Thursday through Saturday I’ll be at the Salt Palace for Salt Lake Comic Con. I’m on various panels and am signing multiple times all three days. I’ll also be doing a Magic: The Gathering draft on Thursday night; see details below on how to sign up ahead of time.

Plus we have Shadows Beneath on sale at the Dragonsteel booth at $20 for the hardcover and $5.99 for the ebook during the convention. Other books will also be available at the Dragonsteel booth and at the Wordfire booth.

Here’s my full schedule!

THURSDAY, September 4th

3:00–3:50 p.m., Room 151G
Building Plot: How to Implement Rising Action, the Try/Fail Cycle and Character Arcs into Your Stories
Have a great beginning to a story? A killer ending? What about the parts in-between? Join our panel of esteemed bestselling authors as they discuss the art and craft of keeping an audience engaged in a story.
Brad R. Torgersen, Brandon Sanderson, Brandon Mull, Jessica Day George, David Farland, Larry Correia, Kevin J. Anderson

4:00–5:45 p.m., Wordfire Booth #728
Brandon Sanderson Signing

6:00–8:00 p.m., Dragonsteel Booth #2215
Brandon Sanderson Signing

8:00 p.m.–after midnight, Room 155
Magic Draft with Brandon Sanderson
This will be a Return to Ravnica draft, with a choice between Augmented Cube and a Conspiracy. Brandon will explain how this works at the beginning of the draft.
Slots for the draft are limited, and there will be an entry fee. Talk to Dawn Christensen at the Epic Puzzles & Games booth in Room 155 at the convention, or to sign up early (this is recommended!) call or come in to Epic Puzzles & Games in West Valley. 3958 W 3500 S Ste C, phone number (801) 982-0167.

FRIDAY, September 5th

12:45–1:45 p.m., Badali Jewelry Booth #817
Brandon Sanderson Signing

2:00–2:50 p.m., Room 255B
Is Epic Fantasy Still Relevant to the Genre?
Most of modern Epic Fantasy literature’s roots can be traced back to JRR Tolkien and the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. With the rising popularity of other fantasy subgenres, namely Urban Fantasy, Steampunk, Dark Fantasy, Alternate Reality (Historical Fantasy), Romantic (Paranormal) Fantasy, Magical Realism, where does Epic Fantasy fit into the mix? Has the recent popularity of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films, along with George RR Martin’s Game of Thrones TV series oversaturated the genre, or is it now more popular than ever? Our panel of authors weigh in.
Michelle Witte, Brandon Sanderson, Brian McClellan, Megan Hutchins, Paul Genesse, Valerie Gardner

3:00–4:45 p.m., Shadow Mountain Booth #210
Brandon Sanderson Signing

5:00–5:50 p.m., North Ballroom
Credible Magic Systems: Method to Madness
Move over Doctor Strange! Fire all your magic missles unerringly at their target! The time has come to explore how magic has been presented effectively and disastrously in past and present pop culture outlets, and to join the always-fun discussion for creating realistic systems of believable sorcery.
Margaret Weis, Brandon Sanderson, Brandon Mull, Tracy Hickman, David Farland, Larry Correia

6:00–7:00 p.m., Dragonsteel Booth #2215
Brandon Sanderson Signing

SATURDAY, September 6th

12:30–2:30 p.m., Wordfire Booth #728
Brandon Sanderson Signing

3:00–3:50 p.m., Room 250A
Celebrating Fantasy Literature: The Worlds of Brandon Sanderson
From Elantris to Mistborn to completing the Wheel of Time series to The Way of Kings, Brandon Sanderson sits at the nexus of modern fantasy literature. Join him for a discussion of his work, his worlds, and his plans for the future of both.
Brandon Sanderson

4:00–7:00 p.m., Dragonsteel Booth #2215
Brandon Sanderson Signing

7:00–7:50 p.m., Room 250A
Writing Excuses: The Panel
Members of Writing Excuses will gather for a behind-the-scenes discussion of their Hugo Award-winning podcast, what they’re up to, and anything else which may be on their minds.
Dan Wells, Howard Tayler, Brandon Sanderson

All,

I don’t normally discuss charged issues on my social media, but I do find harassment at science fiction conventions a topic that is very important to discuss. It is also very relevant to my fans, as conventions are often how they interact with me.

