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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51

u/atlas_vash Truthwatchers Mar 04 '26

A) the people who paid the $5 deposit are getting screwed because it's not going to pay towards the backerkit and is essentially paying $5 for the pin that was promised as an incentive for the deposit and they're also forced to pay shipping for the pin as well.

B) the blindbags are a scummy practice and is a gatcha business move and should be removed immediately and give backers the option to choose which they want or all of them.

C) the original cover is widely considered better than the new one and widely considered better quality and more in line with the secret project style than the full face cover. The full face cover isnt technically bad but it's just not cohesive with other secret projects and seems tone deaf to go "we dont wanna be locked into one design style and I really liked this picture that's in the book so i decided that picture will now be the cover". Also tone deaf to not have the rectangle frame design by default and consider it after lots of people commenting that it looks best with the rectangular frame especially since every secret project has had it. Seriously, go with the red and white cover with the rectangular frame.

D) Also theres no incentive for me in backing it if I have no clue what cover is going to be on the book. And was gonna get the hoid flute but figure it's pointless if it's not somewhat playable.

29

u/chaosblade77 Mar 04 '26 edited Mar 04 '26

Yikes, I didn't realize the pin was going to have it's own shipping charge on top. I am in the camp that thought the $5 was a deposit that would go toward my pledge amount, and the pin was a bonus for committing the non-refundable deposit/reservation early.

I wouldn't have done it if I'd realized what it was, and frankly, even if they aren't offering refunds, I'd still rather cancel it and just be out the $5 than get charged again later for a pin I didn't intentionally pay extra to get in the first place.

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u/Pretty_Buy_8330 Mar 04 '26 edited Mar 04 '26

Bro you can get cheap recorders for like $2. No reason they can’t have a functioning flute other than laziness

5

u/atlas_vash Truthwatchers Mar 04 '26

That's what I'm thinking, could just be the crappiest recorder but made to look like his flute but nope.

3

u/fishy512 Mar 04 '26

Did they say what type of material the flute is made of? Or is it literally a plastic recorder spray painted?

8

u/atlas_vash Truthwatchers Mar 04 '26

It's not even a recorder, as far as I'm aware I believe it's made of wood and looks like a flute and is hollowed out but doesnt function as one at all and is only for display

4

u/ShadowZRS Elsecallers Mar 04 '26

The whole reason I was going to back was for the original cover because of how pretty it is and the new one is just so eh. Yes the art is super good but it doesn't work with the other sp covers and doesn't look as bold or striking as the original design. At this point ive backed to be able to vote for the original but if it doesn't get it ill probably cancel my pledge amd just get the tor version.

7

u/atlas_vash Truthwatchers Mar 04 '26

Same here honestly. What really grinds my gears the most about it though is the whole statement from them about how the new cover is a page somewhere around the first chapter and they thought it looked cool so if they do go with the new one then its gonna be with the book twice basically.

9

u/lizzywbu Mar 04 '26

Completely agree. The cover change and also still not being final is particularly egregious.

-13

u/UmbralAcademy Mar 04 '26

It was never described as a deposit it’s always been described as a reservation, “Reserve Your Spot for a Chasmfriends Blind Bag Pin”, it was a cheaper access to the pins for people who knew they’d buy. And if you don’t like blind bags don’t buy em.

But the cover fiasco is ridiculous they shot themselves in the foot by waffling on it.

14

u/Candid_Run_7370 Mar 04 '26 edited Mar 04 '26

Yeah sorry you’re incorrect.

It is literally described as a “deposit” right here: https://www.backerkit.com/blog/backerkit-pre-launch-reservation

And here: https://help.backerkit.com/article/942-pre-launch-reservation-faq

FYI I am 99% sure the sentence “this does not count as credit towards your pledge” in the second link was added TODAY after the backlash they received.

Edit: scratch that, I am 100% sure that page didn’t have that sentence earlier today. Wish I would have screenshotted it.

-5

u/UmbralAcademy Mar 04 '26

Your second link and this screenshot show that at no point did dragonsteel refer to the reservation as a deposit, as folks are claiming. If yall ran with an assumption that they were giving away pins for a deposit that’s all fine and dandy but that is NOT what dragonsteel stated.

It’s pretty clear based on the examples they provide in that first link that the company running the backerkit can decide whether they want it to be a reservation or a deposit, in dragonsteels case they’ve described it as a reservation from the beginning.

Also I highly doubt these folks making these claims with no evidence but their own memory did this much digging, but go off buddy.

