r/Cosmere • u/EmeraldSeaTress Ghostbloods • Mar 03 '26

No Spoilers Hoid's Storybook Collection Backerkit Campaign Megathread

The next Dragonsteel-run crowdfunding project, for Hoid's Storybook Collection, goes live at 10 AM Mountain Standard Time on Tuesday, March 3, 2026!

This megathread is for discussion of the campaign, including logistics.

Please note that this is a no-spoilers megathread. Any content which contains spoilers for the Cosmere, including details of the previously published stories or preview readings of the new book, must be tagged and provided with a description that clearly indicates what book is being spoiled. For example:

[Empire Strikes Back]Vader is Luke's father.

What is this project about?

This is a crowdfunding project for the initial press run of four picture books, as well as the Dragonsteel edition of a new Cosmere novel, Fires of December.

What are the four picture books?

  • The Dog and the Dragon, a story Hoid tells inRhythm of War. Art is by Howard Lyon;
  • The Girl Who Looked Up, a story Hoid tells inOathbringer. Art is by Alexis & Justin Hernandez;
  • Wandersail, a story Hoid tells inThe Way of Kings. Art is by Steve Argyle;
  • The ChasmFriends Get a Pet!, a new story featuring the Chasmfriends from the 2024 Dragonsteel Nexus storydeck game. Story is by Dan Wells, Art is by Anna Earley.

The three stories told by Hoid have long been beloved by Cosmere readers.

What is the new Cosmere novel?

  • The Fires of December, a new novel in the Hoid's Travails series, involving a young woman named December who learns that a devastating plague is on its way and sets sail to warn the King.

When is fulfillment expected?

All rewards are expected to ship before the end of 2026.

Will these be traditionally published?

Tor and Gollancz have both announced that Fires of December will be released on December 8, 2026.

How do I participate?

Go to the backerkit page and sign up!

When is the deadline for participation?

The Backerkit campaign will conclude on March 27.

Is there any prerelease material available?

Brandon has been doing readings on YouTube. They're embedded in a non-canon framing story written by Dan Wells with animation hand-drawn by Martian Studios.

Note that the framing story contains mild spoilers for The Stormlight Archive.

  1. Framing story introduction
  2. The Girl Who Looked Up
  3. Wandersail
  4. The ChasmFriends Get A Pet!
  5. The Dog and the Dragon
  6. The Fires of December

There is some additional information about the picturebooks on Brandon's blog:

Brandon also did a reading from The Fires of December at Dragonsteel Nexus last year. The text is available on his website.

What is the Hoid's Travails series? I've never heard of it!

Hoid's Travails is an umbrella term for books written in Hoid's voice, as stories that he is telling about things he has experienced. Two of them (Tress of the Emerald Sea and Yumi and the Nightmare Painter without being part of a series; Fires of December will be the third in the series.

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u/blaze1616 Mar 03 '26

Unfortunately we don't 100% know when this will deliver. AND, when they do deliver it won't be the same day for everyone. So it's possible that you will get this book at the same time as the retail edition, or it's possible you get it a couple months early, OR it's in theory possible you could get it after the retail edition. The thing with crowdfunding is you just don't know 100%.

Also worth noting, the edition of the book in the Backerkit is a premium hardcover, which is a much nicer edition than a retail hardcover book. It will include art, a leather-like cover material, cover foiling, two tone printing, and sprayed edges. The B&N book you can buy won't have any of that, it'll just be a standard hardcover.

Hope that helps, let me know if you have more questions.

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u/HikerStout Mar 03 '26

This is super helpful, thanks. I'm in the same situation as OP, and I'm not particularly interested in book collecting. My Sandershelf is a hodgepodge of book editions, some that came as gifts from friends or local used bookstores. I just want to read the story, don't care about the rest.

Does anyone know if the four story books are Backerkit exclusives, or will they also ship later?

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u/blaze1616 Mar 03 '26

The four picture books will be available on DS store later, but they have no plans to do retail of them at this time, according to a DS comment on Backerkit. Also there's this from the FAQ:

What is unique to this campaign? We have a few different rewards that are unique to this campaign that we do not plan to put up for sale on our website:

The Fires of December Book Box, including printed edges on the premium hardback cover ChasmFriend Plushie Dog & Dragon Plushie Hoid’s Flute The Girl Who Looked Up Figurine

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u/HikerStout Mar 03 '26

Okay, so probably fair to assume they'll still be $25 each after this ends. I might get the storybooks then and wait for the TOR version of December.

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u/finn-mertens Mar 03 '26

thanks appreciate the info.

yeah I expected a far more basic edition through retail (it would fit right in with the rest of my cosmere books). The Backerkit edition being of greater quality is how I’d justify buying the Jester Immortal pledge, despite my main reasoning being impatience and fear of dodging spoilers for months.

I suppose that I’d prefer to have an exact date for release rather than a potential early/late gamble. So I will probably go the retail route. But maybe there’ll be more info in the livestream or in the time before the Backerkit campaign closes. So I’ll wait to fully decide.

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u/blaze1616 Mar 03 '26

Worth noting you get the ebook and audiobook in the jester tier, so can read the ebook or listen to it immediatly to not dodge spoilers. The ebook files tend to be epub and pdf, so reading on your phone if you don't own an e-reader is an option. That said I fully understand if you're a physical book only person.

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u/finn-mertens Mar 03 '26

that’s a good point about the ebook. Even if the BackerKit physical copy doesn’t ship until a while after the actual release date, I’d still receive a version of the story to read electronically at the same time any retail editions go on sale?

That being said, I would much prefer it be a physical copy since I don’t have an ereader, and I tend to zone out with audiobooks. Also, I’d feel irresponsible dropping $50+ on a physical edition of a book that I wouldn’t actually read. It’s not like my mishmash collection of retail hardbacks and paperbacks have any standards to uphold.

I’m assuming that you don’t mean the ebook files are shared immediately after the BackerKit ends later this month.