Recently, Salt Lake City’s biggest media convention (FanX, formerly called Salt Lake Comic Con) has made some troubling missteps. First, it grossly mishandled harassment claims—then it doubled down on its mistakes, bungling interactions with voices that have called for reform.

Some authors I respect deeply have composed an open letter to FanX, calling for them to do better—and I have co-signed it. Many of these authors have spoken better about this specific issue than I can, and I encourage you all to read what they have said. I believe that conventions like these (alongside the smaller literary conventions that were so instrumental in my road to publication) are important parts of our community—and it is essential that they provide a place where victims are not silenced and harassment is not tolerated.

For now, I am still scheduled to appear at FanX this fall. My team and I have been evaluating whether or not this is a position we can still take—and it will greatly depend on how FanX responds to this letter in the next few weeks. I will keep you informed of our decision—and if I do decide to bow out of FanX, I will try to schedule some replacement signings instead.

Best,

Brandon

Hey, all! Things are going well with both Oathbringer and other projects, and I should have a blog post for you about those going up fairly soon.

In the meantime, however, I wanted to let you know that I’ll be attending Gen Con (Indianapolis) this weekend. Unlike most conventions I attend, here I’ll have a full-blown booth with T-shirts, signed hardcovers, and lots of other swag for sale—including the convention exclusive hardcover of Snapshot and Dreamer. Huzzah! I’ll also be on panels and playing the odd game of Magic the Gathering.

Here are my schedule and booth details.

Dates: Friday–Sunday, August 17th–20th
Address: Indiana Convention Center,
100 South Capitol Avenue,
Indianapolis, Indiana 46225

Thursday, August 17th

Worldbuilding: Creating a Universe of Worlds
Time: 2:00–3:00 p.m.
Event Type: SEM – Seminar
Location: Westin – Capitol I
It’s one thing to build a world, but what do you do when you need a universe of interconnected worlds for your stories? Featuring Brandon Sanderson, David Mack, James L. Sutter, Marco Palmieri
This event is sold out.

*NOTE: If a panel is listed as sold out (people tend to grab the tickets for free events super fast!), you still might be able to get in. Most of the Gen Con panels have an overflow line, for people without a ticket, that you can wait in. Usually a good number of people from this line get into the panel.

Signing
Time: 4:00–5:00 p.m.
Event Type: Zed – Isle of Misfit Events
Location: Exhibit Hall
Have him sign your books! Only guests with tickets are ensured of a chance for a signing.
This event is sold out.

Signing
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Location: Dragonsteel Booth #467
The signings at my booth are first-come first-serve. Ask for details at the booth. They’re longer than the official signings, which are only an hour, and are sold out.

Magic the Gathering draft with Brandon Sanderson
Time: 8:00 p.m.–12:00 a.m.
This draft is being put together by Kara, who runs my booth. She’ll have details about when/where, but I don’t have them yet. Best to ask at the booth if you want to grab a spot.

Friday, August 18th

Q&A with Brandon Sanderson
Time: 1:00–2:00 p.m.
Event Type: SEM – Seminar
Location: Westin – Grand Ballroom V
Meet Brandon Sanderson, author of the Mistborn and Stormlight series as well as the final Wheel of Time books. Ask him about his books, his projects, or anything else you’re dying to know!
This event is sold out.

Play Magic the Gathering with Brandon Sanderson
Time: 1:00–5:00 p.m.
Brandon will arrive at 2:00
Event Type: ZED – Isle of Misfit Events
Location: ICC : 141–142 : 6
Worldbuilders is a charity founded by author Pat Rothfuss in order to use the collective power of readers, fellow authors and book lovers to make the world a better place. We raise money for other charities who we believe do the best work in their field: Heifer International, Mercy Corps, and First Book. These charities’ missions and values are exactly what we have in mind when we think, “Where can this money do the most good?” We’re excited for the opportunity at Gen Con to have fans play games with some of their favorite celebrities all while generating money for these three charities who make sure the money we raise gets to where it’s needed most, and where it will do some real, long-term good.
This event is sold out.

