{"id":261981,"date":"2025-09-28T19:19:20","date_gmt":"2025-09-28T19:19:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/261981\/"},"modified":"2025-09-28T19:19:20","modified_gmt":"2025-09-28T19:19:20","slug":"brandon-sanderson-reads-from-new-book-talks-evermore-park-at-fanx-deseret-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/261981\/","title":{"rendered":"Brandon Sanderson reads from new book, talks Evermore Park at FanX \u2013 Deseret News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bestselling fantasy author Brandon Sanderson has published a wide range of books over the years, but on Saturday at the FanX convention in Salt Lake City<\/a>, he read from a book that he told fans he\u2019ll (probably) never finish writing. <\/p>\n

The reason? <\/p>\n

It\u2019s \u201ctoo silly,\u201d Sanderson told the audience gathered in the Grand Ballroom of the Salt Palace Convention Center. <\/p>\n

During his appearance at the pop culture and comic convention, Sanderson also interacted with fans in a Q&A session, answering questions on everything from mental health to whether he would ever consider buying the now-defunct Evermore Park<\/a> in Utah County, and shared some tidbits about his upcoming projects. <\/p>\n

Here are some of the highlights from Sanderson\u2019s FanX appearance. <\/p>\n

\"\"Sam Erb, from Boise, Idaho, dressed as Frisk from the video game \u201cUndertale,\u201d left, asks author Brandon Sanderson a question at FanX Salt Lake Pop Culture and Comic Convention at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"Author Brandon Sanderson answers audience questions at FanX Salt Lake Pop Culture and Comic Convention at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"Xander Ushio, 13, center, listens to author Brandon Sanderson speak at FanX Salt Lake Pop Culture and Comic Convention at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"Author Brandon Sanderson speaks at FanX Salt Lake Pop Culture and Comic Convention at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"Janae Heninger, from Provo, dressed as Tress from \u201cTress of the Emerald Sea,\u201d by Brandon Sanderson, prepares to ask Sanderson a question at FanX Salt Lake Pop Culture and Comic Convention at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"Gideon Slothower, from Orem, dressed as Canio, a card from the game Balatro, asks author Brandon Sanderson a question at FanX Salt Lake Pop Culture and Comic Convention at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"People shop at author Brandon Sanderson\u2019s Dragonsteel Books vendor booth at FanX Salt Lake Pop Culture and Comic Convention at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"People shop at author Brandon Sanderson\u2019s Dragonsteel Books vendor booth at FanX Salt Lake Pop Culture and Comic Convention at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"People check out at author Brandon Sanderson\u2019s Dragonsteel Books vendor booth at FanX Salt Lake Pop Culture and Comic Convention at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"Madison Morgan, from Salt Lake City, center, shops at author Brandon Sanderson\u2019s Dragonsteel Books vendor booth at FanX Salt Lake Pop Culture and Comic Convention at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News Brandon Sanderson reads from new book at FanX<\/p>\n

Sanderson shared three chapters of an unfinished and untitled book with the audience at FanX \u2014 but with a caveat.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the one that went a little bit too far,\u201d Sanderson said of the story before he began reading. <\/p>\n

Though the book doesn\u2019t have a title, he called Chapter 1 \u201cThe Princess.\u201d The story follows a very spoiled princess who, Sanderson told the audience, eventually would have had to face down a dragon in order to inherit her kingdom. <\/p>\n

So why did Sanderson choose not to finish writing the story? <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was fun,\u201d he said. \u201cIt matches a lot of the storytelling styles and things like you might have seen in \u2018Dealing with Dragons\u2019 by Patricia C. Wrede. \u2026 But it was too silly, too noncanon, to fit in the Cosmere.\u201d<\/p>\n

He acknowledged that he may choose to finish the story someday, but if he did, he wouldn\u2019t set it within his \u201cCosmere\u201d universe, in which many of his novels (including the \u201cStormlight Archive\u201d and \u201cMistborn\u201d series) are set. <\/p>\n

Would Brandon Sanderson buy Evermore Park?<\/p>\n

Evermore Park, a fantasy theme park in Pleasant Grove, Utah, shut down last year<\/a>, but fans have ideas about how it could return. <\/p>\n

During the Q&A session, Sanderson was asked whether he would ever consider buying it, and the author replied that he had \u201cthought about it seriously.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"\"Author Brandon Sanderson speaks at FanX Salt Lake Pop Culture and Comic Convention at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News <\/p>\n

