Brandon Sanderson Unveils New Cosmere Novel ‘The Fires of December’

Brandon Sanderson has quietly added another log to the ever-burning Cosmere fire. At Dragonsteel Nexus 2025, the author revealed The Fires of December, a new standalone Cosmere novel framed by fan-favorite narrator Hoid and set to arrive as part of his next wave of direct-to-reader projects.

A new Hoid tale in a demon-blooded world

Unveiled onstage at Dragonsteel Nexus, on Instagram, and via a BackerKit crowdfunding page, The Fires of December is set in a forgotten land “sustained by colorful rivers of demon blood.” The book follows December, a young woman who learns a devastating plague is on its way and sails up the River Violet to warn the king’s court, armed only with her wits, a talkative priestess, and a fledgling fashion designer.

Sanderson described the novel as part of his ongoing cycle of “Hoid’s travails,” in which the Cosmere’s wandering storyteller recounts the terrible things that have happened to him along the way. International coverage has also dubbed The Fires of December his sixth “Secret Project,” extending the surprise-book tradition that began with titles like Tress of the Emerald Sea and Yumi and the Nightmare Painter. Polygon’s initial report captured fan speculation around whether the character name December hints at a new, Earth-adjacent corner of the Cosmere.

The novel’s non-final cover art, by Tran Nguyen, was also shown at the convention, emphasizing vivid color and river imagery that ties into the demon-blooded landscape. Deseret News notes that Sanderson read the first chapter at Dragonsteel Nexus, with a free newsletter release promised for readers who couldn’t attend.

Crowdfunding, Hoid, and a packed Cosmere calendar

The Fires of December anchors a new Dragonsteel crowdfunding campaign called Hoid’s Storybook Collection, which bundles the novel with four lavishly illustrated picture books of Hoid tales like Wandersail and The Dog and the Dragon. The campaign also connects to The Book of Hoid, another crowdfunded project that further cements the character as the narrative glue across Sanderson’s multiverse. Spanish-language reports highlight how this micromecenazgo model mirrors his record-breaking Kickstarter run.

The announcement lands in the middle of an unusually dense release slate. Sanderson has already delivered Viento y verdad (Stormlight 5) in late 2024 and is lining up the short-fiction collection Tailored Realities for December 9, 2025, followed by the standalone Cosmere novel Isles of the Emberdark in early 2026. Check Reads’ schedule breakdown shows those books arriving alongside his work on Ghostbloods, the first entry in the long-awaited Mistborn Era 3.

All of this fits a broader industry shift toward direct-to-reader releases, deluxe editions, and crowdfunded campaigns. In a 2024 profile, Sanderson framed this strategy as a way to serve intensely engaged fantasy fans while keeping creative control over formats and extras. Recent coverage of his convention and media footprint, from Dragonsteel Nexus going global to IMDb spotlighting the Cosmere, suggests that approach is only expanding his reach.

The reveal landed in front of a Salt Palace crowd that had begun to worry 2026 might pass without a Cosmere novel at all. “We’ve got one,” Sanderson told them, according to Deseret News, before reading the opening chapters aloud and confirming the book is fully canon. Backers get it first through the March 2026 crowdfunding campaign, with a wide release from Tor timed for the following Christmas, in December 2026.

For readers, The Fires of December promises another fresh point of entry into the Cosmere—and another year where Sanderson’s universe shows no signs of cooling down.