This is a charity event, run with Worldbuilders, which should explain the high ticket price. It’s sold out, so don’t worry about it—but for the few of you I’m playing with, you’ll be playing sealed deck using Deckbuilder’s Toolkits. I’ll arrive an hour late, because of another panel, as the event starts at 1:00. (I’ll get there around 2:00.) However, I’ll have already built my deck, and you’ll spend your hour building yours. So we should be ready to play right when I arrive.

Writing Excuses LIVE!
Time: 6:00–7:00 p.m.
Event Type: SEM – Seminar
Location: Westin – Chamber
Join hosts Brandon Sanderson, Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler as they talk to authors and editors for a special live recording of their fast-paced, educational podcast for writers!
This event is sold out.

Writing Excuses LIVE!
Time: 7:00–8:00 p.m.
Event Type: SEM – Seminar
Location: Westin – Chamber
Join hosts Brandon Sanderson, Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler as they talk to authors and editors for a special live recording of their fast-paced, educational podcast for writers!
This event is sold out.

Saturday, August 19th

Signing
Time: 12:00–1:00 p.m.
Event Type: ZED – Isle of Misfit Events
Location: ICC – Exhibit Hall, Book Signing Area
Meet Special Guest Brandon Sanderson and have him sign your books! Only guests with tickets are ensured of a chance for a signing.
This event is sold out.

Worldbuilding: Making Magic New Again
Time: 2:00–3:00 p.m.
Event Type: SEM – Seminar
Location: Westin – Capitol I
Have you had your fill of spellbooks, wands, and wizards? Explore ways to make magic in your world exciting and new! Featuring Brandon Sanderson, Anton Strout, Brian McClellan, Christopher Husberg.
This event is sold out.

Writer’s Craft: Can a Hero be Too Powerful?
Time: 3:00–4:00 p.m.
Event Type: SEM – Seminar
Location: Westin – Capitol I
Is it possible for a hero to have too much power? Is there a point at which a powerful hero stops being interesting? Featuring Brandon Sanderson, Bruce R. Cordell, Howard Tayler.

Signing
Time: 4:30 p.m.
Location: Dragonsteel Booth #467
The signings at my booth are first-come first-serve. As for details at the booth. They’re longer than the official signings, which are only an hour, and are sold out.

Board Games

You should also be aware that various companies working on board games of my books will be there, doing demos of the games. The Mistborn board game, House War, has been printed and shipped to Crafty’s warehouse, and they’ll have a couple of copies to show off at the convention, but I’m not sure if they’ll have any quantity to sell there. Be sure to stop by the booths of both game companies to ask after the games, and maybe get in on a demo.

Note that I’ll have some copies of a special gamepiece on my person relating to the Mistborn board game for those interested. If you can find and ask me, you can get it.

Dragonsteel Entertainment (my booth) & Steve Argyle: Booth #467
Crafty Games: Booth #1929 (Mistborn game)
Nauvoo Games: Booth #2812 (The Reckoners game)

Scavenger Hunt

It’s Gen Con’s 50th anniversary, and we wanted to do something to celebrate. Since I’m sharing a booth with Steve Argyle—the illustrator who did these awesome endpapers for last year’s Leatherbound Mistborn—we figured we’d use them.

So, at Gen Con this year, Steve and I will have a limited quantity of generic creature tokens (for use in various card and board games) featuring Vin. You can use these for your games of Magic, for other games that they might fit, or just to have because they’re cool!

How do you get them? Well, the warrior token is quite easy. To get a copy, you just stop by the booth and ask either my people or Steve’s crew to give you one. We’ve printed off several thousand, so they should last for a little while. All I ask is that you don’t pick up more than one per person. (Please don’t come through, grab one, then come through later and grab another.) It’s okay to bring friends to collect an extra, then have them give you theirs—but I would like these to last for all who want to have one.

