Brandon Sanderson

Brandon Sanderson
Brandon Sanderson signing.
Born	December 19, 1975 Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.
Occupation	Writer, creative writing instructor
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Brigham Young University (B.A., M.A.)
Period	2005–present
Genre	Fantasy, science fiction
Notable works	Mistborn series The Stormlight Archive series Final three books in The Wheel of Time series
Website
brandonsanderson.com

Brandon Sanderson (born December 19, 1975) is an American fantasy and science fiction writer. He is best known for his Mistborn series and his work in finishing Robert Jordan's epic fantasy series The Wheel of Time. In 2010, Sanderson published The Way of Kings, the first of a ten book series called The Stormlight Archive.

Sanderson worked as an editor for the semi-professional magazine Leading Edge while attending school at Brigham Young University, where he now periodically teaches creative writing. In 2008 Sanderson started a podcast with author Dan Wells and cartoonist Howard Tayler called Writing Excuses, involving topics about creating and producing genre writing and webcomics.

Brief biography

Sanderson was born in Lincoln, Nebraska.^[1][2] After completing a two-year LDS mission in Seoul, South Korea in 1997^[3] he attended Brigham Young University as an English major. During his graduate program at BYU Sanderson was on the staff of Leading Edge, a semi-professional speculative fiction magazine published by the university. He completed his master's degree in creative writing in 2005.^[4]

In 2006 Sanderson married Emily Bushman, a fellow English major and teacher,^[5] who later became his business manager.^[6] They reside, with their three children, in American Fork, Utah.^[7] Sanderson currently teaches creative writing at Brigham Young University, in addition to working on his own writing.^[8][9]

Sanderson is a participant in the weekly podcast Writing Excuses with authors Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, and web cartoonist Howard Tayler.

Career

Sanderson in 2007

Sanderson's first novel, Elantris, was published by Tor Books on April 21, 2005, to generally positive reviews.^[10][11] This was followed in 2006 by The Final Empire, the first book in his Mistborn fantasy trilogy, where "allomancers" — people who have the ability to ‘burn’ various metals and alloys after ingesting them — can enhance senses and allow control over powerful supernatural forces. He followed up in 2007 with a sequel, The Well of Ascension.

Sanderson then published the children's novel Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians, again in 2007, about a boy named Alcatraz with a unique gift: he’s very good at breaking things. He also confronts a group of evil librarians who are bent on taking over the world. 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.

In 2009, Tor Books published Warbreaker, which originally appeared serially on Sanderson’s website while he was writing the novel from 2006 to 2009. The same year the third Alcatraz book followed, titled Alcatraz Versus the Knights of Crystallia.

After Robert Jordan’s death in September 2007, Sanderson was selected by Jordan's widow and editor, Harriet McDougal, to complete the final book in Jordan’s epic fantasy series The Wheel of Time. McDougal asked him to finish the series after she was deeply impressed by his first Mistborn novel.^[12] Tor Books made the announcement on December 7, 2007.^[13] 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.^[14][15]

In 2010, Sanderson published the first novel, titled The Way of Kings, in a planned ten-book series called The Stormlight Archive. It achieved the number seven slot on the New York Times hardcover fiction bestseller list.^[16] Towers of Midnight, the second-to-last Wheel of Time book, was published just over a year after The Gathering Storm on November 2, 2010, also debuting at number one on the bestseller list.^[17] The fourth Alcatraz novel, Alcatraz Versus the Shattered Lens, was published a month later on December 1.

In October 2011, he finished a novella ebook, Infinity Blade: Awakening, based on the action role-playing, iOS video game Infinity Blade, developed by Chair Entertainment and Epic Games.^[18] In November 2011, he published a sequel to the Mistborn trilogy, Mistborn: The Alloy of Law. 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. It debuted at number seven on the New York Times bestseller list.

