in the past, though there will likely be midnight release parties for future books, just not this time around. We’re using the Digital Line again, as it’s worked well for the last few releases, so mark your calendars for November 10th at 10:00 a.m., which is when the digital line’s entry form will become available. Numbers will be assigned by the order you enter the line, which closes on November 20th at 11:59 p.m. Further details from the BYU Store and my signing assistant Kara are below.

Let me tell you about a cool new thing we’re trying out for this event. When you pre-order Arcanum Unbounded, you will have the option to purchase a Cosmere-themed t-shirt, which will be exclusive to this event and not available anywhere else, including my store, for at least six months. This t-shirt is awesome, as you can see in the pictures here. The front features the newly-release Cosmere symbol, and on the back is Sanderson’s Zeroth Law: Err on the Side of Awesome. (See, I wasn’t just saying the shirt is awesome.)

Now, there will be other ways to get signed copies of Arcanum Unbounded. I’ve got a short tour planned, and signed books will be available at my various stops. The events page has details. You can also order a signed copy online from the BYU Store or from Weller Book Works. (Details on the Weller Book Works signed copies can be found at the bottom of this link. Please read all the way to the bottom to see how these editions help the Waygate Foundation. This is the only way to get a signed, numbered, and personalized book outside of the actual signings. Books ordered to be shipped from BYU will only be signed and numbered.)

Release Party Details:

November 9, 2016: Arcanum Unbounded Book Bundles become available for pre-order on byustore.com

1 copy of Arcanum Unbounded = $25.19 (10% off list price)
1 Cosmere T-Shirt = $25.00 (only available for purchase through byustore.com)
1 book + 1 t-shirt = $45.04 (15% off list price)

November 10, 2016 at 10:00 a.m.: Digital Line Opens

Only one submission per person. This is a line! (Duplicates will be deleted.) Please do not sign up for the Digital Line if you’re not attending the release party.

You will be required to preorder Arcanum Unbounded by November 20th in order to be assigned a number and guarantee that a book will be there for you to pick up on November 22nd. Books can be ordered in person at the BYU Store or online at byubookstore.com (choose the shipping option “Service Desk Pickup” to get your book at the release party). Books ordered through byubookstore.com will not be charged to your credit card until November 21.

You can pick up your number in person from the BYU Store starting on Monday, November 21, at 2:00 p.m. Bring a photo ID and your receipt or proof of purchase. If you do not pick up your number before 6:00 p.m. Tuesday, November 22nd, your number will be given to someone else. If you show up after this point to pick up your book, you will be given a different number or a refund. The BYU Store will close at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 22.

At 6:30 p.m., fans will be able to enter the Wilkinson Student Center (WSC) and go to Room 3228 (third floor by the bookstore) which is where we will be holding the release party. Official start time is 7:00 p.m. for Games and Trivia. Prizes will be awarded throughout the evening.

Around 7:45 p.m. Brandon will hold a reading and Q&A in Room 3228 WSC. At 8:30 p.m., guests will be asked to line up in numerical order in preparation for the distribution of books in the BYU Store itself. Once guests have picked up their signed & numbered books, they are free to leave or to get into a separate line to have their books personalized by Brandon.

Cash registers will close at 10:00 p.m. All purchases must be made by this time.

Can’t attend the release party? See the previous post about ordering from Weller Book Works, or you can preorder a book from the BYU Store and they will send you a signed and numbered copy of Arcanum Unbounded after the Release Party. You must purchase your copy by November 20th (to ensure a numbered/signed copy). The numbers for these copies will be assigned after the event. Again, please do not sign up for the Digital Line if you’re not attending.

Now, here’s the important part. It’s hard for stores to judge how many copies to order for this sort of event, and I’m worried that BYU might not order enough. They might run out. Therefore, they are letting you preorder to be assured you get a book. If you preorder, you are guaranteed a book. If you don’t preorder, it’s first come first served. If a lot of people preorder, they will get in more books to make sure everyone who ordered early is covered. They have ordered a ton of copies, but it’s always possible they could underestimate and some readers could go home empty-handed.

So, for this event, we strongly encourage you go to the website and order your book ahead of time. It will save you money and will make things easier for us. Let me say one more time, however, that you do not get your number based on when you preorder, though you do have to have paid for the book before you can get your number. You get the number based on when you signed up for the digital line. Preordering just guarantees that you get a copy, not that you get a low number.

Details Recap:

BYU Store, Provo, UT

10:00 a.m. Thursday, November 10th (digital line signups begin at this link)
2:00 p.m. Monday, November 21st (numbers begin being distributed at the BYU Store)
6:30 p.m. Tuesday, November 22nd (doors open)
7:00 p.m. Tuesday, November 22nd (Party begins!)