The Assassin token is a little more difficult to get. We only printed a few hundred of these, and after some discussion, Steve and I decided that we’d split them in half, then each come up with a game or scavenger hunt to give away our half.

I don’t know what Steve’s game is, so ask him at our booth. However, I settled on mine quickly. After all, I’m at a gaming convention, and you all probably know my nerd hobby by now.

I’m going to put up a bounty board of Magic cards that I still need for various set cubes I’m building. It will be a Google spreadsheet, open for everyone to read, that you can find here.

Yes, for now, it is empty. Each morning of the convention at 10am (on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday) we’ll put up a new list of cards. (I’m going to choose mostly cheap cards, relatively easy to locate, so we’re not going to give you warning about what they are.)

You can show up at the booth any time during show hours with one of the cards on the bounty board. As long as it hasn’t been turned in yet, you can exchange it for a copy of the Vin assassin token. However, that’s the dangerous way to do it, as you might show up and find out that the card has already been turned in.

Instead, I suggest you come to my booth and look over the most current, up-to-date list of cards. (Which will list which cards have been turned in already.) You can then “claim” one for fifteen minutes. My staff will write your name beside it and a time—then you have fifteen minutes to return with the card. During that time, nobody else can snipe the card out from underneath you.

We’ll keep this physical list up to date, but I can’t guarantee that the on-line list will indicate which cards have been found already. Note that I intend for these to be cheap cards, $5 and under (with many under a buck) but I haven’t gone through my “to find” lists in depth to check which might have spiked in price—so you might want to quickly double-check on your smartphone the price of a card before you claim it or trade it in to us.

I’d again ask that you limit yourself to one card per person—but in this case, I’ll let you do a different hunt each day, for a total possible of three per person over the weekend. (Perfect for a certain planeswalker who creates assassin tokens.) I plan to sign all the assassin tokens ahead of time. (I can’t do that for the warrior tokens—there just isn’t time—though I’ll sign them during my regular signings if you give me one.) In return, I’d ask that you sign the Magic card you give me (on the back, please) and maybe write a little note or put Gen Con 50 on it or something.

Hopefully, this will be fun! If it’s popular, we’ll do future tokens for other characters. Either way, looking forward to seeing many of you at the convention!

I’ve mentioned this a few times, and you’ve seen this if you check my upcoming events page, but today through Monday I’m at the Lucca Comics & Games Festival in Lucca, Italy. I’ll be doing a lot of panels and signings, so I hope to see many of you there! Here’s my full schedule:

Friday, October 28th

Mistborn – The Trivial
15:15–16:00, B3 – Room Ingellis
As you know the saga Mistborn? Test yourself with a series of questions that only the true fan can overcome. A judge nothing less than an exceptional guest: Brandon Sanderson himself.

Signing
16:00–18:00, Carducci pavilion
Brandon will be at the Fanucci Booth

Saturday, October 29th

Inside the Cosmoverso with Brandon Sanderson
12:30–13:15, B3 – Room Ingellis
Considered one of the best fantasy authors of the moment and at the same time one of the most promising since 2005 has published 27 books and stories: on the official website you can see the completion of his work in progress bars. Most of his novels are set in Cosmoverso.

Signing
13:15–14:45, Carducci pavilion
Brandon will be at the Fanucci Booth

Signing
17:00–18:30, Carducci pavilion
Brandon will be at the Fanucci Booth

Sunday, October 30th

Signing
11:00–12:30, Carducci pavilion
Brandon will be at the Fanucci Booth

The Plot Thickens
14:00–16:00, Room 2 – Villa Gioiosa
Brandon Sanderson explores all kinds of plot-related questions in this two-hour workshop. Workshop are limited and by reservation. For information see Educational program or write to educational@luccacomicsandgames.com. All requests must include a short CV relating to personal experiences in the field of interest of the meeting.

Monday, October 31st

Brandon Sanderson and Steve Argyle: writing, drawing … what else?
16:00–16:45, Room 2 – Villa Gioiosa
Two great friends, two giants of art and fiction fantasy: un’inedito dialogue on the craft of writing in the drawing, in which each of the two is at interviewer and interviewee turn.

