Fellow Cosmere-nauts, Brandon Sanderson fans, and DDF flight crew! Welcome to something a little different from The Quill To Live: a review of Dragonsteel 2023.
Brandon Sanderson’s convention has grown since its inaugural year in Provo, Utah. Now, it occupies a huge wing of the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, packing thousands of Brando Sando Fandos into a two-day experience centered around a shared love of the author’s books and general appreciation for all things sci-fi and fantasy.
This year, my wife and I hopped on a plane and attended the convention; here’s what I thought about the key aspects of the convention.
Panels: some eclectic, some electric
We planned to attend 5-7 panels, but long (though worthwhile) waits for the Dragonsteel Store booth cut into our scheduled events. Still, we made it to a handful of panels. Two stood out.
A Letter From The Editors collected Sanderson’s editing team for a walkthrough of their process and a Q&A from the audience. The peek into Sanderson’s process and how his team is involved in keeping everything straight—copy editing, continuity, content, etc.—was intriguing. The only miss was a lack of organization near the end when attendees shouted questions from their seats without gathering by the staged microphone. A small logistical gripe, and easily fixable, but it was a small bump in the road worth mentioning.
My favorite panel by far was Hoid and His Magic Systems, a full spoiler session about everyone’s favorite Worldhopper and the magic he can access. The panelists were knowledgeable and personable, and they made the session fun and interactive.
My brief taste of the larger pantheon of panel options left me wanting more. If I’d had more time, I would have attended many more. The panels could have used more organization and perhaps a tad more preparation from panelists, but Dragonsteel is a young convention, and these are forgivable hiccups.
Crafts and miscellaneous
The craft station was my very first stop once the convention opened. I pre-purchased a kit to make vials of metal as seen in the Mistborn series. I left the experience with two simple recommendations for future attendees:
- Sign up for crafts that interest you and pre-purchase kits for them
- At all costs, avoid making the craft station your first stop
First, the good stuff. The online system allowed me to sign up for a craft and purchase the materials weeks before the convention. It’s an easy and seamless process, and I strongly recommend it over purchasing kits at the con.
Next, the not-so-good. Because this was our first stop (and it was an hour before the show floor opened) it was crowded and hectic. We picked up our materials right away, but Dragonsteel staff were still looking to gather proper tools for the crafts (not their fault, of course; it’s easy to lose stuff when organizing such a big event). The available tools bottlenecked the craft station and made things slower than needed.
This issue would have been significantly less prevalent had we waited to do the craft later, when attendees had access to other sections of the convention.
Despite the issues with kick-starting the event, we had a lot of fun making our vials. They’re a fun and high-quality keepsake.
Scootin’ my boot to the loot
Conventions are different for everyone. In other words, there’s no wrong way to do them. When I attend C2E2 (Chicago’s equivalent of Comic Con) each year, I focus on the merch, walking the show floor in search of goodies for myself and my friends. I know others who focus on panels and autographs and others who find the nearest D&D session.
Because my approach is merch-heavy, I made a beeline for the Dragonsteel Store booth (it was my wife’s idea to get in line for it early; credit to her). VIPs got access to the store line at 10 a.m. while regular pass-holders got in at 11 a.m.
The organization was on point here, but that rose comes with a particular thorn, which in this case is a 2+ hour wait time. Organizers let people into the store (which took up half an exhibition hall) in a steady trickle so it didn’t get out of hand. Was the wait worth it? In my opinion, yes. There was some positively baller merch and more than 30 new products from the official Dragonsteel Store.
My advice here is, again, twofold:
- Do the Dragonsteel Store on day 1 (preferably right away)
- Bring a book, a Nintendo Switch, or something to kill the time
Tip 1 comes from personal experience. We went to the store on both days, and day two had significantly less stock available. If you want a specific size or item, pounce early. There’s no guarantee it’ll be available on day two.
Tip 2 is to prepare you for the long wait. Organizers were amazing at helping the queue, offering chairs to folks who needed a break, being kind to people who needed to jump back in after a bathroom break, etc. Still, a 2-3 hour wait is a long time, and it helps to have something that can kill a few hours.
The exhibitor hall is nowhere near the size of any regional Comic Con, but there were a ton of amazing vendors in it, including many with Sanderson-themed merch. If you’re a regular convention attendee, don’t expect the show floor to take up too much time. We were able to walk it in about an hour each day, including stops to purchase things that caught our eye.
Spoilers, signings, and speeches
The unequivocal highlights of the convention were Sanderson’s Spoiler Q&A and the keynote speech slash release party (this one was for Defiant, book 4 of the Skyward series).
The Spoiler Q&A is just Sanderson on stage answering a barrage of questions for super fans. It’s fun, engaging, and a great representation of just how much time he gives to folks who love his books.
The Defiant release event featured plenty of amazing announcements, including the Words of Radiance leatherbound Kickstarter coming next year, a preview of Sanderson’s writing slate, the release date for Stormlight 5, and a teaser for Dragonsteel HQ—a complex for Dragonsteel employees, a bookstore, and an events venue all in one. This session included a no-spoiler Q&A as well.
Both events in my opinion, are can’t miss. They were by far my favorite parts of the convention.
Additionally, Sanderson holds signings, and attendees are chosen via a lottery system. I won access to a Lightning Signing, which entitled me to one signature on a single item with no personalization. During the signing, Brandon made a solid effort to chat briefly with each fan, even going so far as to RAFO a question I asked him.
Overall vibe and feel
Now the burning question: would I recommend Dragonsteel to any Brandon Sanderson fan? Yes. The convention has grown in the years since it began, and it has something for every type of fan. Sanderson’s dedication to his readers continues to astound me, considering the man could easily just cash his checks and move on. Dragonsteel is the culmination of tons of effort. The staff and attendees are all friendly, and everyone just seems happy to be there, engaging with material that resonates with them.