On August 31, 2012, Sanderson published a science fiction novella entitled Legion. Another short work, The Emperor's Soul, appeared in October 2012. A few months later, on January 8, 2013, A Memory of Light was published, the final book in The Wheel of Time series.^[19] On May 14, 2013, Sanderson published the first in a new young adult series titled The Rithmatist. Another young adult book series, The Reckoners, began with the publication of Steelheart on September 24, 2013.^[20][21] Words of Radiance, the second book in the Stormlight Archive, was published on March 4, 2014.^[22] The second novella in the Legion series, Legion: Skin Deep, was published in November 2014. In January 2015, the second book of The Reckoners, titled Firefight, was published.

Sanderson's Laws

Sanderson's First Law

"An author's ability to solve conflict satisfactorily with magic is directly proportional to how well the reader understands said magic."^[23]

While originally created as a rule for magic systems in fantasy novels, Sanderson has specified that this law need not apply just to fantasy, but is also applicable to science fiction. This Law was originally defined in Sanderson's online essay "Sanderson's First Law".^[23] In the essay he qualifies the two extremes^{[note 1]} of design as being:

Hard Magic

Magic/technology has well defined rules that the audience understands. As a result, one can use this to solve conflict more easily as the capabilities are cleanly defined. Sanderson classifies this as "Hard Magic". C.L. Wilson in her essay Worldbuilding 101 - Making Magic^[24] advocated this method of creation, stating, "...create your rules, then follow them."

Soft Magic

Magic/technology has unclear or vague rules, or none at all. This allows for a greater sense of wonder to be attained for the reader, but the ability to solve problems without resorting to deus ex machina decreases. Sanderson classifies this as "Soft Magic". Lawrence Watt-Evans specifically advised "The trick is to be a benevolent and consistent deity, not one who pulls miracles out of a hat as needed."^[25]

Sanderson's Second Law

"Limitations > Powers"^[26]

Or in other words, a character's weaknesses are more interesting than his or her abilities. It was initially set down in Episode 15 of the podcast Writing Excuses.^{[27][note 2]}

John Brown likewise looked to Sanderson's work in his own essay involving magic systems, noting "What are the ramifications and conflicts of using it?"^[28] Patricia Wrede likewise noted several issues on this topic ranging from magic suppressing other technologies, to how a magic might affect farming.^[29][30]

In explaining the second law, Sanderson references the magic system of Superman, claiming that Superman's powers are not what make him interesting, but his limits, specifically his vulnerability to kryptonite and the code of ethics he received from his parents.

Sanderson's Third Law

"Expand what you already have before you add something new."^[31]

The Third Law implies that the writer should go deeper with worldbuilding before going wider.

Sanderson points out that since magic does not take place in a vacuum, a good magic system should be interconnected with the world around it. It is related to the ecology, religion, economics, warfare, and politics of the world it inhabits. The job of the author is to think further than the reader about the ramifications of the magic system. If magic can turn mud into diamonds, that has an effect on the value of diamonds. Sanderson states that readers of genre fiction are interested not just in the magic system but how the world and characters will be different because of the magic.^[32]

The Cosmere

The Cosmere is the name of the universe in which the majority of Sanderson's books exist. This idea came from his 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 this "hidden epic". In the end the Cosmere Cycle will include between 32-36 books.^[33]

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 sixteen conspirators, causing its power to shatter into sixteen different Shards, each of which bears immense power.^[34] The sixteen people who took these Shards created new worlds, populating them with people and different types of magic. However, each Shard has an Intent, such as Ruin or Honor, and they became molded to it. A man named Hoid travels these so-called Shardworlds, interfering with the people of those worlds when they become heroes and come in contact with the Shards.^[35]