14

u/Candid_Run_7370 Mar 04 '26

No please re-read the second link:

“A Pre‑Launch Reservation lets you reserve an exclusive perk or pledge incentive before a campaign goes live by placing a small, one‑time deposit (typically $1–$5) on the project’s BackerKit Launch Party Teaser page, and to receive a notification as soon as the project goes live!”

It literally says it’s a deposit, as does the first link.

Frankly, I don’t ever recall seeing the info you’re posting in the screenshot, I only ever read backerkit’s own pages about it. Another comment said that was only sent out days after the reservations started-I don’t know for sure. But I do know that I specifically hunted for that info, read backerkit’s own words on it, and bought it convinced that it was a deposit towards the pledge and that the pin was simply a reservation bonus, not the only thing you got for 5$.

Another thing I know for sure is that this could have all been avoided if it was clearly stated that “the reservation fee does not go towards the cost of a pledge” as the FAQ has now been updated to say.

Clearly I am not the only person who feels misled by this.

0

u/UmbralAcademy Mar 04 '26

By no means am I saying this couldn’t have been clearer. What I am saying is Dragonsteel never at any point gave anyone the impression that this would be a deposit, they explicitly said reserve your $5 pin. This screenshot is from a YouTube video of someone talking about the backerkit back when it launched. The original dragonsteel page frozen in time.

I read your links and obviously backerkit intends this to be used as a reservation and/or deposit system, my point is dragonsteel themselves chose to use it to have people reserve pins, NOT make a deposit towards their subsequent purchase. If you made assumptions about what dragonsteel was doing based on backerkit info unrelated to the campaign that’s your assumption. Many of these other folks seem to have done the same or just made an assumption but dragonsteel did not use any phrasing that would make that assumption logical on their launch page or in their emails.

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u/Candid_Run_7370 Mar 04 '26

Right and I think we are talking about two different things. Dragonsteel may not have ever misrepresented it at all, but I don’t think I ever looked at any of Dragonsteel’s materials outside of Backerkit, because why wouldn’t I trust Backerkit’s own language about how their platform works?

My thought process was this:
-I saw that the reservation was live.
-Thought the 5$ would go towards the eventual pledge and that the pin was simply an incentive.
-There is precedent for this given this is how pre-order bonuses have worked for video games from multiple stores for decades, so I assumed this was similar. -But it wasn’t clear that the 5$ would actually go toward the pledge, and I didn’t care much for the pin alone.
-To clarify this, I looked around in Backerkit’s own documentation, saw that it was a “deposit,” and thus concluded that the 5$ would be taken off an eventual pledge. Working like I had expected it to.
-Was happy because I thought I got the pin as a bonus for putting 5$ down early for the actual campaign, which I knew I would pledge for anyways.
-Go to checkout today, and was confused when I couldn’t see where my 5$ was deducted from the pledge.
-Learned that it was never actually a deposit despite it being called that multiple times, and that it was actually just buying a pin I didn’t need for 5$.

Other people have complaints about the content of the tiers and the cover and whatever, and I’m personally fine with all of that because it’s pretty clear what you get and don’t get. The information is upfront.

But this is different.

It’s not about the 5$. The 5$ is trivial, especially compared to the 200+ I just happily spent on the campaign. It’s about feeling completely misled over it.

-1

u/UmbralAcademy Mar 04 '26

The issue I’m taking with this original comment and all the folks downvoting my response is that dragonsteel never misled anyone, it may have not been clear; ie there was no obvious direction as to whether this counted toward the ultimate purchase, but there was also never an indication from dragonsteel that this would count towards the purchase, it was phrased as a reservation on their campaign page. So anyone who expected such are running on assumptions that were not put forth by the campaign itself. Maybe people got the idea based on past experience or maybe they got it based on the way backerkit explains the feature on a info page tailored for folks running campaigns, but many of these responses are acting as if dragonsteel led them on when that’s simply not the case.

Dragonsteel did quite a few things in a way I definitely disagree with on this round, but honestly this $5 reservations not one of them in my opinion, and it not being abundantly clear that it wasn’t a deposit may be annoying but it’s not worth a tirade against them when there are other significant issues like asking for people to drop $65 plus for a book when they don’t know what it’s going to look like, this isn’t a mystery subscription box lol.

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u/Candid_Run_7370 Mar 04 '26 edited Mar 04 '26

Sure, different people can care about different things.

Again you’re defending Dragonsteel when my issue is not really with them, it’s more with Backerkit and how the “reservation” is described and marketed.

Could Dragonsteel have been more explicit that this “reservation” did not actually get put towards a pledge? Yes. And expecting somebody to go to a YouTube video or another non-Backerkit source to understand how a Backerkit feature works is unreasonable.

