NEWS: Brandon Sanderson’s Spotlight Panel at FanX

Welcome, worldhoppers! Today has been exciting for Team Dragonsteel as we prepared for Brandon Sanderson’s spotlight panel at FanX 2024. This year, we were in the Grand Ballroom, the convention’s largest room, and it was packed. We’re so grateful to each of you who showed up in person, and for the rest of you, never fear! Below, you’ll find all the highlights from the panel and the announcements you’ve been waiting for.

Let’s dive in!

Brandon walked out on stage early, as people began taking their seats. He shared the story that when he first appeared at FanX, they put him in the Grand Ballroom, and it was daunting.

Now he’s returned to a packed audience. Brandon brought some slides to share exclusive sneak peeks into new products, new art, and more awesome news!

“I want to start off by showing off some art,” Brandon said as he revealed the endpapers for Wind and Truth. “A lot of people look at these endpapers and say, ‘Who even are these?’”

Brandon had the idea to use mythology from the Stormlight world. “Most of those are Heralds, as if painted by Michelangelo. We have Cultivation and Honor here. You’ll see those on the blog right after this.” (And you’re here! See them below. I will try to get higher quality versions and update this post with them soon!)

Next, the thing you’ve all been waiting for… a chull plushie! Well, it’s not just the chull plushie. It’s also a signed copy of Wind and Truth and a bookmark.

“For whatever reason, the number one thing we get asked for is a chull plushie. So, you’re all weirdos, but here’s your chull,” Brandon said.

Brandon then shared a fun story about the stick, which is really what we all came for, right? “Did I expect the stick to become the thing that would be the meme? No, I didn’t put the stick in there for the meme, but that’s how it ended up!”

Next, Brandon walked the audience through how the art gets made, using pieces from our upcoming The Bands of Mourning leatherbound.

Below, you can see what happens when we get about eight thumbnails from our illustrator. Then we pick one and adjust it from there.

“In this one, Steris looks too… awesome. So we had them change the face to be more as Steris might be in these situations. Then we have the final one where we refine it. I see it every Thursday when I have my art review and Isaac brings me everything we have.” (Isaac Stewart is our VP of Creative here at Dragonsteel.)

This art will be featured in The Bands of Mourning leatherbound! Full color, in all her glory below.

If you haven't heard, Dragonsteel is creating its own alternative to Black Friday sales. Brandon said: “We decided to reject Black Friday. It’s never sat well with me that you get to have a nice holiday for maybe an hour and then go prepare for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. So we reject that and came up with our own.” (Crowd applause.) “I hope that others will follow, because it’s ridiculous to expect retail workers to work on the Friday after Thanksgiving.”

Brandon added: “My team will be plenty busy the week after with Dragonsteel Nexus. Speaking of my team, on one hand, I’m proud to have these talented 60 people… but on the other hand, I feel like it’s a little funny that all these people do their work so one goofy guy can sit in his basement and write books.”

AND an exclusive look at the mock-ups for Dragonsteel Plaza?! It's a good day for Sanderfans. 🙌

Because the future Plaza is in Pleasant Grove, next to Utah's own Evermore Park, Brandon wanted to clear the air about a speculation, saying:

“I did not buy Evermore! Brandon Sanderson wasn’t involved in that. Lots of people reporting that I bought Evermore, but no, I’m not that dumb.”

He then said he does really like the new owners of Evermore and is excited to see what they come up with.

One exciting plan for the Plaza is to build a bookstore! The future looks exceptionally bright for Team Dragonsteel and Brandon Sanderson.

Let's dive into the wonderful questions Brandon was asked during this panel, and his answers to each of them!

Question 1: “How many different types of Investiture can someone use simultaneously?”

Brandon’s Answer: "Adonalsium used them all at once, so it’s theoretically possible to use all of them. They interfere with each other, and it becomes increasingly difficult the more you add. That’s all I’ll say for now."

Question 2: “If you could have the Alcatraz breaking talent, what would you do first?”

Brandon’s Answer: “I would do something really weird, like try to break the water in a cup to see if I could get hydrogen and oxygen out of it. I’d see how far I could push it. I’d try to break everything I wanted, but then I’d accidentally break everything. I’d probably try nuclear fusion at some point.”

Question 3: “As an aspiring author, I know how characters can surprise you while writing. Especially in Stormlight, but in any book— which characters have surprised you the most?”

