I’ve been updating my main post about the best Cosmere Reading Order with Brandon Sanderson’s secret projects for years now. But since the original announcement was such a big deal, and since the phrase “Secret Projects” now means more than it did back in 2022, I figured it would be better to summarize it all here instead.
So let’s dive in and start from the top.
At the center of all this are the four surprise novels Brandon Sanderson wrote in secret and released through his wildly successful 2022 Kickstarter. Those original four books are Tress of the Emerald Sea, The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, and The Sunlit Man.
But that is not quite the whole story anymore. Since then, the label has grown a bit. Isles of the Emberdark is Secret Project Five, and The Fires of December has been announced as the next secret project. So if you’re here because you remember the original Kickstarter, or because you’re trying to figure out which books count as Secret Projects today, here’s the current breakdown.
Jump to:
- Complete List of Brandon Sanderson Secret Projects
- Which Brandon Sanderson Secret Projects Are Cosmere?
- Brandon Sanderson’s Secret Announcement
- Where Did the Secret Projects Come From?
- Brandon Sanderson Kickstarter Project Details
- Secret Project #1: Tress of the Emerald Sea
- Secret Project #2: The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England
- Secret Project #3: Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
- Secret Project #4: The Sunlit Man
- Secret Project #5: Isles of the Emberdark
- The Fires of December
- Secret Projects Q&A
Complete List of Brandon Sanderson Secret Projects
Here are Brandon Sanderson’s Secret Projects as they currently stand. The original Kickstarter included the first four books. Isles of the Emberdark came later as Secret Project Five, and The Fires of December is the next announced secret project.
- Tress of the Emerald Sea (2023) — Cosmere
- The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England (2023) — Non-Cosmere
- Yumi and the Nightmare Painter (2023) — Cosmere
- The Sunlit Man (2023) — Cosmere
- Isles of the Emberdark (2025) — Cosmere
- The Fires of December (2026) — Cosmere
That list is the simple version, and honestly, publication order works perfectly fine if you just want the cleanest way to move through the Secret Projects.
The only place I would make a slight adjustment is if you’re trying to maximize the Cosmere experience. Tress of the Emerald Sea is the easiest starting point. It gives you the charm of the Secret Projects without asking you to carry the weight of the entire Cosmere on your back. Yumi and the Nightmare Painter is another strong early choice, especially if you want a Hoid-told Cosmere story with a very different flavor.
The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England can go anywhere because it’s not Cosmere. I would save The Sunlit Man until after you’ve read at least a decent chunk of The Stormlight Archive, because while Brandon does write it as a standalone, the experience is better when you know why certain names and connections matter.
Isles of the Emberdark is also playing in a later-Cosmere sandbox, so I would not make it your first Sanderson novel either. If you’re already deep in the Cosmere, it’s a different conversation. But if you’re new, start with Tress.
When fans talk about the “Secret Projects,” they are usually talking about the original four surprise novels from the 2022 Kickstarter. But newer listings sometimes include Isles of the Emberdark as part of the same Secret Projects grouping, and Dragonsteel has called The Fires of December the next secret project as well.
So the term has shifted from “those four secret novels Brandon announced in 2022” to something closer to “surprise Dragonsteel projects Brandon reveals outside the normal publishing schedule.” That’s not as tidy, but it’s probably more accurate now.
Which Brandon Sanderson Secret Projects Are Cosmere?
Of the original four Secret Projects, three are Cosmere and one is not.
- Tress of the Emerald Sea is Cosmere.
- The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England is not Cosmere.
- Yumi and the Nightmare Painter is Cosmere.
- The Sunlit Man is Cosmere.
Isles of the Emberdark is also Cosmere, and The Fires of December is a Cosmere novel as well.
This is one of the most important things to know before you start reading. Tress and Yumi are both fairly approachable Cosmere standalones. The Sunlit Man is technically a standalone too, but it is much more connected to the wider Cosmere, especially The Stormlight Archive.
That’s not to say you can’t read it on its own. You can. But if you’re the kind of reader who wants every little reference to land, save The Sunlit Man until later.