Signing
17:00–19:00, Carducci pavilion
Brandon will be at the Fanucci Booth

Tuesday, November 1st

The Fantasy Wizards
10:30–11:30, Si1 – Teatro del Giglio
Five very large fantasy authors, five different ways to create fantastic worlds, five world successes compared: all at the same table to tell us the secrets and dispel the myths of the most loved by the public of Lucca Comics & Games genre.

The Fantasy Magicians – Autograph session
11:30–1:00, Si1 – Teatro del Giglio
Terry Brooks, Philip Reeve, Brandon Sanderson, Steven Erikson and Joshua Khan.

Signing
16:30–18:00, Carducci pavilion
Brandon will be at the Fanucci Booth

I’m on my way to Dragon Con in Atlanta, and I’ll be doing events Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. My full schedule is below.

By the way, The Missing Volume booth will have early copies of the fifth book in the Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians series, The Dark Talent, available for purchase. It doesn’t officially come out until next week, but I’ll sign it or any others of my books if you bring them to me, especially at the listed signings.

Friday, September 2nd

Military Fantasy
1:00–2:00 p.m, Embassy EF – Hyatt
It’s not all unicorns and fairy dust, people. But when kings are clashing, how does a story change when an army’s arsenal includes magic missiles?

Signing
2:30–5:00 p.m., Booth-Floor 2 Exhibit-Mart 2422, 2424
Brandon has a spot at Badali Jewelry’s booth where he can sign your books.

Film Screening: I Am Not a Serial Killer
5:30–8:00 p.m., International North – Hyatt
(Brandon might be showing up at this to chat with Dan Wells before or after the screening.) A new horror feature! In a small Midwestern town, a troubled teen with homicidal tendencies must hunt down and destroy a supernatural killer while keeping his own inner demons at bay. Starring Christopher Lloyd and based on the Dan Wells novel.

Saturday, September 3nd

Mighty Men of Fantasy and S/F
1:00–2:00 p.m., Regency VI-VII – Hyatt
These writers are tops in their fields. Come and hear their stories, advice and suggestions to help you along the way.

An Hour with Brandon Sanderson
2:30–3:30 p.m., Regency VI-VII – Hyatt
The renowned author of the Mistborn series and Stormlight Archive–and the heir to Robert Jordan’s legacy–talks shop and answers your questions.

Writing YA: The Craft
4:00–5:00 p.m., A707 – Marriott
Published YA authors talk about how they do what they do–writing as a craft.

Superpowered YA!
5:30–6:30 p.m., A707 – Marriott
There’s a superhero explosion at the box office–but what about books? How do YA books handle great powers, great responsibility, and superpowered worlds?

Saturday, September 3nd

Autograph Session
1:00–2:00 p.m., International Hall South – Marriott

Taking the Torch
2:30–3:30 p.m., Embassy EF – Hyatt
Sometimes writers create their own worlds; other times, worlds get plopped in their laps. How do you carry on another author’s legacy?

Signing
4:00–5:00 p.m., Booth-Floor 2 Exhibit-Mart
Brandon will be at the WordFire Press booth to sign your books.

Reading: Brandon Sanderson
5:30–6:30 p.m., Vinings – Hyatt

Fantasy Assassins
7:00–8:00 p.m., Embassy EF – Hyatt
Stealthily murderating important people: it’s not just for ninjas.

There will be two Mistborn: House War board game playtests at Worldcon in Kansas City, August 18th (Thursday) and 21st (Sunday), run by Brandon’s literary agent, Joshua Bilmes. He has three copies of the game, so there will be 15 slots available in each session. Please sign up ahead of time for the Thursday or Sunday sessions. It looks like there’s no cost to join the playtests, but you must be a registered attending member of Worldcon (preregistration is over, but you can register at the door) in order to take part.

The eighth installment of the 2016 Sanderson Lectures, “Magic Systems,” is now live! If you missed last week’s episode, “Character,” you can catch up on all the videos here. Enjoy!

