Brandon Sanderson

3 universes Last reviewed 2026-08-13

Brandon Winn Sanderson was born on December 19, 1975, in Lincoln, Nebraska, and grew up an avid fantasy reader after discovering the genre as a teenager. He attended Brigham Young University, initially studying biochemistry before switching to English literature, and served a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in South Korea from 1995 to 1997, an experience that later shaped the magic systems in his fiction. He earned a bachelor's degree in 2000 and a master's degree in creative writing in 2004, having written twelve unpublished novels along the way. His debut, Elantris, was acquired by Tor Books editor Moshe Feder and published in 2005, followed a year later by Mistborn: The Final Empire, which established his reputation. Sanderson is best known for the interconnected Cosmere setting that includes the Mistborn series and The Stormlight Archive, and he also completed Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series after Jordan's death, writing its final three volumes. His novella The Emperor's Soul won the Hugo Award for Best Novella in 2013.

Universe(s)

Books

• Elantris (2005) · Cosmere Core Canon
• Mistborn: The Final Empire (2006) · Cosmere Core Canon
• Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians (2007) · Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians Core Canon
• The Hope of Elantris (2007) · Cosmere Expanded Canon
• The Well of Ascension (2007) · Cosmere Core Canon
• Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener's Bones (2008) · Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians Core Canon
• The Hero of Ages (2008) · Cosmere Core Canon
• Alcatraz Versus the Knights of Crystallia (2009) · Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians Core Canon
• The Gathering Storm (2009) · Wheel of Time Core Canon
• Warbreaker (2009) · Cosmere Core Canon
• Alcatraz Versus the Shattered Lens (2010) · Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians Core Canon
• The Way of Kings (2010) · Cosmere Core Canon
• Towers of Midnight (2010) · Wheel of Time Core Canon
• The Alloy of Law (2011) · Cosmere Core Canon
• The Eleventh Metal (2011) · Cosmere Expanded Canon
• The Emperor's Soul (2012) · Cosmere Expanded Canon
• A Memory of Light (2013) · Wheel of Time Core Canon
• River of Souls (2013) · Wheel of Time Expanded Canon
• Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell (2013) · Cosmere Expanded Canon
• Allomancer Jak and the Pits of Eltania, Episodes 28-30 (2014) · Cosmere Expanded Canon
• Sixth of the Dusk (2014) · Cosmere Expanded Canon
• Words of Radiance (2014) · Cosmere Core Canon
• Shadows of Self (2015) · Cosmere Core Canon
• Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection (2016) · Cosmere Expanded Canon
• Edgedancer (2016) · Cosmere Expanded Canon
• Mistborn: Secret History (2016) · Cosmere Expanded Canon
• The Bands of Mourning (2016) · Cosmere Core Canon
• The Dark Talent (2016) · Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians Core Canon
• White Sand (graphic novel trilogy) (2016) · Cosmere Expanded Canon
• Oathbringer (2017) · Cosmere Core Canon
• Dawnshard (2020) · Cosmere Expanded Canon
• Rhythm of War (2020) · Cosmere Core Canon
• Bastille vs. the Evil Librarians (2022) · Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians Core Canon
• The Lost Metal (2022) · Cosmere Core Canon
• The Sunlit Man (2023) · Cosmere Core Canon
• Tress of the Emerald Sea (2023) · Cosmere Core Canon
• Yumi and the Nightmare Painter (2023) · Cosmere Core Canon
• Wind and Truth (2024) · Cosmere Core Canon
• Isles of the Emberdark (2025) · Cosmere Core Canon

Aggregate across all universes

These are separate, unrelated universes; the totals below are plain sums of already-published per-universe facts, never a blended or averaged score across them. See each universe's own figures above.

• Total Core Canon books across all universes: 39 books
• Award recognitions across all universes: 4 (3 won, 1 finalist mention)

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