Brandon Sanderson’s Secret Announcement
On Monday, February 28th, Brandon Sanderson posted a video on YouTube as he always does, but this time, he ended on a serious note. He said “there’s something I’ve been putting off that we have to talk about.”
Based on the tone of the video, many regular followers were worried something was wrong. This cryptic announcement had them (us?) all on edge.
Here’s that video:
Of course, unless you’re hiding under a rock, you now know what that was all about. He followed up with this video on Tuesday, March 1st, 2022:
In the above video we learned a lot of information. He asked us not to say what the content was about, but at this point, I think it’s moot so here goes.
Where Did the Secret Projects Come From?
Brandon Sanderson had been struggling with his work-life balance schedule and something had to give. Then the pandemic happened. Suddenly, he found himself with about 120 more days a year than he previously had.
During that time, he wrote five more books. He didn’t tell his publisher. He didn’t tell his agent. He didn’t tell his own employees. Only his wife was aware of what he was doing.
Three of those books were Cosmere standalones, one was “something totally different,” and the fifth was a middle-grade story that Brandon was thinking about making into a graphic novel.
That last part is worth clarifying now, because time has made the phrase “Secret Project Five” a little confusing. In the original 2022 announcement, Brandon talked about five extra books he had written, but only four of them were released through the Kickstarter. Later, Isles of the Emberdark became known as Secret Project Five through a different crowdfunding campaign.
So, no, the fifth book mentioned in the original announcement and Isles of the Emberdark are not necessarily the same thing. This is Brandon Sanderson we’re talking about. The man writes books faster than most of us can organize our TBR shelves.
Brandon Sanderson Kickstarter Project Details
At the time, Brandon self-published four of the five novels through his Kickstarter. That campaign is long over now, so you don’t need to panic about a March 2022 deadline anymore. The Secret Projects are no longer locked behind the original fundraiser.
But the Kickstarter itself is still important because it’s where the whole thing started. There were a variety of options available. Some were as simple as purchasing only the ebook. Then there were options that allowed you to get not only the books, but also a monthly subscription box.
Brandon said in the video above that he hates the idea of subscription boxes because “you’ll eventually run out of things to put in them and start repeating yourself.” But the concept of a limited subscription box that only ran for 12 months intrigued him.
So what we had were book-only options in three formats: ebook, audiobook, and hardcover.
The original Secret Project books were delivered quarterly in 2023. If you opted into the subscription box, then you got a monthly box, but 8 of those boxes only had goodies in them. No book. Just candles, and shirts, and pins, and stuff like that.
The Brandon Sanderson subscription box included things from all of his books, not just the Cosmere. He specifically cited Cytoverse merch. I hoped to see some Reckoners stuff, too, if I’m being honest.
Today, the four original Secret Projects are available outside the Kickstarter. Dragonsteel sells premium editions, and standard editions are available through normal booksellers. That makes this page less of a “how do I get them before they’re gone?” guide and more of a “what are these books and where do they fit?” guide.
Introduction Live Stream
A few hours after the initial announcement dropped on March 1st, Brandon Sanderson hosted a live stream to share more details about the project and what exactly all went down that made this happen.
You can watch it here:
No details about the actual books themselves were revealed during that first live stream. But one important question was asked that stuck with me.
A viewer asked: “What about the Right of First Refusal?”
This is a clause in many traditional publishing contracts that gives the publisher the right to publish any book that the author writes before the author is allowed to self-publish or go through a different publisher.
In a sense, it’s Tor insurance that if they want to publish the next Brandon Sanderson novel, then it’s their right to do so, and Brandon can’t go around their backs.
In the video, Brandon skirted the issue by saying that his relationship with Tor is not like other authors.
That is to say, Brandon Sanderson is big enough he can do pretty much whatever he wants.
Since these books were not part of his contract, nor were they even planned to be published in the normal way, it’s not like Sanderson was robbing Tor. Brandon hadn’t faltered on any of his Tor deadlines, and his relationship with them remained strong.
That being said, he did express an interest in seeing how this worked out, and the Secret Projects became one of the clearest signs that Brandon was interested in experimenting outside the traditional publishing model.