Sanderson already owns 9 acres of land next to the park, which, he said at last year\u2019s FanX<\/a>, would be used to build a bookstore and a surrounding area called Dragonsteel Plaza.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we did it, it would probably not be to bring Evermore back,\u201d Sanderson said of buying the park. \u201cI just don\u2019t know that the Evermore model would work really well, but Evermore might be a really good place for a bookstore, and then that other land we can use for something else or sell it off.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Sanderson said that he thought buying Evermore would be \u201ca dangerous thing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not impossible, but it is expensive,\u201d he said. \u201cEven for me, it\u2019s pretty expensive. And I don\u2019t want to do anything that risks the jobs of my employees.\u201d<\/p>\n

How Utah\u2019s slot canyons helped inspire \u2018The Stormlight Archive\u2019<\/p>\n

Naturally, many of the fans\u2019 questions centered around Sanderson\u2019s books, including one question that asked where he first got the idea for his bestselling \u201cStormlight Archive\u201d series, which begins with the novel \u201cThe Way of Kings.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI can trace the first idea for the setting back to the idea of a storm,\u201d Sanderson said. <\/p>\n

\"\"Author Brandon Sanderson speaks at FanX Salt Lake Pop Culture and Comic Convention at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News <\/p>\n

One of Sanderson\u2019s college roommates was a photography major who loved to visit slot canyons in southern Utah to take photographs, and Sanderson said he would sometimes travel with his roommate to the canyons and help him with his camera equipment. <\/p>\n

\u201cI just wanted to sit in my room and write books,\u201d he said, \u201cbut I knew that I needed to actually leave my room in order to have things to write about.\u201d<\/p>\n

On one occasion, they were traveling to a slot canyon when his roommate said they wouldn\u2019t be able to go that day because of rain. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I\u2019m like, \u2018Oh, we\u2019ll ruin your camera equipment,\u2019\u201d Sanderson said, but then his roommate explained, \u201c\u2018Oh no, it would kill us.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s like, \u2018If it rains, even a small amount, it can cause a giant flash flood in the canyons, because all the rain from a large plain will funnel into the slot canyon, and create a torrent and a rush,\u2019\u201d Sanderson continued. \u201c\u2018And even if it\u2019s a light sprinkle, sometimes it can be extremely dangerous.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

And that was the spark of an idea for Sanderson. <\/p>\n

His original draft of \u201cThe Way of Kings\u201d even had a sequence that was set in a slot canyon, he said, though he later changed it. \u201cBut I spun that with the idea of a world that was hit by magical storms periodically.\u201d<\/p>\n

How Brandon Sanderson writes about mental health in his books\"\"People shop at author Brandon Sanderson\u2019s Dragonsteel Books vendor booth at FanX Salt Lake Pop Culture and Comic Convention at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News <\/p>\n

During another part of the Q&A session, a fan observed that Sanderson is \u201creally inclusive\u201d when it comes to portraying mental health challenges in his characters and asked how Sanderson wanted his readers who may struggle with similar issues to react to his books. <\/p>\n

Part of the reason he wanted to depict mental health challenges in his stories, Sanderson replied, is because he felt like it was realistic \u2014 he wanted to show \u201cthe world as it is\u201d and \u201cpeople as they are.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t seeing enough of that when I was reading, and I said, \u2018Well, you know, the people in my life often struggle with something like this,\u2019\u201d Sanderson said. \u201cI feel like if you were put in very high stress situations like the characters are, you would have some more people just naturally dealing with this. And I wanted to do it, but I wanted to do a good job with it.\u201d <\/p>\n

In order to do a good job, Sanderson said he does a lot of research online, reading about other people\u2019s experiences. He also said that it\u2019s helpful for him to have experts read his work and give him feedback and advice. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf I can do a good enough job that you look and you say, \u2018Yes, this is actually helping people kind of understand what it is to, you know, be me,\u2019\u201d Sanderson said, \u201cI would love that to be the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next for Brandon Sanderson? \"\"People shop at author Brandon Sanderson\u2019s Dragonsteel Books vendor booth at FanX Salt Lake Pop Culture and Comic Convention at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News <\/p>\n

Sanderson has two books that will be published in the next few months.<\/p>\n

The first is a collection of short fiction, \u201cTailored Realities,\u201d which will be published Dec. 9. The other is \u201cIsles of the Emberdark,\u201d which was originally released as one of his \u201csecret project\u201d novels and will be published in February 2026. <\/p>\n

Apart from his upcoming books, Sanderson will also be hosting his own annual convention, Dragonsteel Nexus<\/a>, in December. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bestselling fantasy author Brandon Sanderson has published a wide range of books over the years, but on Saturday…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":261982,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[1022,171,67,132,68,424],"class_list":{"0":"post-261981","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-books","8":"tag-books","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us","13":"tag-utah"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115283543582997848","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=261981"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261981\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/261982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=261981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=261981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=261981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}