I know we just finished one of these for A MEMORY OF LIGHT and JordanCon, but while I was in the UK, Marcus from Gollancz/Orion told me about the charity auctions they were going to be doing. 100% of their proceeds go to the Samaritans charity there in the UK, and they’re auctioning off items like getting thousands of words of your writing reviewed and edited by specific Gollancz editors, lunch with editors and an author, every Gollancz proof or ARC for 2012, etc. Anyway, it seemed like a good cause, so I agreed to do another name auction for them. I also signed a bunch of books and a shirt and posters among other goodies.

The full text of the naming auction is below, or check out the listing. We did already have a naming auction for Stormlight 2 earlier this year (won by Jason Pittman), so that’s why this auction is less specific than previous ones. Jason has priority for a new character in Stormlight 2 (which I’ll start writing in January after finishing a couple drafts of A MEMORY OF LIGHT), but if I find room for two secondary characters with roles of near-equivalent importance, I’ll adapt the name of this new auction’s winner as well if it seems right for the book. If not, I’ll find another project for the winner’s name to go in, perhaps an upcoming novella or something I haven’t considered yet. If I do end up using the name in a short piece, the character could be even more important than secondary—it’s really all up in the air right now. At the very least, it’s a good charity that the auctions are going to support, so check them out.

Here’s your chance to become a character in a bestselling fantasy book! Bid now on naming a character in a forthcoming novel or project from New York Times Bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, author of the Mistborn, Stormlight Archive and Alcatraz series, as well as much more. Brandon is also the author who was selected to complete Robert Jordan’s bestselling WHEEL OF TIME series.

Brandon has very kindly donated the rights to name a character in one of his upcoming works. He will soon begin work on the second Stormlight Archive book, a sequel to THE WAY OF KINGS, due for release in late 2012 or early 2013. As the winner of this auction, you can submit a name (or variation thereof) that will appear in that book, or another upcoming project of Brandon’s choosing. There is no guarantee that the name will be used in a specific book, but it will be used somewhere, and whatever he does is bound to be great. The character named may play a minor or major role in the work, depending on where the writing leads Brandon. There is no promise of dialogue or impact on the plot, but Brandon will do his best to make the appearance more than just a passing cameo.

All money raised from this auction will go to the Samaritans, Orion Books Charity of the Year. Do check out or other auctinos, including reviews of your writing by Gollancz editors, lunch with an author and more!

Naming Examples

Some examples from winners from past auctions for names illustrate the variations that Brandon may use when the novel actually appears. For example, charity auction winner Brian Neff’s name appeared as Naeff in THE GATHERING STORM and TOWERS OF MIDNIGHT. Winner Scott Franson’s name appeared as Llarimar (“Scoot”) in WARBREAKER. Aaron Yeoman’s name appeared as Yomen in THE HERO OF AGES.

Rules and Conditions

If you participate in this name auction, you acknowledge that you understand and agree to the terms and conditions below. You must have an active PayPal account to bid.

Brandon will adapt the winning bidder’s submitted name to fit the world of the Stormlight Archive or other project (as seen in the examples above). Usually this means altering the spelling/pronunciation to fit the culture of the fictional world. However, Brandon reserves the right to reject any name he may find to be inappropriate.

If the winning bidder chooses to submit the name of someone else (such as a friend or family member), the winning bidder must submit a written release from this other person giving permission to use his/her name.

Finally, we hope it doesn’t have to be mentioned but the submitted name will be rejected if Brandon feels that it is in any way offensive, mischievous, or ill-intentioned, or if it is disruptive to the story.

This auction is for the name only. The winning bidder may not dictate the character’s personality, description, or role in the story. If the winner supplies any of these things as part of the name submission, Brandon may or may not draw from that when implementing the character in the novel as the story demands. Any such ideas become the sole property of Brandon Sanderson with no further compensation or acknowledgement.

Your bid is a legally binding contract and it requires that you make full payment of your bid amount if your eBay ID is the highest bidder. You must make full payment through PayPal within 2 days of the auction close.

If you are the winning bidder, you must provide contact information (email address, physical address, telephone number) with the payment email for ongoing correspondence as the submitted name is processed.

Novel Release Date

As mentioned, the release date for the novel is in late 2012 or early 2013. However, publication dates are naturally subject to change. The winning bidder may receive email with updates on the actual release date.

The auction ends in one week. And by the way, late 2012 for Stormlight 2 to come out is looking less and less likely. Right now I’m guessing early 2013. I do still have to write the book first, but it’s really coming together in my head.