Another takeaway from the videos is that Brandon Sanderson hates how traditional publishers handle ebooks. Brandon believes that if you have purchased the hardcover, you deserve to have access to the ebook for free.
After all, an ebook is only a line of code. You’ve already paid for the book in the hardcover. Why should you also have to pay for something with no physical expenses?
He said this does not apply to audiobooks, as there is a significant investment involved with the production of an audiobook.
Secret Project #1: Tress of the Emerald Sea
On Thursday, March 3rd, Brandon Sanderson posted another YouTube video revealing the title of the first Secret Project and a reading of the first five chapters.
You can watch it here:
The video spends only about 2 minutes talking about the details of the book. The rest of the time is the reading.
In the time that he did share, Brandon Sanderson revealed that Secret Project #1 is called Tress of the Emerald Sea. It is a part of the Cosmere.
He explains that the book is told in a story format as a “certain someone” is recounting the events to an audience. Brandon says the story is “canon,” meaning that it did happen, but the story is overly dramatic as the storyteller shares it in “his own special way.”
This led me to believe that the certain someone was most likely Hoid.
This theory was confirmed on Brandon’s website where he explains his influences in writing Tress of the Emerald Sea.
If you recall some of Hoid’s stories from his other Cosmere books, they are quite fanciful. Brandon described Tress of the Emerald Sea as a full-length Hoid story, and now that we have the book, that’s still the easiest way to explain it.
I won’t actually talk through the plot here, in case you don’t want to know. But if you’re looking for the most approachable Secret Project and one of the easiest Cosmere standalones to recommend, this is the one.
Tress of the Emerald Sea Live Stream
On Tuesday, March 8th, Brandon Sanderson hosted a live stream to talk more about Tress of the Emerald Sea. The first part of the video talks about printing and cover textures for the premium hardcovers.
The question was asked on why Brandon did not have stretch goals for his Kickstarter, and he mentioned that they didn’t feel right since swag was built into the various tiers.
He did mention that due to the success of the Kickstarter, they were going to offer a “thank you” gift. This bonus feature was two-color printing, meaning that in addition to black and white pages, there would be one additional color splashed on pages like the map and chapter headings.
Secret Project #2: The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England
On Thursday, March 10th, Brandon Sanderson announced that Secret Project #2 would be titled The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England.
He also announced that this was the non-Cosmere book of the 4 releasing as part of the Kickstarter.
The idea for this project came about as a cross between interdimensional time travel for tourism purposes (not changing the future) and The Bourne Identity. Two very unrelated things, but this is what inspired Brandon for this novel.
This is the oddball of the original Secret Projects, which is not a bad thing. It just means you don’t need to place it anywhere in the Cosmere. You can read it whenever you want without worrying that you’re missing some massive universe-shattering clue.
If you’d like to listen to Brandon read the first few chapters, you may do so through the video below.
The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England Live Stream
I didn’t watch the live stream for Frugal Wizard that aired on Tuesday, March 15th, because nothing new about the project was shared last week. Sure, they talk about fun things, but I felt like we didn’t get any crucial info about the projects like when they fall in the timeline.
And I was avoiding the spoiler portion of the livestreams as I really didn’t want to know. I like to be surprised by Sanderson because the man is a genius and I want that genius to unfold for me on the page.
If you’d like to watch the live stream, here it is:
Secret Project #3: Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
On Thursday, March 17th, Brandon shared important details and did a reading of Secret Project #3, which he revealed is titled Yumi and the Nightmare Painter.
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter is in the Cosmere, and Brandon revealed that, like Tress, this is another Hoid story.
Brandon explains that his inspiration for the novel comes from the manga story Hikaru no Go. It has Japanese and Korean cultural influences. He also mentions that Yumi is named after Yuna from Final Fantasy 10 and that game also influenced the book.
Now that the book is out, I think Yumi is one of the easiest Secret Projects to recommend to readers who want something more emotional and romantic, while still getting that Sanderson worldbuilding underneath it all.
You can watch Brandon read the first 7 chapters below.
