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| Brandon Sanderson | |
Bestselling fantasy author Brandon Sanderson launched an extraordinary Kickstarter campaign yesterday, offering a multi-tiered subscription plan to sell "four secret new books" directly to his fans through 2023. The novels (in "premium hardcover," e-book and/or audiobook formats), as well as "a swag box of cool items," would be produced by his Dragonsteel Entertainment.
For the record, the Kickstarter's March 31 goal of $1 million in pledges was blown away on day one of the campaign, and as of this morning the total has already risen to more than $14 million.
"Over the last two years, a group of ideas wormed their way into my brain and I found I couldn't let them go," Sanderson wrote on the fundraising page. "Despite all of my other obligations, I had to write these stories. So I squeezed them in during moments of free time, crafting four brand new novels. I'm extremely proud of them, as each represents some new aspect of storytelling that has forced me to grow in an interesting way. Each also takes you to someplace new, original, and vibrant. Three of these are Cosmere books taking place on new worlds, and the other one is something completely different....
"Our goal is to deliver these to you all through 2023, along with--for those who want it--a swag box of cool items relating to one of my already established worlds or concepts. (There's one dedicated solely to Hoid, for example.) So please, join us for a Year of Sanderson and experience for yourself the secret I've been keeping these last few years."
Sanderson tweeted last night: "I started this all off by doing my best to surprise you. Now you've turned it back on me. Ten million? This is incredible, overwhelming, and a little unbelievable. I went to bed last night hoping people would enjoy my little reveal and woke up to a phenomenon.... Thank you so much for your support, enthusiasm, and kind wishes. We were the fastest kickstarter in history to pass several important thresholds, we're trending worldwide on Twitter, and were the #1 trending video on YouTube.... This response has been incredible. Thank you for spreading the word, and for all that you do to make it so that I can share my imagination with you."