Bibliography

Selected awards and honors

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	[36]
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	[37]
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	[38]
	Polytechnic University of Catalonia	UPC Science Fiction Award	Defending Elysium	Won	[39]
	LDStorymakers	Whitney Awards, Best Speculative Fiction	The Well of Ascension	Nominated	[40]
		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	[41]
	LDStorymakers	Whitney Awards, Best Speculative Fiction Award	The Hero of Ages	Won	[42]
2009	LDStorymakers	Whitney Awards, Best Speculative Fiction	Warbreaker	Nominated	[43]
2010	LDStorymakers	Whitney Awards, Best Speculative Fiction Award	The Way of Kings	Won	[44]
	LDStorymakers	Whitney Awards, Best Novel of the Year Award	The Way of Kings	Won	[44]
	Goodreads	Goodreads Choice Awards 2010, Best Fantasy of 2010	Towers of Midnight	Won	[45]
2011	DGLA	David Gemmell Legend Award	The Way of Kings	Won	[46]
	LDStorymakers	Whitney Awards, Best Speculative Fiction Award	The Alloy of Law	Won	[47]
2012	Goodreads	Goodreads Choice Awards 2012, Best Fantasy of 2012	The Emperor's Soul	Nominated	[48]
2013	World Science Fiction Society	Hugo Award, Best Novella	The Emperor's Soul	Won	[49]
	World Fantasy Convention	World Fantasy Award, Best Novella	The Emperor's Soul	Nominated	[50]
	Goodreads	Goodreads Choice Awards 2013, Best Fantasy of 2013	A Memory of Light	Nominated	[51]
	LDStorymakers	Whitney Awards, Best Young Adult—Speculative	Steelheart	Won	[52]
	Goodreads	Goodreads Choice Awards 2013, Best Young Adult Fantasy of 2013	Steelheart	Nominated	[53]
2014	World Science Fiction Society	Hugo Award, Best Novel	The Wheel of Time	Nominated	[54]
	DGLA	David Gemmell Legend Award, Best Novel	A Memory of Light	Nominated	[55]
	Goodreads	Goodreads Choice Awards 2014, Best Fantasy of 2014	Words of Radiance	Nominated	[56]
	Whitney Awards	2014 Whitney Finalists, Speculative	Words of Radiance	Won	[57]
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	[58]
		Goodreads Choice Awards 2015, Best Young Adult Fantasy of 2015	Firefight	Nominated	[59]
2016	World Science Fiction Society	Hugo Award, Best Novella	Perfect State	Nominated	[60]

See also

• Writing Excuses

Notes

1. In the essay, Sanderson clarifies, "Most writers are somewhere in the middle between these two extremes."
2. From the same episode, this law is also called Tayler's First Law. "If the energy you are getting from your magic is cheaper than letting a donkey do it, your medieval economy just fell apart."

