# Surprise! Four Secret Novels by Brandon Sanderson

> A surprise book campaign drew $41.7 million in pledges and broke Kickstarter’s record.

- Owner: Brandon Sanderson / Dragonsteel Entertainment
- Kind: Campaign
- Sector: Entertainment
- Seed date: 2022-03-01
- Peak date: 2022-03-04
- Spread Score: 43 (Notable), v1.2
- Mechanics: Maker origin, Mystery & lore, Fandom mobilisation, Platform jump, Press loop

## Summary

Sanderson revealed four novels on YouTube and launched a Kickstarter. Fans discussed the surprise, and record-breaking pledges drew mainstream coverage. The campaign closed with $41.7 million pledged; Dragonsteel reported completing the fan boxes in 2023.

## Timeline

- 2022-02-28 — Brandon Sanderson (YouTube) — Sanderson teased an announcement for the next day.
- 2022-03-01 — Brandon Sanderson (YouTube) — Sanderson revealed four secret novels and launched their Kickstarter.
- 2022-03-01 — Omnicrola (Open web) — Omnicrola shared the video on Tildes, where a commenter said they had never heard of Sanderson.

The full timeline, metrics and sources are on the case page, or via the Pro API (https://howitspread.com/developers).

Canonical URL: https://howitspread.com/cases/sanderson-four-secret-novels-kickstarter

Cite as: How It Spread (2026). “Surprise! Four Secret Novels by Brandon Sanderson.” Case HIS-00644. Spread Score v1.2: 43/100. Updated 2026-10-14. https://howitspread.com/id/HIS-00644