Everything you need to know about Brandon Sanderson before the new Stormlight book drops
Early Life
Reflecting upon the remarkable journey of Brandon Sanderson, I find myself both awestruck and inspired. His life story is a testament to the power of dreams, relentless work ethic, and unyielding determination.
Sanderson was born towards the end of 1975 in Lincoln, Nebraska. As a young child, he loved reading, but as he progressed through school, his interest in reading started to wane, even going so far as to avoid it whenever possible. The books assigned at school held no appeal for him, and he turned to other pursuits instead. Guided by his mother’s advice, he aimed to work diligently towards a career as a doctor so that he could help others.
Everything shifted for him during eighth grade when Mrs. Reeder handed him the book “Dragonsbane” by Barbara Hambly. Sanderson was captivated from start to finish with its high fantasy storyline about a group tasked with killing a dragon, hidden aristocracy, and the corrupting influence of dark magic. From that moment on, he voraciously read anything resembling this genre, crediting authors like Robert Jordan, Melanie Rawn, David Eddings, Anne McCaffrey, and Orson Scott Card as having a significant impact on his early years as an enthusiast of fantasy literature.
As early as high school, Sanderson dabbled in penning his own grand fantasy epics. He admits that his initial efforts were far from impressive, though the exact quality remains unknown.
University Days
1994 saw Sanderson enroll at Brigham Young University as a Biochemistry student, with the ambition to fulfill his mother’s dream of him becoming a doctor. However, after completing his freshman year, he decided to pause his academic journey to serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Seoul, Korea from 1995 to 1997. This experience provided him with the opportunity for introspection and self-discovery. Upon his return to BYU, he realized that his destiny lay not in medicine but in writing.
To Mama Sanderson’s displeasure, young Brandon altered his academic pathway to English Literature and immersed himself deeply in writing. He acquired employment as a night desk clerk at a hotel in Provo, Utah, where his supervisor granted him the freedom to write while working. His days were filled with schoolwork, and his nights with writing, creating a consistent pattern in Sanderson’s life. He lamented that it negatively impacted his social life, but by the end of his university years, he had penned seven novels.
During his time at BYU, Sanderson worked for “The Leading Edge,” a university-published semi-professional speculative fiction magazine with a somewhat professional edge. In fact, he held the position of editor-in-chief during his final year. This role allowed him to scrutinize numerous submissions and foster lasting friendships, as detailed in his official biography.
In the year 2000, Sanderson completed his English degree at BYU. Before earning a master’s degree in creative writing in 2004, however, he had already sold his debut novel, “Elantris,” to Tor Books, which was later published in 2005. This publication marked the beginning of Sanderson’s successful career, happening shortly after his graduation.
Here are some fun facts to cap off Sanderson’s University days:
- One of Sanderson’s roommates at BYU was Ken Jennings, who nearly 10 years later became famous during his 74-game win streak on the game show Jeopardy! Jennings is now the host of Jeopardy! after the passing of TV legend Alex Trebek.
- Sanderson wrote consistently throughout his undergraduate and graduate studies; by 2003, he had written 12 novels, though no publisher had accepted any of them for publication (until Tor bought Elantris later that year).
- Sanderson still teaches a creative writing course at BYU to this day. It gets him out of the house, he says.
- Sanderson married fellow BYU English major Emily Bushman in 2006. Bushman now manages Sanderson’s business affairs, heading up Dragonsteel Entertainment, LLC. More on that later.
Career
Initially, Brandon Sanderson garnered a moderate fanbase through his early epic fantasy novels Elantris, The Final Empire, and The Well of Ascension. However, it was Harriet McDougal, wife of the late Robert Jordan, one of Sanderson’s childhood idols, who propelled him to stardom by selecting him to complete the Wheel of Time series after Jordan’s demise in 2007. Sanderson then wrote three final installments that brought a fitting conclusion to the beloved series: The Gathering Storm, Towers of Midnight, and A Memory of Light.
Sanderson is recognized for the magical systems he incorporates into his stories, making them feel real, rough, and potent. He devised the terms “soft” and “hard” magic in his Laws of Magic series, a collection of three blog posts that detail his methodology for designing magic systems. For those interested, the laws are:
- An author’s ability to solve conflict with magic is DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL to how well the reader understands said magic.
- Limitations > Powers
- Expand what you already have before you add something new
Rather than discussing every book Brandon Sanderson has written and their significance, I’ve opted to provide a list of his novels and the years they were published instead. The volume of works clearly demonstrates the remarkable productivity he’s shown throughout his career.
- Elantris (2005)
- The Final Empire (2006)
- The Well of Ascension (2007)
- The Hero of Ages (2008)
- Warbreaker (2009)
- The Way of Kings (2010)
- The Alloy of Law (2011)
- Words of Radiance (2014)
- Shadows of Self (2015)
- The Bands of Mourning (2016)
- Oathbringer (2017)
- Rhythm of War (2020)
- The Lost Metal (2022)
- Yumi and the Nightmare Painter (2023)
- Tress of the Emerald Sea (2023)
- The Sunlit Man (2023)
- Wind and Truth (2024)
It was Mrs. Reeder and the book “Dragonsbane” that sparked this journey, leading to a two-time Hugo Award winner with eight nominations. Every great epic fantasy author stands on the shoulders of an intelligent mentor.
Kickstarter
Sanderson’s employment of Kickstarter is remarkable, particularly because he garnered massive attention on the platform when he revealed in March 2022 that he had penned five undisclosed books during the pandemic. The surprising aspect was his plan to distribute these books through a Kickstarter subscription on a quarterly basis. The campaign raked in $15 million on its opening day and ultimately became the most triumphant crowdfunding effort in the platform’s record books, accumulating $41,754,153 from more than 185,000 supporters.
This kind of success just goes to show how popular Sanderson’s works have become in the years since he was hacking away at his first stories in the lobby of some hotel in Provo.
Additionally, it underscores the substantial wealth Sanderson has amassed. Not only is he wealthy enough for such accumulation, but together with his spouse Emily Bushman, they’re endeavoring to establish a thriving media conglomerate.
Empire Builder
dragonsteel Entertainment, LLC serves as the managing entity for all items linked to Brandon Sanderson’s works. They hold the rights to copyright numerous novels penned by him and have collaborated with another significant publisher, Tor Books, to publish some of his stories in both digital and physical formats.
This year in September, I found myself standing before a sea of enthusiastic fans at FanX in Salt Lake City, where I shared some exciting news. Dragonsteel Entertainment, you see, has acquired land near The Realm Town, an upcoming theme park in Pleasant Grove, Utah. Our intention with this acquisition is to potentially establish a bookstore – Dragonsteel Plaza – right there!
This author believes Sanderson’s plans for constructing his fantastical worlds within our reality are just getting started. His success in the marketplace, fueled by his tireless work ethic, captivating storytelling, and intricate magic systems, is making him increasingly wealthy. He serves as a testament that turning dreams into action can lead to immense returns.
He’s also living proof that if you let your son go away to Korea for two years to spread the word of Mormon Jesus, he might come back wanting to be a writer. Aspiring doctor moms beware.
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2024-12-05 17:41