In this week’s new Writing Excuses episode, The Element of Humor, we ask, what is the driving force that gets readers to turn pages in a book that is primarily a work of humor? More importantly, how do we as writers get that driver into our books? We cover this, and provide some starting points for writers seeking to improve their humor writing, along with a bunch of neat techniques and a long example for deconstruction.

Last week, in Tor.com’s continuing reread posts for Words of Radiance, a highprince met his fate and four Radiants gathered. This week, in Epilogue and What Comes Next, Wit expounds and [redacted] Elsecalls, as we conclude our discussions of this magnificent behemoth.

My assistant Adam has updated the Twitter post archive for July and August.

For my European readers (or those of you interested in going to Italy this fall!) I will be in Italy at the end of October as the guest of honor at the Lucca Comics & Games Festival. I will announce my exact festival schedule once it is finalized. For more details check out my upcoming events page.

The sixth installment of the 2016 Sanderson Lectures, “The Business of Writing,” is now live! If you missed last week’s episode, “The Box,” you can catch up on all the videos here. Enjoy!

In this week’s new Writing Excuses episode, Elemental Thriller Q&A, we fielded the following questions about the “Thriller” elemental genre from listeners on Facebook and Twitter:

• How do I build tension consistently through my story?
• How do you maintain tension during dialog?
• When do you not use a cliffhanger?
• Do you ever picture your scenes as if they were in a movie?
• How much elemental thriller is too much for a book that isn’t a thriller? What’s the tipping point where you’ve switched genres?
• What do you do when the tension in your story peaks too early?

My assistant Adam has updated the Twitter post archive for July.

For those who haven’t heard, I will be a keynote speaker at YALLFest in Charleston this November along with Brandon Mull, Richelle Mead, and R.L. Stine.

Back 2010, Elbakin.net in France gave an award to the first Mistborn book. This year, The Way of Kings has been nominated for the 2015 version of the same award. Best of luck to all the nominees, and I hope my readers in France are enjoying more and more of my books as they get translated there.

In this week’s Writing Excuses episode, What Makes a Scene?, we try to answer that question. How do we, as writers, structure things using scenes? When does it begin, or end, and when has it gone on too long? We each do this a little differently, and because of those differences, definitions and processes will vary widely across mediums. So we are going to talk about how we do this, making reference to Scene/Sequel format, the MICE quotient and pacing.

Last week, in Tor.com’s continuing reread posts for Words of Radiance, Shallan attained a new level in her Lightweaving. This week, in Chapter 43, she uses her new skills to survive a meeting with the Ghostbloods.

My assistant Adam has updated the Twitter archive for June.

I’m heading to Phoenix today along with the entire Writing Excuses team to attend a massive bookstore signing (it’s free!) and for Phoenix Comicon (registration required). You can see my event schedule below or on the upcoming events page on my website. I hope you can make it to either event (or both!)

Elevengeddon

Date: Wednesday, June 1st
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Address: The Poisoned Pen
4014 N Goldwater Blvd
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Phone: (480) 947.2974
Brandon Sanderson, Patrick Rothfuss, V.E. Schwab, Pierce Brown, Mary Robinette Kowal, Scott Sigler, Dan Wells, Beth Cato, Jason Hough, Django Wexler, Leanna Renee Hieber, Sam Sykes, Michael J. Sullivan, Adam Christopher, Michael Martinez, Ryan Dalton, Kevin Hearn, Brian McClellan, and Tom Leveen.

The Poisoned Pen says:

We are limiting the number of books that can be signed by Brandon Sanderson and Patrick Rothfuss to three each per person. We will be issuing colored wristbands that will correspond to 45-minute units of time. We will begin issuing these at 6:00 p.m., and the first group will run from 7:00 to 7:45 and so on. We will be asking people to line up by the front door at the beginning of their group’s time. They will have to line up outside if numbers are large, so we want them to be prepared. Wristbands will either be issued by the front counter or, if numbers are large, by staff members in front of the store. Wristbands are free, however we are requesting everyone to buy something at the store, though that is not required.