Brandon’s Answer: “The way I view this as an author is that I’m a heavy outliner, but I give the characters volition. I don’t know what they’ll do until I see through their eyes. The biggest surprise is Adolin. He wasn’t meant to be a main character and wasn’t supposed to have a POV, so Adolin is the big surprise of Stormlight. Characters will reach a point of decision. At that point, the outline usually says to do one thing, but I will have written them for months by then, and I give them the opportunity to make a different decision. It’s who I wrote them to be and how the themes progress, and at that point, they can’t make the original decision. There is a character at the end of Wind and Truth who did exactly that, so see if you can guess who that is when you read it.”

Question 4: “Going back to Alcatraz, I heard a story that you received a challenge where you had three items and had to make a book out of it. Is that true?”

Brandon’s Answer: “I actually gave myself the challenge. I was watching Whose Line Is It Anyway? and got inspired. I told my writing group to throw things at me to use, and they just started tossing out random items. I wrote them down and added them into the book!”

Question 5: “Are the dragons of the Cosmere compatible with the current Investiture systems you’ve introduced?”

Brandon’s Answer: “There are two branches of dragons in the Cosmere. If you take the dragons from Yolen, they predate humans and are deities. People worship and pray to them. They can send things through the air to soothe others, bolster them, or take away their fear when they pray. This is one style of dragon. You’ll find dragons on other planets that have been created in their image, so to speak, who don’t have those deity powers. The Yolen dragons aren’t interested in Investiture—they’re highly Invested themselves. They can’t use the other magics because they’re already so full that they can’t access most of them. What you would call the 'lesser dragons' could theoretically use some of the other systems.”

Question 6: “With how much research you’ve done on mental illness, how has that affected the relationships you have with the people around you?”

Brandon’s Answer: “I sure hope that it’s been helpful. One of my children has depression, and I have to be the dad that understands this and does it well, because if I’m not, I have millions of fans that will get on my case. In some ways, it’s really helpful. But sometimes I have to put the things I’ve learned into action, and that’s terrifying. I’m a dad. I want to be understanding and helpful, and how do you find balance? That’s a good question for my family members. The thing about it is, I want to understand people. That’s why I became a writer. I want to understand what it’s like to be outside of my own head. I hope it helps me, but really, I’m just trying.”

Question 7: “Many characters in Stormlight have gone through ups and downs, but there’s one character that’s progressed in a very specific direction. Can you say anything good about Moash?”

Brandon’s Answer: “What can I say about Moash? I can say that he makes an appearance.”

Question 8: “Ruin and Preservation—when they’re creating life, that takes a little of everything. If Ruin is in proximity to Preservation, would their commingling happen? And how would that influence other dual or triple shards?”

Brandon’s Answer: “Each Shard has strengths and weaknesses. Some of them can do what was done by Ruin and Preservation on their own; some cannot. Most combinations of two could, but some would need three. Each kind of pairing and grouping of Shards would be augmentations of what could be. The Shards aren’t all-powerful; they’re just part of something that was.”

Question 9: “Does Vasher have a sibling who is powerful in some way?”

Brandon’s Answer: “RAFO!”

Question 10: “As a writer, have you ever doubted yourself, and what did you do about it?”

Brandon’s Answer: “Yes. Every writer has. I’ve had it multiple times. Every time a book comes out, there’s a part of me that says, ‘This is the one that’s gonna end your career, Sanderson.’ There is some reinforcement of that in that I’m in entertainment, and sometimes that happens. It hasn’t happened yet, but there isn’t anything I can do about that. I have to follow the stories I want to tell and hope it keeps going. The bigger doubt came when I wasn’t published. I had 12 unpublished novels, and some people started asking me what I was doing. The thing that changed my mindset was that I wasn’t writing to become a famous writer; I was writing because there was a story I needed to tell. If I was on my deathbed and I had written 100 novels and I loved doing it, then that was successful. That took so much weight off of me.”

Question 11: “Can Marsh bond a spren?”

Brandon’s Answer: “It’s possible, but it would require a bit of a dance. Not a huge one… I think he could figure it out without too much trouble. It would depend on which spren is willing. I could fit him into several different orders. I’ll give you a half RAFO for that.”

Brandon ended with a reading that you’ll be able to see when we post the video of the panel in about a month. We’ll update this blog post with that video when it goes live! (Hint: it’s a POV from Baxil.)

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