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Brandon Sanderson's record-breaking Kickstarter campaign ends with $41.7 million

The author more than doubled the amount brought in by the previous record holder, Pebble.

Brandon Sanderson

Appropriately enough, the famously fast writer Brandon Sanderson took no time at all to break Pebble's record for the most-funded Kickstarter project ever. The fantasy and sci-fi author's project, which is funding the self-publication of four secret novels, topped the $20.3 million that the Pebble Time smartwatch raised in 2015 within just three days. After 30 days, Sanderson's campaign has now wrapped and, buoyed by his fervent fanbase, he has raised $41,754,153.

Sanderson plans to release all four books next year, three of which are set in his Cosmere universe. His backers will receive them as e-books, audiobooks or physical editions based on their level of backing. The campaign rewards also include eight boxes of swag that backers will receive throughout 2023.

To celebrate his success, Sanderson and his team have donated to all literary projects on Kickstarter that aren't too unsafe for work and don't break the platform's terms of service. As noted by The Mary Sue, they donated to more than 300 projects altogether and highlighted some of them in a video, which should direct some more backers their way. One project the team backed is a parody of Sanderson's record-breaking campaign called "Surprise! Four secret books NOT by a famous fantasy author!" — Sanderson backed it with $1.