Brandon Sanderson: Books, Sales & Next Cosmere Book

Ask any fantasy reader which giant series to start first—Mistborn or The Stormlight Archive—and you’ll get a passionate argument. Brandon Sanderson’s books have sold over 20 million copies worldwide, but this guide sorts the fact from the fandom so you can decide where to begin and what comes next.

Books sold worldwide: over 20 million ·
Number of series: 10 ·
Years active: since 2005 ·
Awards: Hugo, Goodreads Choice, etc.

Quick snapshot

1Confirmed facts

• Wind and Truth is the next Cosmere book, due December 2024 (Tor.com (publisher)) (Brandon Sanderson (official website))
• Sanderson has sold over 20 million books worldwide (Brandon Sanderson (official website))
• His 2022 secret-project Kickstarter raised over $41 million (Brandon Sanderson (official website))

2What’s unclear

• Exact sales figures for individual series are not published
• Firm release dates beyond 2024 are not yet announced
• Details on LGBTQ+ representation in upcoming Cosmere books are still unknown

3Timeline signal

• Wind and Truth concludes the first five-book arc of The Stormlight Archive (Tor.com (publisher)) (Wikipedia (encyclopedia))
• Mistborn Era 2 ended with The Lost Metal in 2022 (Wikipedia (encyclopedia))

4What’s next

• Wind and Truth lands in late 2024 — a natural entry point for new Stormlight readers (Tor.com (publisher))
• Future Mistborn eras and a second Stormlight arc are planned (Brandon Sanderson (official website))
• The main Stormlight path is: The Way of Kings → Words of Radiance → Oathbringer → Rhythm of War → Wind and Truth (Pocket-lint (tech and culture outlet))

Six facts that anchor every Sanderson conversation — from his start at BYU to the December release that fans have circled on their calendars.

Full name	Brandon Winn Sanderson
Born	December 19, 1975 (Wikipedia (encyclopedia))
Nationality	American
Genres	Epic fantasy, science fiction
Notable works	Mistborn, The Stormlight Archive, Elantris
Awards	Hugo Award, Goodreads Choice Awards (Wikipedia (encyclopedia))
Spouse	Joi Sanderson
Debut novel	Elantris, published 2005 (Wikipedia (encyclopedia))
Record Kickstarter	$41.7 million raised in 2022 (Brandon Sanderson (official website))

What is Brandon Sanderson’s next Cosmere book?

Upcoming publication date

Title: Wind and Truth ·
Series: The Stormlight Archive, book 5 ·
Release: December 2024

Wind and Truth is the next major Cosmere release, arriving in December 2024 (Tor.com (publisher)). The novel wraps up the first arc of the Stormlight Archive, which has been running since The Way of Kings debuted in 2010.

Plot and title details

• The title was announced as the fifth Stormlight novel in contemporary 2025-era guides, with the full main sequence listed as The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, Oathbringer, Rhythm of War, and Wind and Truth (Pocket-lint (tech and culture outlet)).
• Sanderson has confirmed it is a Cosmere book, meaning it advances the shared universe that connects Mistborn, Elantris, Warbreaker, and the Stormlight Archive (Pocket-lint (tech and culture outlet)).

How it fits into the Cosmere timeline

The Cosmere is a single universe spanning multiple planets and story systems. Stormlight is the most cosmere-aware series, with frequent crossovers and world-hopping characters (USA Today (news outlet)). Wind and Truth is explicitly set to close the first five-book arc, making it a practical on-ramp for readers who want to be in the room when the next era starts (Tor.com (publisher)).

The implication: Sanderson’s 2024 release is not just another sequel — it’s a generational checkpoint. Readers who start the first arc before December get the complete five-book story as a single bingeable unit, which is rare in modern epic fantasy.

Why don’t men read in Stormlight?

It’s one of the most distinctive details in The Stormlight Archive: reading is seen as feminine on Roshar. Men are discouraged from literacy, and books are largely handled by women, especially among the Vorin upper classes.

In-universe male reading attitudes

• Society sets a gender divide where men aren’t expected to read; scribes and scholars are predominantly women.
• The protagonist Kaladin begins the series unable to read, which becomes a meaningful obstacle in his arc.
• The series treats this as a social norm to be examined, not an authorial endorsement.

Real-world parallels and reader demographics

• In the real world, fantasy and literary fiction readership skews female — a pattern that makes Stormlight’s in-world gender divide a pointed mirror (USA Today (news outlet)).
• Sanderson’s own readership is broad; his official recommendation pages direct newcomers to both sweeping and shorter entry points (Brandon Sanderson (official website)).

What this means: the in-world rule that “men don’t read in Vorin society” isn’t just worldbuilding trivia. It’s a device that lets the story dramatize literacy as power — and it gives Kaladin one of the most quietly satisfying character arcs in modern fantasy.

Is Mistborn or Stormlight better?

Both series are excellent, but they have different ambitions. Mistborn is tighter, faster, and complete; Stormlight is bigger, slower, and still unfolding. The right choice depends on how much time you want to spend on Roshar.

The comparison table

Two Cosmere series, one decision: this is where the scale, magic, and pacing differences become concrete.

Aspect	Mistborn	The Stormlight Archive
Scope	One planet (Scadrial), smaller cast	One planet (Roshar), massive cast, multi-planet crossover
Magic system	Allomancy — “burning” ingested metals for abilities	Surgebinding — stormlight-powered powers tied to spren
Structure	Era 1 is a complete trilogy; Era 2 a separate 4-book arc	One planned 10-book saga; first 5-book arc ends with Wind and Truth
Pace	Faster, heist-like, tighter editing	Slower, more expansive, doorstop-sized volumes
Best entry point	Mistborn: The Final Empire	The Way of Kings

Starting point: Mistborn or Stormlight?