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter Live Stream
On Tuesday, March 22nd, Brandon hosted a livestream to discuss more about Yumi and the Nightmare Painter.
Secret Project #4: The Sunlit Man
Secret Project #4 is The Sunlit Man, and Brandon mentioned this one is connected to the Cosmere more than any of the other original Secret Project novels.
You can watch Brandon read the first few chapters below.
This book was a long time in coming. At the end of the above video, Brandon explains how the story came about and how it has been floating around in his mind since the very beginning of the Cosmere.
Light Cosmere spoilers here, but this is Sigzil’s story. Sigzil is the Azish bridgeman from Bridge Four, part of Kaladin’s crew in The Way of Kings. He becomes one of Wit/Hoid’s apprentices, and this is his story. He is “Nomad” at the beginning of the book, but that is not where his story ends.
For readers who are already caught up on the Cosmere, The Sunlit Man is probably the most exciting of the original four Secret Projects from a universe-connection standpoint. For new readers, though, I would put this one after The Stormlight Archive, or at least after you have some sense of who Sigzil and Hoid are.
The Sunlit Man Live Stream
On Tuesday, March 29th, Brandon hosted a live stream to talk about The Sunlit Man. The first hour is spoiler-free, and the last hour contains heavy spoilers.
Secret Project #5: Isles of the Emberdark
Isles of the Emberdark is where the Secret Project conversation gets updated beyond the original 2022 Kickstarter.
This was not one of the four original Kickstarter novels. It was later revealed as Secret Project Five as part of the Words of Radiance leatherbound crowdfunding campaign.
Isles of the Emberdark is a standalone Cosmere novel that expands Brandon’s novella “Sixth of the Dusk” into a much larger story. It involves Sixth of the Dusk, Aviar, the Ones Above, and a far-future side of the Cosmere that feels very different from the earlier, more medieval fantasy side of Sanderson’s universe.
That’s why I would be careful about making this your first Secret Project. Yes, it is a standalone. But it is also playing in the far-future Cosmere sandbox, and if you’re already invested in the bigger universe, that’s part of the fun.
The Fires of December
The Fires of December is the next announced secret project, and it is another Cosmere novel.
This one is connected to Hoid’s Storybook Collection, which makes sense given the way Dragonsteel has been grouping some of these Hoid-centered tales. Tress of the Emerald Sea and Yumi and the Nightmare Painter are both Hoid-told Cosmere novels, and The Fires of December has been described as part of that same loose Hoid thread.
There is still a lot we don’t know about this book, and I don’t want to overstate the connections before it’s actually in readers’ hands. But if you’re tracking the Secret Projects beyond the original Kickstarter, this is the next one to watch.
Secret Projects Q&A
How many Brandon Sanderson Secret Projects are there?
There were four original Secret Projects in Brandon Sanderson’s 2022 Kickstarter: Tress of the Emerald Sea, The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, and The Sunlit Man. With Isles of the Emberdark and The Fires of December, the wider Secret Projects list now extends beyond those original four.
Do I need to read the Secret Projects in order?
Not strictly. The Secret Projects are standalones. Publication order is easiest, but Tress of the Emerald Sea is the best starting point for most readers. I would save The Sunlit Man until later if you care about catching more Cosmere connections.
Which Secret Project is not Cosmere?
The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England is the non-Cosmere Secret Project from the original Kickstarter.
Is Tress of the Emerald Sea a Secret Project?
Yes. Tress of the Emerald Sea is Secret Project #1, and it is also a Cosmere standalone told by Hoid.
Is The Sunlit Man a Secret Project?
Yes. The Sunlit Man is Secret Project #4, and it is the most Cosmere-connected of the original four Secret Project books.
Is Isles of the Emberdark a Secret Project?
Yes. Isles of the Emberdark is commonly identified as Secret Project Five, though it was not part of the original four-book Kickstarter from 2022.
Are the Secret Projects still only available through Kickstarter?
No. That was true during the original campaign window, but it is no longer true today. The original Secret Projects are now available through normal booksellers, and Dragonsteel also sells premium editions.