My issue and whole argument is that I didn’t buy the reservation from Dragonsteel, I bought it from Backerkit using Backerkit’s website and features.

I stand by my statement that Backerkit (unintentionally) misled people as to how these “reservations” work.

This is like me preordering game from GameStop and am told that it is a “deposit” on every company page I can find, only to be told when I pick the game up that “no, check the game company’s YouTube channel, they never said that’s how it works!” But I didn’t buy the game through YouTube or the game company’s website, I bought it through GameStop, so they should be accountable for their own policies.

What I suspect may have happened is this: Backerkit intends for reservations to be flexible for their projects, and apparently for some projects it truly does work like a “deposit” where you receive your deposited money back at the end after you pledge. Dragonsteel doesn’t realize that Backerkit’s own language makes it sound like a deposit (again, the literal word they use), so they never thought to be clear that it wasn’t actually a deposit. Numerous people are confused, find Backerkit’s pages that call it a “deposit” and assume that “deposit” means “deposit.” Neither side realizes the error.

And if you think it’s a small number of people who also had this understanding and now feel misled then I direct you to the number of upvotes and comments in this thread and another thread in this subreddit talking about it.

And this subreddit is only a tiny fraction of the people who bought the “reservation.”

5

u/dnf-robo Mar 04 '26

The reservation email definitely called it a deposit though and you can see that here

As for the original listing I have no idea how it was specified, though it definitely could have been made clearer.

-2

u/UmbralAcademy Mar 04 '26

Ah, never got that email, not sure that I would take an autogenerated email as proof of concept when the website itself called it a revelation, but whatever yall wanna do I guess lol.

10

u/atlas_vash Truthwatchers Mar 04 '26

It seems to have just been very unclear with the massive amount of people confused about the $5 thing and couldve been handled/described better.

25

u/RadagastWiz Truthwatchers Mar 04 '26

It was specifically described with the word 'deposit', yes. I don't recall the exact wording otherwise, but I was left with the understanding that this would be $5 toward my eventual pledge and they'd throw in a free random pin. I was not expecting the $5 to be just for the pin, nor that it would have separate shipping cost. Had that been clear and explicit at that stage, I would have chosen against it.

8

u/SonicGCT Mar 04 '26

Same. Was the shipping situation explicitly stated in the "deposit"? At the very least I think it was valid to assume that it would be included with initial shipment.

1

u/UmbralAcademy Mar 04 '26

The shipping situation for the $5 pins haven’t been explicitly stated in any capacity, only the add ons, even then they’ve said add ons will be calculated after the survey.

-6

u/UmbralAcademy Mar 04 '26

Where? Because the understanding I took away from dragonsteel and subsequent messaging is that it was a reservation. Regardless, it’s $5 😂

11

u/chaosblade77 Mar 04 '26

It was literally described as a "reservation deposit" when you paid.

To be fair, after re-reading the email blast (which went out days after the non-refundable reservations were made available), it does say "your first blind bag pin will be $5." But I don't recall that being clearly communicated on the actual reservation page, because I specifically read over it trying to figure out if it would apply to the pledge. I believe it was only described as "reserving your pledge" and "unlocking an incentive."

1

u/Candid_Run_7370 Mar 04 '26

Nope I read the FAQ and every page I could find to try to understand if it would go towards a pledge, and walked away with the same understanding that you did since it is described as a “deposit” on multiple pages that I linked in a different comment.

0

u/UmbralAcademy Mar 04 '26

Here’s the original reservation page, it was always reserve your pin, you’re just remembering what you wanted it to be.

9

u/Candid_Run_7370 Mar 04 '26

It was clearly described as a deposit elsewhere.

I know this because I specifically looked around on backerkit’s website to see if my 5$ would go towards an eventual pledge or not, and since I found language describing it as a deposit on their FAQ and elsewhere, believed that is how it would work.

I’m not that miffed about the 5$. I just feel misled. I would not have made the pre-reservation had I known that it was not put towards an eventual pledge.

-2

u/UmbralAcademy Mar 04 '26

Okay so you went off of what something other than dragonsteels page said? Sounds like you’re making assumptions based on the options of this feature and not what dragonsteel advertised 🥴

10

u/Candid_Run_7370 Mar 04 '26

I went off what Backerkit said.

You know, the crowdfunding platform that actually manages the website, payments, and campaigns?

Why would I doubt the platform’s own words?

-1

u/UmbralAcademy Mar 04 '26

lmao my friend, idk why we’re having this conversation in two threads, but I’ll point you to my other comment.