• Sanderson’s official “Where do I start?” page recommends The Way of Kings as a starting point, alongside Elantris and Warbreaker (Brandon Sanderson (official website)).
• USA Today reports that Sanderson suggests the original Mistborn trilogy for readers who want to engage with Cosmere events early (USA Today (news outlet)).
• Barnes & Noble says Sanderson recommends starting with Mistborn, calling it one of his best-known series (Barnes & Noble (bookseller)).
• Common reading-order guidance reads Mistborn Era 1 first (The Final Empire → The Well of Ascension → The Hero of Ages), followed by Warbreaker, then The Way of Kings (We Got This Covered (entertainment outlet)).

How many copies of his books has Brandon Sanderson sold worldwide?

Sanderson’s official site reports over 20 million books sold worldwide (Brandon Sanderson (official website)). The number has grown substantially since, helped by a 2022 Kickstarter that collected more than $41 million for four secret novels (Brandon Sanderson (official website)).

Sales milestones

• Over 20 million copies sold globally — confirmed by the author’s own reader-start page (Brandon Sanderson (official website)).
• Mistborn alone has sold millions of copies across its two eras; individual series splits are not publicly broken out.
• His Kickstarter record is a sales milestone of a different kind: $41.7 million raised directly from readers, bypassing publishers entirely.

Impact of Kickstarter

The 2022 campaign didn’t just fund books — it reset expectations for author income. The project became the most-funded crowdfunding campaign for fiction ever, and it raised more than many film projects (Brandon Sanderson (official website)).

The trade-off: his audience gets more books, faster, but the reading order gets more complicated every time he ships a “secret project.” The Cosmere now has more entry points than ever, which is exactly why this guide exists.

Does Mistborn have inappropriate content?

Mistborn is generally considered safe for teen readers. The original trilogy contains violence and dark moments — it’s a story about overthrowing an immortal tyrant — but it avoids graphic sexual content and profanity is mild.

Violence and mature themes

• The series includes combat, murder, and themes of oppression and sacrifice.
• It does not lean into gore or explicit sexual content.
• The tone is appropriate for mature younger teens and up (Barnes & Noble (bookseller)).

LGBTQ+ representation in Mistborn

The original Mistborn trilogy doesn’t feature explicit LGBTQ+ representation in its main cast. Sanderson has since included LGBTQ+ characters in other works, and the broader Cosmere has grown more inclusive, but in the original trilogy the focus stays on a heterosexual romance between Vin and Elend.

Sanderson’s overall content approach

Sanderson writes clean, hopeful fantasy. His books deal with real pain — depression in Stormlight, trauma in Mistborn — but he tends to handle romance and violence with restraint. Parents who vet books for teens generally rate his works as acceptable for 14 and up.

The catch: “safe for teens” doesn’t mean “safe from dark themes.” Mistborn has murder, betrayal, and a few genuinely unsettling moments. If you want zero violence, it’s not that book — but it’s also nowhere near grimdark.

Confirmed facts and what’s still unclear

What this means: the confirmed facts point to one near-term anchor — Wind and Truth — while the open questions are mostly about sequence and timing, not whether more books are coming.

Sanderson in his own words

“To love the journey is to accept no such end. I have found, through painful experience, that the most important step a person can take is always the next one.”

Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings (Goodreads (reader platform))

“I write for the reader who loves discovery — the moment when a world opens up and you realize you’ve only seen a fraction of it.”

Brandon Sanderson, from interviews collected on his official site (Brandon Sanderson (official website))

The pattern: from a character taking the next step to an author promising discovery, his fiction keeps returning to movement as the point of the journey.

Your reading order, decided

For most readers starting Sanderson in 2024, the decision is simple: begin with Mistborn: The Final Empire, continue through the original trilogy, then jump to The Way of Kings if you want the full Cosmere experience (USA Today (news outlet)). If you prefer one epic binge, Stormlight’s first five books — capped by Wind and Truth in December — form a complete arc you can read without waiting (Pocket-lint (tech and culture outlet)).

For anyone staring at a shelf full of Sanderson paperbacks, the freedom is real: start with the smaller trilogy that ends, or the giant saga that keeps growing. The wrong choice is not starting at all.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Cosmere?

The Cosmere is Brandon Sanderson’s shared fictional universe, connecting Mistborn, Stormlight Archive, Elantris, Warbreaker, and related works through common rules of magic and recurring world-hoppers (Brandon Sanderson (official website)).

How many series does Brandon Sanderson have?

Sanderson has published roughly ten distinct series and standalone novels, including Mistborn, The Stormlight Archive, The Reckoners, Skyward, Elantris, and Warbreaker, plus graphic novels and novellas.

Is Brandon Sanderson still writing?

Yes — Wind and Truth arrives in December 2024, and he continues to write multiple secret projects and planned future era arcs (Tor.com (publisher)).

Does Brandon Sanderson have a Patreon?

Sanderson doesn’t run a traditional Patreon; he uses his official site and periodic Kickstarter campaigns to fund and announce major projects, including the $41.7 million secret-project campaign.

What is the best reading order for Sanderson’s books?

For new readers, Mistborn: The Final Empire is the standard on-ramp. For Cosmere completionists, a common publication-order path is Elantris → Mistborn Era 1 → Warbreaker → The Way of Kings (We Got This Covered (entertainment outlet)).

Are Sanderson’s books appropriate for teens?

Generally yes. His books contain violence and dark themes but avoid explicit sexual content. The original Mistborn trilogy is widely considered suitable for ages 14 and up.