Preorder by going to the BYU Store website. (For the shipping option, choose “Service Desk Pickup.”) You’ll need to bring your receipt or proof of purchase as well as your photo ID to the BYU Store before 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 22nd in order to get your book number.

Thank you again! We’re excited for you to get your hands on Arcanum Unbounded!

European tour continues in Barcelona & Lisbon, RPG ebook Humble Bundle + Updates

Adam here. Sorry about missing last week’s update post; I have been traveling in Europe with Brandon (mostly, but I will get to that in a minute) and didn’t have good internet access. So if you have been lost—or as I like to imagine it, wallowing in the pit of despair—without my weekly update, for this I am sorry. I will try to make it up to you.

I took a small jaunt away from Brandon for a few days to see a few of the sites in other nearby countries, and I thought it would be fun to take signed bookplates to stuff into Brandon’s books as I came across bookshops during my travels. I didn’t achieve the level of success I had envisioned—two clerks in a Kraków, Poland, bookshop didn’t want any part of my mission—but I was able to find a few shops in Prague (I really enjoyed this cover of Calamity) who were carrying some of Brandon’s works. The Kanzelsberger A.s. and Knihkupectví Academia bookshops, both on Václavské nám, were both faux “Brandalized.” I will continue doing this throughout the rest of Brandon’s tour, so keep an eye on these weekly updates, or Brandon’s Twitter and Facebook feeds, to find out where.

Starting tomorrow (Thursday) and through this weekend, Brandon will be doing three events in Barcelona. Then on Monday he’ll be in Lisbon for a signing. See his events page for details.

Weekly Update

Humble Bundle has put up a fantasy/sf RPG ebook bundle that features three of Crafty Games’ Mistborn Adventure Game books. This is running for only two weeks, so if you haven’t had a chance to pick up these RPG books yet, this is a good chance.

The first round of this year’s Goodreads Choice Awards is now open for voting, and Brandon has two books nominated: The Bands of Mourning in Fantasy, and Calamity in Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction.

In this week’s new Writing Excuses episode, Horrifying the Children, with Darren Shan, the Writing Excuses crew with the aid of Darren Shan (Cirque du Freak or any of fifty other books), breaks down writing horror for children and young adults.

Last week, in chapter one reread for Warbreaker, we met the Idrian royal family and were introduced to the political tensions that drive much of the plot. This week, in chapter two, the sisters express their dissatisfaction with the exchange in no uncertain terms, and another plot-critical decision is reached.

And with the announcement last week that DMG Entertainment has optioned the entire Cosmere series for film, with a movie for The Way of Kings fast-tracked for production, Tor.com has put up a dream cast post for that movie. Check it out.

The Twitter post archive for October is up to date.

Introducing Arcanum Unbounded

Hey, all. I’m still in Europe on tour. (I’ll be in Barcelona next, followed by Lisbon.) But I don’t want to get so busy with this and writing Stormlight Three that I forget to give you a heads-up on Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection, coming out this month.

When it became apparent that Stormlight Three wouldn’t be ready this year, I talked to my publishers, and we decided that I should write a novella instead, to tide people over. This gave us a perfect opportunity to do something I’ve been wanting to do for a while: release all of the Cosmere short fiction together in a single volume, so you don’t have to hunt it out or worry you’ve missed something.

So this collection, while including a sizable Stormlight story (about Lift), has every bit of published Cosmere short fiction I’ve done up to this point—including all the novellas, as well as some little bits and pieces from here and there. Tor.com just posted the table of contents, and a giveaway sweepstakes for the book started today.

The collection has star charts for the various worlds, and a short essay about each world from Khriss, the scholar who writes the Ars Arcanum for each novel. Tor.com should be putting up a preview example for both of these next week. I’ve also written a short annotation for each story.

Whether you’re a Cosmere scholar yourself and want the juicy details in the essays, or a casual fan who just wants some good stories, I think you’ll love this collection. Standalone stories like The Emperor’s Soul have had fantastic reviews and won awards, while stories like Mistborn: Secret History expand on the lore and characters of books you’ve already read.

I’ll be doing a release party in Utah, followed (after the Thanksgiving holiday) by a short tour. Find the details here!

Thanks! I’ll write something more when the book is actually available, but for now you can preorder it at your vendor of choice.

As always, if you’re planning to see me on tour, I suggest that you buy the book from the store where I’ll be touring. But you certainly don’t have to wait for the day of the signing to do so, particularly since it will be a week after the release when I tour. Just make sure the bookstore knows, when you buy, that you’re planning to attend the signing—some of them do have limited seating or other restrictions that might require a ticket or a receipt.

Thanks so much for all your support over the year! Stormlight Three is coming along well, I promise. Around this time next year, I should be writing a post like this to introduce it to you!

Brandon