Sanderson's long Stormlight gap

Brandon Sanderson has pushed the next main Stormlight Archive novel into the next decade, with Book 6 now targeted for late 2031. (brandonsanderson.com) In his December 19, 2024 “State of the Sanderson” post, Sanderson said he expects to spend 2030 and 2031 on Stormlight 6 and is aiming for a “late 2031 release.” (brandonsanderson.com) That schedule leaves a seven-year gap after Wind and Truth, the fifth Stormlight novel, which was released on December 6, 2024. (reactormag.com) The pause comes at a natural break in the series. Wind and Truth closed the first major arc of Sanderson’s planned ten-book saga, and Book 6 is set after an in-world jump of about ten years. (winteriscoming.net) Sanderson said he is stepping away after a “fifteen-year effort” on the first sequence and called writing Stormlight “quite draining,” while saying he still considers it his “opus.” (winteriscoming.net) Before returning to Roshar, Sanderson said he plans to finish the full Ghostbloods trilogy in Mistborn Era Three and write Elantris 2 and Elantris 3. His projected release map puts Ghostbloods 1 in late 2028, Ghostbloods 2 in late 2029, Ghostbloods 3 in late 2030, and Stormlight 6 in December 2031. (brandonsanderson.com) He also said fans should not expect Stormlight to disappear entirely during the gap. Sanderson has scheduled a Horneater novella about Rock for roughly eighteen months after that 2024 update. (winteriscoming.net) The series remains unfinished at five published novels out of a planned ten. Sanderson’s own update makes clear that the back half is still coming, but on a slower timetable than the front half. (brandonsanderson.com) For Stormlight readers, the near-term calendar is now straightforward: the first arc ended on December 6, 2024, a novella is penciled in before the return, and the next mainline book is not expected until late 2031. (reactormag.com)