Phoenix Comicon

Dates: Thursday–Sunday, June 2nd–5th
Address: Phoenix Convention Center
100 N 3rd St
Phoenix, AZ 85004
Phone: (602) 262-6225

Thursday, June 2nd

Booth Signing
4:00–5:00 p.m., Dragonsteel/Writing Excuses booth 1378
Brandon’s crew will have hardcover backstock, shirts, and other swag for sale, as well as convention exclusive posters of the new Elantris maps, released this weekend for the first time.

Friday, June 3rd

Writing Excuses Podcast
12:30–2:30 p.m., West 301A
Join Writing Excuses hosts Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Howard Taylor as they interview Greg Van Eekhout, Trina Phillips, and Victoria Scwab.

Building A Believable World: The Deets
3:00–4:00 p.m., North 129A
Building a believable world is more than just a good map: Discussing the finer points of constructing a believable universe.
Brandon Sanderson, Bradley Beaulieu, Dan Wells, Michael Martinez, Shannon Messenger, Victoria V.E. Schwab

Signing Lounge
4:30–5:30 p.m., 127AB Author Signings
Brandon Sanderson, Weston Ochse, Shannon Messenger, Michael Martinez, Michael Kogge, Jason Hough, Holly Jennings, Dan Wells, Bradley Beaulieu

Would You Lie To Me
Friday, June 3rd
6:00–7:00 p.m., North 128B
Authors lie for a living, but are they any good at knowing when they are being lied to? Hosted by Jason Hough, our two teams of authors will try to outwit each other and discern fact from fiction.
Beth Cato, Brandon Sanderson, Jason Hough, Mary Robinette Kowal, Sam Sykes, Scott Sigler, Victoria V.E. Schwab

Saturday, June 4th

Spotlight: Brandon Sanderson
12:00–1:00 p.m., North 129A
Join Brandon for a discussion of his projects past, present and future.

Glowy Swords: Magical MacGuffins
1:30–2:30 p.m., North 129A
The One Ring, Harry Potter’s wand, Excalibur—epic fantasy is full of magical MacGuffins, but is this just a mere plot device or is there a deeper purpose?
Alyssa Wong, Brandon Sanderson, Patrick Rothfuss, Sam Sykes, Victoria V.E. Schwab

Signing
3:00–4:00 p.m., North 127AB Author Signings
Brandon Sanderson, Alan Dean Foster, Becky Chambers, Dan Wells, Django Wexler, Howard Tayler, Kevin Hearne, Michael Kogge, Scott Sigler, Todd Lockwood

Booth Signing
4:30–7:00 p.m., Dragonsteel/Writing Excuses booth 1378
Brandon’s crew will have hardcover backstock, shirts, and other swag for sale, as well as convention exclusive posters of the new Elantris maps, released this weekend for the first time.

I’m going to be heading to Phoenix at the beginning of June with the Writing Excuses crew for Phoenix Comicon. Our schedule is still being finalized, but as soon as that’s done the details of my part of the schedule will be posted on the upcoming events page on my website. Also, my assistant Kara is running my booth at PHXCC, and she’s looking for local volunteers to help out. She has put a sign-up sheet here.

The ebook for Perfect State is still on sale at 99¢ worldwide (with some minor local variation). Mitosis is also on sale at 99¢ (at least in the US) for the rest of May. And starting today through the end of this weekend, for Audible members who have an available credit in their account, Steelheart is available in an Audible 2-for-1 sale. (That link only works if you have at least one credit. I don’t know whether this is US-only or what.)

In this week’s new Writing Excuses episode, Fashion for Writers, Rebecca McKinney sits down with us on how we should go about describing the clothing our characters are wearing. How do we use that to add depth to our story? What are the common mistakes that writers make when they start dressing their characters?

Last week, in Tor.com’s continuing reread posts for Words of Radiance, Dalinar received a surprise or two that he badly needed. This week, in Chapter 79, he has his first actual conversation with a Listener since his brother was killed, and learns more surprising new notions.

My assistant Adam has updated the Twitter post archive for April and May.