References

1. "Profile for Brandon Sanderson". Writertopia. Retrieved August 10, 2006.
2. "Famous Mormon Writers and Authors". Archived from the original on August 15, 2006. Retrieved August 10, 2006.
3. "Brandon Sanderson: About". Retrieved June 1, 2011.
4. "Winter 2006 Alumni Profiles Update". BYU Magazine. Retrieved January 17, 2007.
5. "Newsletter, July 2006". Retrieved August 10, 2006.
6. "About Brandon". Retrieved April 4, 2014.
7. "Newsletter, February 2010". Retrieved January 6, 2013.
8. "Faculty & Staff Directory". Department of Humanities, Brigham Young University. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
9. Sanderson, Brandon (December 20, 2013). "Application deadline for my BYU creative writing class is Monday". Dragonsteel Entertainment. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
10. "Review by Orson Scott Card". Retrieved December 18, 2010.
11. "Review blurbs on Sanderson's site". Retrieved December 18, 2010.
12. "An interview with Brandon Sanderson". December 8, 2007.
13. "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.
14. "Best Sellers: Hardcover Fiction". The New York Times. Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr. November 5, 2009. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
15. "The Gathering Storm coming sooner than expected". Retrieved September 8, 2009.
16. "The Way of Kings is a New York Times Bestseller". Retrieved September 8, 2010.
17. "Best Sellers: Hardcover Fiction". The New York Times. November 21, 2010.
18. Michael McWhertor (November 2, 2010). "The First Epic iPhone Game Is Now 'Infinity Blade'". Kotaku. Gawker Media.
19. "The Release Date for A Memory of Light Has Been Set". Tor.com. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
20. "Delacorte Press Acquires Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson". SFScope.com. June 13, 2012. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
21. "Gollancz acquires new Brandon Sanderson series – STEELHEART is coming!". Gollancz. June 13, 2012. Archived from the original on July 9, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
22. "Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, Book 2) (Stormlight Archive, The)". Amazon.com. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
23. Sanderson, Brandon. "Sanderson's First Law". Retrieved February 10, 2011.
24. Wilson, C.L. "Worldbuilding 101 - Making Magic". Retrieved April 29, 2016.
25. Watt-Evans, Lawrence. "Deus ex Machina and Writing Fantasy". Retrieved February 12, 2011.
26. Sanderson, Brandon. "Sanderson's Second Law". Retrieved January 17, 2012.
27. Sanderson, Brandon; Howard Tayler, Dan Wells (May 18, 2008). "Writing Excuses Episode 15: Costs and Ramifications of Magic". www.writingexcuses.com (Podcast). Retrieved February 10, 2011.
28. Brown, John. "Inventing Magic". Retrieved February 12, 2011.
29. Wrede, Patricia. "Fantasy Worldbuilding Questions: Daily Life". Retrieved February 12, 2011.
30. Wrede, Patricia. "Fantasy Worldbuilding Questions: Commerce, Trade, and Public Life". Retrieved February 12, 2011.
31. Sanderson, Brandon (September 25, 2013). "Sanderson’s Third Law of Magic". Dragonsteel Entertainment. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
32. Sanderson, Brandon. "2013 Brandon Sanderson - Lecture 3: Limitations Are More Interesting (7/7)". Retrieved August 3, 2013.
33. Thea. "The Rithmatist: A Chat with Brandon Sanderson". The Book Smugglers. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
34. Sanderson, Brandon (26 January 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.
35. Whitehead, Adam. "Brandon Sanderson plans 36-volume fantasy series". Wertzone. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
36. "2005 RT Award Nominees & Winners". rtbookreviews.com. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
37. "2006 RT Award Nominees & Winners". rtbookreviews.com. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
38. "2007 RT Award Nominees & Winners". rtbookreviews.com. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
39. "Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya". www.upc.edu. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
40. "Whitney Awards 2007 Finalists". whitneyawards.com. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
41. "2008 RT Award Nominees & Winners". rtbookreviews.com. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
42. "Whitney Awards 2008 Winners". whitneyawards.com. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
43. "Whitney Awards 2009 Finalists". whitneyawards.com. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
44. "Whitney Awards 2010 Winners". whitneyawards.com. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
45. "Best Fantasy of 2010". 2011.
46. "The David Gemmell Legend Award for Fantasy Previous Winners". gemmellaward.com. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
47. "Whitney Awards 2011 Winners". whitneyawards.com. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
48. "Best Fantasy of 2012". 2012.
49. "The Hugo Award 2013 Hugo Awards". thehugoawards.org. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
50. "The World Fantasy Awards 2013". worldfantasy.org. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
51. "Best Fantasy of 2013". 2013.
52. "2013 Winners".
53. "Best Young Adult Fantasy Books of 2013". 2013.
54. "2014 Hugo Award Winners". August 17, 2014.
55. "The Gemmell Awards".
56. "Best Fantasy of 2014". 2015.
57. "2014 Whitney Finalists". 2014 Whitney Awards Committee. 2015.
58. "Best Fantasy Books of 2015". 2015.
59. "Best Young Adult Fantasy Book of 2015". 2015.
60. "2016 Hugo Awards". April 2016.

External links

• Writing Excuses – Brandon's writing podcast
• Brandon Sanderson at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• The Coppermind – Fan-made wiki for all of Brandon's Sanderson's books
• 17th Shard - Official fansite of Brandon Sanderson